Second Look (A New Beginning Book 3) by Connie Stephany Page A

she replied. “I know I’m early but I wanted to check to see if you wanted help watching Amber while you finished getting ready. If not, I can come back in a little while.”
    “How thoughtful! Thank you.”
    Maddie looked nervous but with Jennifer’s praise she beamed.
    “Come on in,” Jennifer said, moving aside to let Maddie into the front entry. “Amber’s in her room.”
    “Okay!”
    Maddie took off her shoes and then raced down the hall towards Amber’s room. Jennifer could hear Amber squeal in delight as soon as Maddie got back to her room. It made her smile knowing this sweet girl loved Amber.
    As she got ready and the time to leave got closer, her stomach swirled. Somehow she was hoping to be able to avoid seeing Adam at the funeral, but she wasn’t sure how she’d accomplish that. She was glad Cassandra would be going with her.
    She carefully applied her makeup, curled her hair and put on the new black dress she had bought the other night when she had gone out with Cassandra.
    The girls made it to the funeral home in plenty of time to spare. They sat in Jennifer’s car for several minutes to calm her nerves. She hoped she could stay under Adam’s radar the entire time. As often as she thought of him, this was not the occasion to have a reunion.
    “Come on, kiddo. We need to go on in.”
    Jennifer nodded at Cassandra. “Okay, I think I’m ready.”
    The girls took their seats in the very last pew, behind many heads to be well hidden from Adam. Jennifer kept low in the seat, but couldn’t help but look for him.
    Finally, she got a clear shot of Adam and she couldn’t believe her eyes.
    “H - o – l - y shit.”
    Even though Jennifer said it under her breath, she could see Cassandra look at her out of the corner of her eye.
    “Shhh!”
    “Sorry,” she whispered.
    Adam looked amazing in his suit, his dark blonde hair cut short and neat, his hard jaw freshly shaven and set so hard she could see the muscles flexing. His body looked fuller than she remembered, but she could tell it was pure muscle underneath his expensive suit.
    She definitely shouldn’t be thinking about how he looked, but she couldn’t help herself. Jennifer shook her head to stop the thoughts that were not appropriate at a funeral.
    The service began and thinking of how amazing he looked was no longer a problem.
    She’d been impressed with how well Adam was holding it together, but once the service began...oh man. She watched in agony as Adam’s shoulders slumped and then shook with heart-wrenching sobs. She saw Mandi put her arm around her brother’s shoulders and pull him in close.
    As he leaned closer to his sister, Jennifer lost her clear view. It was so hard to see the man she had always loved overwhelmed with grief and she couldn’t even comfort him. She wanted to be there to support her best friend, too.
    Jennifer sat next to Cassandra for the service and they both cried while leaning on each other for support.
    She hid as the pallbearers walked by at the end of the ceremony, including Adam at the head of his father’s coffin. He faced forward, jaw set hard, walking tall and strong. His brown eyes were red-rimmed and puffy.
    Her heart felt like it was being torn in two.
    Mandi came up to them after the ceremony and they all hugged, crying together for several minutes. They finally broke apart, all of them wiping tears from their eyes.
    Jennifer began to fidget the longer they continued to talk to Mandi. She kept one eye on Adam who remained near the hearse, but it was pretty far away from where she stood.
    As she continued to talk to Mandi and Cassandra, she began to relax because Adam still hadn’t seen her. She glanced over at Adam one more time and gasped as she saw him look their way.
    He saw me.
    As Adam tilted his head, he made a move towards her. She looked back away towards Mandi and said, “We’re going to go, honey. We’ll head out to the cemetery now, okay?”
    Mandi grabbed her hand. “Okay, I’m