Free A Second Chance by Ellen Wolf

the truth as he looked up , his eyes locked with hers and said very quietly, ‘ Jessica left me before I had the chance to tell her I was ready to take th e leap of faith . She ra n o f f with my best friend, to be exact. But it was my behavior that really gave her a push into h is arms . ’ He swallowed hard and waited for her to ask more questions, as she sat there staring at him , speechless.
    ‘Oh my God, Liam. I am so very sorry . I shouldn’t have asked ; I am so sorry . ’
    ‘No, it’s fine.’ His hand came to cover hers in a reassuring gesture. ‘How could you know, Jade? It was a miserable time in my life , and if anything , it made me only more certain that I never want to get married .’
    He wrapped his fingers around her slim palm, sighed , and shrugged his powerful shoulders in a resigned gesture. ‘ Well , it doesn’ t matter anymore.’ He looked around, his face a closed book once again. The carefully maintained façade was firmly in place ; it was obvious he didn’t want to divulge any more information .
    Jade knew this look and complied , still reeling from the shocking admission she hadn’t seen coming. This was definitely not the time to ask him for details, though a thousand questions assailed her like a swarm of restless bees. For now, she would have to curb her curiosity and concentrate on Laura ; the hour - long meeting was almost over. She glanced at her watch and realized that being with Liam had made time pass much faster than if she had been alone. It was always like that, she thought, finishing her drink with one gulp and collecting the cello phane wrap to throw away on the way out.
    ‘We should be going now . ’ She was relieved to see him smile at her again. H e wasn’t mad at her for bringing up the unpleasant past, especially now while his sister was dealing with her own crisis. ‘If you want to go see Laura by yourself, I understand , ’ she added awkwardly, realizing that he might want to spend some time with his sister without her intervention. Since he was here, her presence wasn’t necessary anymore .
    ‘ Don’t be silly .’ He took the empty cups and wrappings, ignoring her halfhearted protest. ‘I’ll bet she will be very happy to see the two of us. And I don’t want to get in trouble if she finds out that you stayed back because of me. Come on . ’
    They walked together, leaving the cafeteria and climbing the stairs to the second floor. It felt almost unreal to be next to him again, Jade thought as she cast a careful sideways glance at his face. Only she wasn’t careful enough, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment as their eyes met. It took every scrap of control she could produce to not look away hurriedly, revealing the fact that he still could rock her world with just one jet- black glance.
    Holding her shoulders so stiffly that they ach ed, she smiled a small non-committal smile. Never again , she thought as they turned the corner and reached the wide, sun - filled corridor of the second floor.
    They were right on time, for the big double door that led to the meeting room swung open, and people spill ed out in small groups. She noticed Laura talking agitatedly to two other women, her lovely face animated and full of life. Laura looked up and spotted them, her eyes widening in surprise when she saw Liam standing next to Jade. A radiant smile transfixed her features , and she r a n to them, her springy step miles away from the tired walk Jade remembered only days ago.
    ‘Liam, how on earth did you find out?’ Hugging him tightly, she laughed and looked up into his grinning face. ‘I swear, I ’ m going to kill M om next time I see her. I asked her specifically to keep quiet until you were done.’
    ‘ Well , she almost succeeded . ’ W hite teeth flashing in his tanned face, he looked down at his sister with such tenderness J ade felt her throat constricting painfully. ‘I practically forced her to confess, Laura. So don’t be t o o hard on her . S