Page 78 of Second Time Around

“Since Nick doesn’t have any brothers or family close by, he’s going to ask Jared and Hudson.”

“Kelsey’s brother and boyfriend. I bet she’s thrilled.”

“Thus, my broken eardrum,” Stacy said. “Oh, and she’s already planning an engagement party, so if you want in on it, you might want to call her.”

“I will.” Jenna turned back to the coffee pot and poured herself and Stacy a cup, adding just a splash of cream to both before turning to hand her one.

“Thanks,” Stacy said, eyeing her over the rim.

Jenna took a long, satisfying sip. Then she thought about Beck drinking his coffee this morning with only her note for company. She’d known he had to work today, but she couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed that he hadn’t tried to contact her. Of course, she still hadn’t looked at her phone, so he might have left a dozen messages.

“What’s going on, Jen?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re being dodgy about where you were last night, and now you seem distracted. Anything you want to tell me?”

Jenna gazed into her mug as though her coffee held all the answers. “Not really.”

“Who were you with last night? Anyone I know?”

Jenna’s head popped up, and she almost spilled her coffee. “Why would you think that?”

“It was Beck, wasn’t it?”

She didn’t know why she bothered trying to hide anything from her sister. Their connection was so strong that they could see into each other’s hearts and minds without saying a word.

“Yes. I was with Beck last night.”

“Yay!” Stacy said, sounding way more enthused at the news than she had a right to be.

“It was no big deal, though.”

“Oh, so the love of your life shows up after twelve years, and it’s no big deal?”

“How many times do I have to remind you? He’s not the ‘love of my life.’ He was more of a teenage crush.”

Stacy tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at Jenna. “Come on, Jen. I was there, remember? I saw how broken-hearted you were after prom.”

Jenna flinched at the reminder. Then she felt compelled to share the rest of the story as Beck had explained it to her.

After listening intently, Stacy said, “So, it was a big misunderstanding. Aren’t you relieved now that you know the truth?”

Relieved? Not exactly. “I guess so.”

“You don’t sound like it.”

“It just feels strange, having him back here after all this time.”

“You probably didn’t expect to see him again, but are the feelings still there?”

That was the most disturbing thing of all. “Yes,” Jenna said quietly.

“I’m happy for you.”

“I’m the one who’s supposed to be happy for you. You’re engaged!”

Stacy smiled as if she’d just remembered. “Speaking of my fiancé, I should probably get back to him. We have a long list of things we want to do today, starting with house shopping.”