Read Online Second Time Around by Colette Caddle - Free Book Online Page A

her, she’d allowed herself to believe they had a future and it was more than just a fling.
    Jess sat in the corner of the bar, keeping an eye on the door and glancing at her watch. He was an hour late – an hour, and not a word. She’d tried to call him but it went straight
to voicemail and she was afraid to leave a message. Something must have happened. Perhaps one of the kids was sick; maybe he’d been in a car accident. And then, just as she was really
starting to worry, he walked in.
    ‘Hey, babe.’ He slid in beside her and kissed her neck.
    ‘Where were you?’
    ‘The boss invited us for drinks.’
    ‘Drinks?’ She blinked. ‘And you couldn’t call?’
    ‘Don’t be mad, darling.’ He put his hand on her thigh and nuzzled her neck.
    Jess steeled herself to resist him and moved away, fixing him with a glare. ‘Where do you tell Maeve you are when you’re with me?’
    His smile disappeared. ‘Let me worry about Maeve. I have it all under control.’
    ‘Exactly what have you got under control? Are you going to separate?’
    ‘No, I told you. We agreed to stay together until the children were older. Surely you can understand that?’
    Jess toughened herself against his reproachful look. ‘So you have separate lives, sleep in separate beds?’
    ‘We have an understanding.’
    ‘What kind of understanding?’
    ‘It’s you that I’m interested in, Jess, that’s all you need to know.’ He smiled, stroking her arm.
    Jess pulled away, grabbed her bag and stood up. ‘And what you need to know, Louis, is that it’s over.’ She walked away, not giving him a chance to reply, and was surprised and,
admittedly, disappointed when he didn’t follow her.
    As she drove home, Jess fought back tears, telling herself she was doing the right thing. What kind of a man behaved like that? How could he make love to her and then go home to his wife and
maybe even make love to her too? She felt a wave of nausea at the thought and wondered, What now? Would Louis move on or would he try to woo her back? And, if he did, would she be strong enough to
say no?
    Jess wasn’t the only one having man trouble. Mandy opened one eye and glared at Jeff, whose snores were becoming progressively louder. He had turned out to be yet
another disappointment. So suave, sexy and rich, he had told her all about his high-powered job that took him all over the world, dropping names of the politicians and famous people he hung out
with and describing the Porsche he had on order; the Ford he’d driven her home in was just a rental. Once he was asleep and she’d had a chance to glance through his wallet, she found
that, rather than being VP of the company, he was a salesman, and a tiny photo tucked in the back showed a smiling woman and two surly-looking teenagers, confirming she’d been taken for a
ride. Granted, the sex had been good, but not that good. Mandy, unlike her niece, was not interested in a man with ties. She wanted one who was free to spend his money on
her and her alone.
    She was starting to doubt that she would ever find him. Her thoughts, inevitably, turned to the only man who had ever held her attention completely for the duration of their relationship, and he
hadn’t even been rich. He had talked about them building a new life together and she believed he’d meant it. Certainly, no one had made her feel the way he had, not that she really gave
them a chance. He had ruined her for anyone else. She didn’t need or want love now. She just needed a relatively affluent, single or widowed lover who would take care of her. That
wasn’t much to ask for, was it? She was willing to play the part of the adoring girlfriend. Nothing in life was free, after all.
    An even louder snore prompted her to give the man beside her a sharp prod. ‘Time to go, lover boy. I have an appointment.’
    ‘Can I see you again, darling?’ he said as he was leaving.
    She gave him a wide smile. ‘I’ll call you.’
    After he’d gone,