Page 44 of Second Chance Saloon

A lonely ribbon of affection twirled inside his stomach, wrapping itself around his gut. Her using his old nickname, one that only she’d ever used, did something to his heart. It altered its rhythm, his heartbeat pausing to synchronize with hers. It had been so long that all its cogs had rusted over. But no matter all that. Mitch knew it still remembered how to beat, for her.

“Only when you’re the instigator of them,” he replied, unable to hide his smile.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You should.”

Jackie dipped her chin, chewing on her bottom lip.

The candlelight warmed her black, shoulder-length hair. He’d spent the entire dinner trying not to look at her. Sure, he’d seen her—the blue dress matching her eyes; her bare, lightly tanned shoulders; and her face that he could still draw from memory: the small, perfectly round mole on the right-side of her forehead, slightly below her hairline. Her straight white teeth; he still remembered the first time he’d remarked on them and she’d told him about the braces she’d worn until she was sixteen.

The tip of her tongue ran between her lips and his heart flipped.

This felt like falling in love all over again. Or didn’t it count, if he possibly had never fallen out of love to begin with?

“What are your plans for the rest of your stay?” she asked.

His cheeks reddened. “Well, most of the things I had planned were honeymoon-type activities.”

Jackie’s eyes widened. “Oh, I’m sorry. Stupid of me to ask.”

He laughed as the horror in her eyes made him realize she’d been thinking about bedroom activities. To be honest, he did imagine that when he’d planned the honeymoon, too. “Not in that way. I thought about Puerto Morelos, Chichen Itza, maybe kayaking in Nichupté Lagoon—and I wanted to try some wild swimming in the famed cenotes.”

Jackie’s brows rose in a slow arch. “Have the hotel guides got to you with their sales pitches?”

“I spoke with Luis earlier today. Apologized for my rather unfortunate state on arrival.”

“Ah, I should’ve guessed. He’s obsessed with cenotes.”

“Have you seen any good ones?”

A wide smile split her lips. “The Yucatán Peninsula is known for them. Mysterious sinkholes with crystal-clear water? They’re like a reminder of nature’s glory. Of course I have. Actually, they’re my favorite thing about this place. There are tons of them around, thousands. Some are much better than others. Especially if you don’t like crowds—the most popular ones get so busy, it’s hard to enjoy it.”

He bit back an affectionate smile. “You’ve never minded crowds before.”

Jackie huffed. “Well, now I do. I told you, I’m not the same girl you used to know. I’m much more into a book with a glass of wine by the fireplace than partying until late at night. Peace and quiet.”

“That’s fair. Though, I still like to go out clubbing every now and then myself.”

She trilled a laugh. “Mitch Craigton, willingly going to a club, and in his thirties? Wow. Did I step through the looking glass?”

“You’ve said it yourself: people change.” He held her gaze. “Even though some things stay the same.”

Deep down, he wanted to ask her about the night she left. About the note. About the why. He wanted to know if it had shattered her even half as much as it had shattered him; but he knew that if he went too fast, pushed too hard, he’d scare her away. He worried that his face might’ve done all the asking already. All the unspoken words threaded like shimmering gold between them.

Jackie coughed, looking away. “Mexican Jewel must seem rather boring to you, then. I’m afraid the wildest entertainment happening here are our Thrilling Thursdays.”

“Sounds … intriguing.”

“All it means is a live band taking song requests from the guests for the first half of the night and then karaoke until late. There’s drinking, dancing and some laughter, but that’s about it.”

She shook her head, but he didn’t miss the way the right corner of her lips quirked up in a small half-smile. It knocked some air from his lungs as he remembered all the times he’d seen that exact smile, most notably when she’d watched him ride. That reminded him …

“Did you ever go back to barrel racing?”

“No.”

He waited to see if she would say anything else, but she pursed her lips, shifting her attention to her fingers.