Page 96 of Second Chance Saloon

Much later that day, after his head had stopped pounding and he’d spent half an hour in the shower, scrubbing the last dregs of tequila fumes from his body, Mitch stood outside Jackie’s room, wearing his heart on his sleeve and clutching a small bouquet of pink roses from the hotel florist.

He took a deep breath and knocked, twice.

The door opened and Jackie peeked through a small gap, which widened once she recognized him. “What are you doing here?” Her gaze dipped to the roses. “And what are these for?”

“For last night. Thank you for making sure I was safe and didn’t do anything stupid.”

Her brow furrowed. “Were you thinking about doing something stupid?”

Her eyes flicked to his and the concern written all over her face prickled his heart with shame, squashing his smile under its boot. He shouldn’t have made light of something so serious, not after she’d seen his scar and heard about his accident.

“No. Of course not.” He cleared his throat, awkwardly pushing the bouquet into her hands. “Still, thank you for not leaving me on my own.”

Jackie hugged the roses to her chest, dipping her head and sniffing them. “Pink roses,” she whispered, her gaze slowly climbing back up to lock on his. “What is this, Mitch?”

She didn’t have to elaborate. He used to bring her pink roses every other Friday. It was their thing, their tradition. He still remembered the fresh bouquet sitting in the vase in her room when she left. No one had touched them for weeks. Some petals dropped; others rotted. Eventually, the dying roses became a reminder that she was gone.

Mitch couldn’t bear the sight of pink roses for years after.

“Come take a dip in the sea with me,” he said, instead of answering her question, a hopeful smile curling his lips.

Jackie looked at the roses again, then back at him. “If I do, what will it mean?”

He stared right into her eyes, and without blinking, said: “It can mean either everything or completely nothing. It’ll be up to you.”

His breath stilled, hers picked up, the air between them vibrating. The flickering emotions behind her eyes stirred the newly awakened chunk of his heart, the one that had been unlocked and released from its chains when she touched his forearm in the lobby.

He wanted—needed—her to say yes.

“Let me get changed and I’ll be out in a minute. Wait here.” She closed the door.

Mitch leaned over the wall, crossing his feet at his ankles, his hands pushed in the pockets of his shorts. His heart rammed against his ribcage like it was preparing to break away, the hammer blows of his pulse urging it ahead.

He didn’t know if minutes or hours had passed by the time Jackie came out of her room. All he knew was that it had been long enough for him to entirely lose confidence in his plan ten times over.

But then she was standing beside him, wearing a lilac button-down minidress with thin straps, her shoulder-length waves kissing her bare shoulders. She smiled at him and any doubts he had dissolved into nothingness.

“Ready to go?” She held out two folded bath towels in front of her.

Mitch took them from her and threw them over his shoulder. “Lead the way.”

CHAPTER THIRTY

Jackie

The way Mitch kept glancing at her as they walked, side by side, down to the hotel’s private beach told Jackie he didn’t remember everything from last night. She expected it; he did have a lot to drink. So, why was there a pang of sadness in her heart?

Maybe, subconsciously, she wanted him to have heard what she said when he was asleep. She wanted him to have heard how sorry she was, without having to answer the questions that’d undoubtedly follow if he was awake.

Then, there were the roses and the glint of something in his eyes that she hadn’t seen before. What was he up to?

It can mean either everything or completely nothing. It’ll be up to you.

Even though Jackie didn’t know what it meant, she had a feeling that tonight she would stand at a fork in the road, facing two paths and needing to choose one.

His eyes glazed with wonder as they reached the beach.

White boats dotted the horizon, breaking the seamless transition of sky into the water. The sun was halfway into the sea already. Muted pinks, reds and orange weaved through, reflecting on the surface.