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“Of course. There isn’t anything I’ve forgotten.” Taking a chance, I lift his hand and kiss the back of it. “For what it’s worth, I miss you both every single fucking day.”

“That’s worth a lot,” Marco says, still holding my arm.

I blow out a breath, trying to find my composure again. “Do you want to hear the chef’s specials for the evening?”

“No,” Marco says. “Bring us what you want us to have. It’s Des’s night, after all.”

I nod, searching Des’s eyes before turning to Marco. “It would be my pleasure.”

Standing, I smooth my chef’s jacket and nod before forcing my feet to carry me back to the kitchen. They want me to come over tonight and talk. All this time I figured they’d never want to see me again, or they’d have found someone else to fill the hole I left, but they want to see me, and if the way they looked at me is any indication, the love might still be there.

For the first time in almost three years, a sliver of hope radiates in my chest. Maybe I can right all the shit I did wrong and get back to where I belong. What that looks like now is anyone’s guess, but this is the second chance I never thought I’d have.

ChapterThree

Marco

“You knew he was here, didn’t you?”

I nod, reaching over to hold Des’s hand. “I did. I’ve been tracking him a little bit over the years. I knew you didn’t want to hear about it, so I kept it to myself. Randomly, I decided to look him up a couple of weeks ago and I saw on his socials that he was here. I called in a favor with Brent, and well, you know the rest.”

Des nods as he stares at the table.

“Are you upset with me?”

He lifts his head. “No. God, no. Thank you. I can’t believe I thought it would be better to block him out.”

“You did what you had to do. I took a wild chance tonight, believing in my heart that he’d want to see us as much as we’d want to see him, and I’m pretty sure I was right.”

“You’re always right.”

“I wish.” I lean across the table. “Did you see the way he looked at you? Did you see all that love in his eyes?”

“I saw a lot of things. Do you think…” He shakes his head. “Maybe I shouldn’t get my hopes up. He could leave again.”

“Let’s stay open to hear what he has to say. It’s been a long time and we both know how much can change. His plans haven’t worked out the way he hoped. Maybe he needs a soft place to land again. We can be that for him.”

Des nods, nibbling on his bottom lip. “I’m scared, babe. I don’t think I could handle it if he left us again. Maybe we should just keep it friendly for a while.”

“We were never capable of being only friends with him. The minute we met him… Do you remember?”

Des smiles as his shoulders finally relax. “How could I forget? That smile.”

“Kryptonite.”

“We were just about to leave that bar when we spotted him on the dance floor, moving like a charmer to a snake. It worked. He drew us in.”

“He sure did.”

“He was so beautiful,” Des whispers. “Young. God, we were all so young.”

“We’re not old yet, lover.”

“I guess not. He was always like a shot of espresso for us though, wasn’t he?”

“He was. We were the anchor he needed.”

“I don’t want to hope, but I can’t help it. I never thought I’d see him again. I don’t think anything has changed for me.”