Page 50 of Second Chances

“Breakfast?” he asked once they were alone again.

“Most definitely,” she agreed, rubbing her forehead. “I need coffee. Lots of it.”

“Agreed.” He took her hand, walked towards his car, and opened the door for her to get in.

As he drove through town towards the bakery, they both remained silent, and he could tell there was a lot more bothering her than the destruction of her car.

“Are you okay?” he asked as he parked in the parking lot of Sweet Expectations.

“Yes,” she answered, avoiding his gaze.

He turned off the car and shifted towards her, then took her hand. “Olivia, I can see the fear in there.” He motioned towards her face, then cupped her chin and kissed her. “Remember, I’m not going anywhere. Talk to me.”

“I’m not sure what to do now.” She leaned back and closed her eyes. “How am I supposed to tell Simona what happened?”

He thought about it. “Don’t.”

She laughed. “Right.”

“No, I mean it. You did mention that you needed a new car. Call the repair shop, take the man’s offer, and sell your car. Then we’ll head to the nearest dealer and get you a new car. One that Brock doesn’t know about.”

She was silent for a while, and he imagined that she was calculating if she had enough money to afford a new car.

“I suppose it won’t hurt to look,” she finally admitted. “After coffee.”

He smiled. “Do you think Kayla can watch Simona a while longer?”

“I’ll text her and let her know while I drink my second cup of coffee,” she said as they walked into the bakery.

While he ate his second apple strudel, she called Kayla, who agreed to watch Simona until they returned later that evening.

By the time they left the bakery, Olivia was looking like her normal self. She even had a slight spring in her step when they walked onto the first car lot together.

He hated that the salesmen zeroed in on him when they stopped to look at a used SUV.

“You know, it would be nice to have a bigger car. My sedan was great on gas miles, but not so great when I had to drive in the snow or to get groceries,” Olivia said just before the salesman approached them.

“Welcome,” the man said with a huge smile. “Looking for a new car for the missus?”

“The missus,” he said with a hint of sarcasm, “is looking for a new car. I’m just along for the ride.” He stepped back. To the man’s credit, he turned his full attention on Olivia, who asked a bunch of questions and then moved on to a newer model with fewer miles.

In the end, he followed her out the front door and drove her to another lot on the other side of town to see what options they had. Again, he stood back as she talked to a saleswoman this time.

He was impressed with the Subaru Forester she was looking at. The price was within her budget and, even though it had higher miles than he would have liked, it wasn’t as bad as what she’d been looking at on the first lot.

In the end, she talked the saleswoman down a couple thousand dollars and got her to add on a year of free oil changes and tire rotations.

“Impressive,” he said quietly when the saleswoman disappeared to go get the paperwork for Olivia to sign. “Next time I need a new car, I’m taking you with me.”

Olivia smiled. “I’m surprisingly good at negotiations.” She shrugged. “It comes with the territory of working retail.”

An hour later, they walked out of the building, and Olivia held her new set of keys. The car had been cleaned and detailed while they’d waited for her paperwork to forward to the car dealer.

“So”—he smiled at her new ride— “want to take me for a ride?”

She laughed. “Sure, hop in. You can buy me lunch.” She leaned up and kissed him as he laughed.

They drove to a burger place and sat out in the sun and ate lunch. The entire time her eyes were on her new car.