Second Chances by Kimberly McKay Page A

up to her friend’s mischevious eyes and grinned. 
                  “He looked the same give or take a few years, and you’re barking up the wrong tree.  Besides … he wouldn’t be interested in me.  I’m always going to be Sam’s little sister.  And … I’m not going to think about dating anyone – let alone Nick Granger.” 
                  “Why not?”
    Paige gave her a look, to which Natasha held up her hand in defense.
    “Okay – okay. I was only trying to say that you never know.  I remember how he used to look at you in school.  Now that you’re both grown-ups …” 
    As Natasha pressed her husband’s shirt,  Paige let her words sink in.  She grinned before saying, “Actually, he stopped by the parking lot at work.  He was waiting for me after my shift last week.”
    “What?” Natasha placed a hand on her hip.  “See?  I told you!”
    “No.” Paige shook her head and waved her off.  “He was just being friendly.”
    Natasha raised her eyebrow at Paige and turned her iron off once more.  “Now this is girl talk – spill the details.”
    As Natasha stepped back over to sit next to her, Paige wanted to discount the weight that was lifting from her heart.  She wanted to ignore the thrill in the pit of her stomach when she thought of him, but she couldn’t deny the effect Nick had on her.  Finally, she grinned from ear to ear happy to speculate with her friend, like they once did when they were teens.

Chapter 13
     
     
    Sam twisted the cap off his beer and handed a second to Nick, who seemed preoccupied with the view from his front window.  He casually stepped in behind him to see why Nick was so distracted, only to smile at the sight of  Paige’s car in his neighbor’s driveway.
    “Have you seen her yet?” He asked, reaching for the remote.
    “Huh?” Nick turned from the window, hoping to see her when she left. “Oh. Paige? Yeah, I got a chance to see her at Tight Ends last week.”
    Nick omitted the part about him waiting for her outside after her shift was over, unsure of how Sam would react.
    “So?”  Sam sat and looked expectantly up to his friend, who looked back through the curtains.
    “So what?”  Nick pushed the drapes back further and faced Sam, whose dimples were set deeply in place, as he grinned at him from across the room.
    “So when are you going to ask her out?”
    Nick blinked.  “Are you serious?  She just got divorced - and so did I.”
    Sam swallowed another swig of his Corona, and gently shook his head.  “You’ve been divorced for almost a year and a half.  And, she’s been in an empty marriage for almost a decade.  I’d say its safe to say you two are overdue for a chance at happiness.”
    “Man, you know I can’t date my friend’s sister.”  Nick settled into an easy chair next to Sam, which still had a decent vantage point to the front of the house.
    Sam laughed.  “Maybe if you’d kissed her all those years ago, we wouldn’t be sitting her now talking about divorce.”
    Nick shot forward nearly choking on his beer.  “What are you talking about?  I would never have made a move on your sister, let alone kiss her. You would have killed me.”
    “Yeah, right.  Don’t think the whole school didn’t know you saved your last chance kiss for my sister.  I saw you waiting for her in the bus tunnel our senior year … and so did Davis by the way.”
    “No way!”  Nick laughed.  “Was I that transparent?  You knew I had a thing for her, and you let me suffer in silence?”
    Sam threw his head back and laughed.  “Dude – everyone knew.”
    “Did Paige?” His face burned.
    Sam shook his head and sighed.  “No clue, but I know she thought you were cute.”
    “Really?”  He grinned, hopeful. “What about Davis?”
    Sam’s eyes twinkled. “Davis might have thought you were cute too.”
    “Shut up, man.”  Nick narrowed his eyes.
    At that time, they both heard a door slam from