Second Chance Read Free

kiss.  She raised her hand in a wave.  He answered back with one of his own, then turned to walk to his car, a grin creasing his lips which burned with the memory of their kiss.  She would definitely be worth waiting for.
    Pulling away from the curb, Nick glanced in the rearview mirror.  Two blocks down another car also pulled away.  Was he being followed?
    He drove slowly to the next intersection and then circled around the block, breathing a sigh of relief upon seeing the other car continuing straight ahead.
    “Getting paranoid in your old age, man.” He chuckled out loud – now he was talking to himself.  He had learned to be a little paranoid over the years.  In his line of work it was a necessity.
    Even though the car he’d thought was following him was long gone, he decided to circle by Holly’s house one more time, just to be sure she was in there, safe and sound.
     
     

Chapter Three
     
    Holly sipped her first of tea of the day, smiling at the bright rays of early morning sun peeking through her kitchen window.  The thick mug sent tendrils of steam towards the ceiling and she peered through it at her bright yellow walls.  She’d painted the kitchen shortly after Stan had left; the color always made her feel cheerful. 
    She thought about her date with Nick.  His kiss last night had stirred feelings she hadn’t had in a long time.  She wanted to see more of him.  But she couldn’t ignore the warning bells going off in her head, reminding her of what getting involved with someone entailed.  Her only adult relationship had been with Stan and he had walked all over her.  She’d fought too hard to get to where she was now and couldn’t risk that happening again with Nick.
    Her thoughts drifted to the warning Nick had given her at dinner and she glanced at her phone with a frown.  Those phone calls she thought were innocent hang-ups seemed a lot more suspicious now.
    Realizing she had more pressing problems, she reached for the newspaper laying on the table.  Opening it to the classified section, she started scanning the help wanted ads.  Having a career was another thing Stan had squashed, meaning now she had no education or skills and would have to settle for an entry level type of job.
      The ringing of her cell phone interrupted her from her task.  She checked the I.D. and felt her heart jump at the name on the display – Nick!
    “Hi there,” she answered cheerfully.
    “Hi, yourself.”  Nick’s voice sounded good.  Too good.  “Remember last night, how I told you my good friend owns the Cooley Art Gallery?”
    “Yeah, sure.”
    “Well, I happened to talk to him today and it seems he has an opening over there. I thought you might be interested.”
    Holly felt a rush of excitement.  Working at an art gallery would be a dream job for her.  For a moment, she was speechless.
    “Holly?”
    “Are you kidding ... I would love to work there!”
    “Great. He said to just bring your resume over anytime. He’ll be there all day.”
    “Wow, this is awesome.  I was just looking in the paper and there are no suitable jobs at all. I can’t thank you enough, Nick.”  Holly felt emotion rise up in her throat, making it hard for her to talk.  Not only had Nick remembered she loved art, he had also taken the time to talk to his friend about her .
    After exchanging the usual pleasantries, Holly hung up.  The truth was she could have talked to Nick all day, but she was too excited to get over to the art gallery.  Her excitement quickly gave way to anxiety when she had to come up with a resume – whatever would she put on it?
     
    *** 
    Holly stood in front of the mirror, inspecting herself with a critical eye. She’d changed her outfit three times, trying to get just the right look for an art gallery interview. 
    Her current outfit was one Rose had insisted she splurge on and, while Holly had balked at the expense at the time, now she was glad she did. 
    The tan stitching on the