Read Online A Second Chance at Forever by JM Stewart - Free Book Online Page B

was trying to convince more—Alex or herself. “So far nobody I know has ever come in there.”
    Alex stared pointedly at her. “Ang, I was there.”
    Ignoring the unsettling precarious feeling his words gave her, she arched a brow in challenge. “Why were you there?”
    “Co-worker of mine’s getting married in a couple of weeks. Three of us came down to celebrate. The strip club was Rick’s idea.”
    “A bachelor party.”
    “A bit of an impromptu one, but yeah.” He lifted a hand, brushed a stray lock of hair off her face. “You’re the last person I expected to find in a place like that.”
    She let out a quiet laugh. “Me too.”
    “You’re an incredible dancer.” He leaned down, brushing his mouth over hers. “Never in a million years would I have thought your body could move like that. Very mesmerizing watching you.”
    Her mind filled with images of that first night. The shock of seeing him in the audience. The business card he’d given Janet, and the comment written on the back that had set her pulse thundering.
    “When you gave Janet your business card I thought for sure you’d recognized me.”
    A chuckle rumbled through him. “Probably should have.” He stared down at her for a long moment, then shook his head and rolled over, taking her with him. With his arm wrapped around her back, he settled her against his side. “Just goes to show how little we actually know about each other.”
    “We can fix that, you know.” She slid one leg over his, laying her head on the center of his chest, listening to the soft, steady beat of his heart beneath her ear. “Tell me about your life. Brock told me once you work for the District Attorney’s office.”
    “Mm. Still do. I’m an Assistant D.A. I work in the Trial Division, with the bureau of Family Violence and Child Abuse.”
    “Not a divorce lawyer then. Thank God for small favors.”
    His quiet laugh rumbled through his chest. “I take it you don’t like divorce lawyers.”
    “No.” She bit her lip then quietly offered, “My ex-husband was a divorce lawyer.”
    “I think I remember Brock mentioning something about your divorce. How long were you married?”
    “Ten years.” She paused. What made her say it, she wasn’t sure. Maybe it was the soothing beat of his heart. Maybe it was the ease she felt lying there with him this way, like they’d done it every night for years. As her fingers slid up his chest into the thatch of curls covering the center, the words left her mouth on a need to share them. Not with just anybody, but with him. “Then one day he comes home from work and tells me he’s leaving. He’s met someone else, he’s in love with her, and they’re getting married. She’s ten years younger than me and everything I’m not.”
    “His loss. I meant what I said last night, Ang. It’s this side of you I find the most tempting. Candy’s a cover. Anybody who cares enough to look can see that. This side of you is real, and I like her.” He hooked a finger under her chin, lifted her gaze to his. “Don’t ever doubt how beautiful you are.”
    She searched his face, but found only honesty, and kissed him gently. Then laid her head on his chest again, tucking it beneath his chin. “What made you go the family violence route?”
    His choice of specialty contradicted the boy he’d been, the mischievous clown, yet it somehow suited the man she was coming to know. She wasn’t the only one who’d grown up. Seeing the differences between then and now only made her long to know more about him.
    “Dated a woman in college.” His voice took on a quiet, wistful tone, like maybe the memories played through his mind, as his fingers idly trailed up and down her back. “Pre-law days. She had a little brother and a very angry father. The first time I touched her she nearly jumped out of her skin. If we argued and I raised my voice, she’d go white as a ghost and crawl up inside herself. Her little brother died about two months