Read Online A Beautiful Wreck (Second Chance #3) by CeeCee James - Free Book Online Page A

through a small housing development. A few more turns and they arrived at the park which was located at a dead end. Luke angled the Camaro to look out over the valley, and parked.
    Quiet settled over the car. Far below, the city glowed with orange sparkles. Cassie felt a tickle of anxiety in her stomach at the sudden silence. She shot him a quick side glance from the corner of her eye.
    “You want to get out?” Luke asked.
    Cassie nodded, and they both climbed from the car. He waited for her by the Camaro’s bumper.
    A breeze stirred her hair. She zipped her hoodie to her throat and pulled the hood up over her ears.
    “You cold?”
    “Kind of a bit.”
    He popped open his trunk and tugged out a flannel blanket.
    “You just conveniently had that back there?” Cassie asked.
    “Yeah, what’s the problem? You cold or what?”
    “Give it here.” She smiled and took the blanket from him, tucking it around her shoulders. “Thank you.”
    “Better?” he asked, his eyes focusing intently on hers.
    Man, he has gorgeous eyes. She shifted under his scrutiny. Quit staring, Cass! “Yep.”
    Together, they trudged toward the row of swings, the equipment gleaming in a wash of moonlight.
    “So, no easy way to say this. I was a jerk. I’m sorry.” Luke shoved his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. The leather creaked as he moved.
    “Don’t worry about it.”
    They reached the swings, both grabbing one. Cassie gathered the blanket around her as she sat. Pushing off with one foot, she sent the swing gently in motion.
    Luke reclined back in his swing and stared up at the stars. His face was still, contemplative. “All so big, so vast. Makes all of us humans and our lives here seem like nothing.”
    The sky was rich black velvet dotted with millions of white diamonds. A smoky swatch cut through the middle of the sky. “The milky way.” Luke pointed.
    Cassie covered her mouth with the blanket and nodded. The blanket smelled of campfires and cologne. She sniffed it again and snuggled into it deeper.
    “And over there,” he said, indicating a group of stars, “is Orion’s belt. Follow his sword to Taurus.”
    “You know a lot of constellations.”
    “Those are the easy ones. Now look right there.”
    She lifted her chin, trying to follow the line of his finger.
    “Squint a bit. See that fuzzy patch? That’s a star cluster called the Seven Sisters. They’re a part of the constellation Taurus.”
    She squinted. “How do you know so much?”
    He quickly glanced at her, before facing the sky again. “From my Cub Scout days. We had to learn all of this stuff. Leif and I were in a troop together.”
    “Aww,” At Leif’s name, Cassie’s heart squeezed. “I bet you two were cute Cub Scouts. Did you still have the little uniform?”
    He shook his head. “Laugh it up. You probably were a Brownie or something like that.”
    The air caught in her throat with a choke.
    “Ahhh, so I’m right? I knew it!”
    “No comment,” she murmured into the blanket.
    He smiled, his gaze brushing over her. “I want to hear more.”
    “Not a lot to tell. My big sister, Miranda, signed me up when I was six. I remember eating a lot of cookies.”
    “We had to sell popcorn. Leif had the big idea of selling it for a dollar more and pocketing the difference.”
    “He did not!”
    “Yeah, it would have worked for him too, but he sold the first tin to the mom of another Cub Scout. Our leader was not pleased.” His voice took a cold, indifferent tone. “It was pretty soon after that I ended up in a foster home.”
    Cassie’s attention fixed on the sky. Something about the darkness, the stars, made everything feel safe. Almost anonymous. “When was the last time you saw him?”
    He leaned back in the swing. “A long time ago. Nearly twenty years, I guess.”
    Her mouth fell open. “How old are you, anyway?” As soon as the words came out, she felt her face heat up.
    “Twenty-seven,” Luke said