Love's Second Chance (Second Chances #1)(5)
Chapter Four
“What kind of party are we going to that requires me to dress like this?” I asked skeptically. Obviously amused, Jenna smiled at me, winking for emphasis.
“Ducky, stop worrying. You look fantastic.” She grinned sweetly. I watched her as she put on the finishing touches of her makeup and fluffed her brown curls until they were perfect.
The dress Jenna made me wear was very beautiful and worked perfectly for the weather, since it was a chilly night in March. The black sweater dress fit snugly over my slight curves, but had somewhat of an itchy feel to it that was kind of annoying. Luckily I knew I would get used to it. Jenna came behind me and placed a thick silver belt across my midsection and fastened it in the back. Groaning at her persistence, I knew it was no use to argue with her. I had argued with her for an hour while she did my hair and makeup. When Jenna gets into one of her determined mood swings there’s nothing that anyone can do to stop her.
Once Carson died there was no reason for me to get dressed up and go out. It felt pointless because I knew I would be spending the whole time depressed while other couples were together and having fun. ‘Date nights’ were what I looked forward to most with Carson. We would eat at one of our favorite restaurants, take long walks in the park, and then we would go back home and talk for hours on the little pier behind our house overlooking the lake. Afterwards, we would go inside and make love to each other until the sun came up the next morning. I missed the way his hands felt when he touched my body, and the way he tasted when he would kiss me. Knowing I would never feel those things again with my husband sent the pain shooting straight through my heart. Why did memories have to hurt? They were good memories, but the pain of them still left an aching in my chest. I didn’t want to feel that way anymore. All I wanted was to be happy.
“Korinne! Kori!” Jenna yelled.
Jerking to attention, I looked at Jenna wide-eyed and snapped, “Why are you yelling at me? I’m standing right here!”
“I know, but I’ve been talking to you for the past five minutes. When I looked at you it was like you were in another world. Are you okay?” Her voice took on the motherly tone she always had when she was worried. Placing her hands on my shoulders, Jenna turned me to face her. Her soft, brown eyes raked over me with concern and sympathy, and it reminded me of my mother because she had spent the last six months looking at me the same way.
“I’ll be fine,” I assured her, holding back the tears as best I could. “I just got caught up in some memories. I haven’t been out since my last date night with Carson, so it kind of hurts knowing this will be my first time without him.”
She nodded and said softly, “It’s understandable. I know that it’ll be hard to get back on track, but I have faith in you. You can do this. Brady texted and said he’ll be here in five minutes.”
Brady and Jenna met in college and now they were happily married. We used to have some fun times in college together before I relocated to a different school. Not long after I transferred, I met Carson. It was at a little coffee shop near Duke where he was attending med school. He happened to be standing too close to me at the counter, so when I turned around I bumped into him and my coffee splattered all over his clothes. Needless to say, it wasn’t love at first sight, but it soon grew to love and then to marriage.
Jenna’s phone buzzed, signaling that Brady was there and I needed to get my mind focused on trying to have fun. Straightening my shoulders, I put on a smile and grabbed for my clutch. “Let’s go,” I urged with forced enthusiasm. That night was going to be my first giant step to achieving somewhat of a normal life.
Brady was waiting for us by his car, and of course his eyes lit up the moment he saw Jenna. Whose wouldn’t? She was beautiful and smart, and stunning in her form-fitting red dress. Brady’s reddish-brown hair had grown since the last time I saw him, but his midnight blue eyes were still the same. He was a twenty-seven year old pro-football player that had a career ending injury during his first year. Now he coached his local high school’s football team, and Jenna said he absolutely loved it.
“It’s good to see you again, Korinne,” he stated warmly, opening the car door for me. “I hope you’re excited about tonight.” The undertone to his voice had me curious, like he was up to something. Most likely he was, because he would act the same way when we were in college when he was cooking up trouble.
“Thank you. It’s good to see you, too,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him. I slid into the backseat and he gave me a wolfish grin before shutting the door. Oh yeah, something was up. He kissed Jenna on the cheek before opening the door for her to climb in the front. He may be a complete jokester, but I’d only ever seen him treat Jenna with the utmost care and respect. Their personalities complemented each other perfectly.
“You two look amazing together,” I whispered softly.
“He has his moments,” Jenna admitted, staring at her husband as he made his way to his side of the car. “But I know without a doubt that one of these days someone will come into your life and heal that heart of yours.”
“I wouldn’t count on that,” I mumbled.
“We’ll see.” She smiled.
Once Brady was in the car and we were headed on our way, I decided to try and figure out what was going on. “Brady?” I began.