Second Chance Love by Shawn Inmon Read Free Book Online Page A

Not really. I mean, kind of, I guess. Just a little eyeliner and lipstick I found in the bathroom this morning while I was getting ready.”
    “Mmmm-hmmmm. You’re playing music in the store. You’re wearing makeup. And you're acting like nothing happened.” Gail’s eyebrows shot up and she looked stern. “Spill.”
    Elizabeth was just starting to form a denial when the bell chimed again. The door opened halfway. Steve Larson poked his head in inquisitively, saying “Hello?” as if entering an actor’s dressing room instead of a place of business.
    Elizabeth’s eyes flew wide in surprise. “Steve! What are you doing here?”
    Steve stepped inside, grabbed the first book he saw, looked at the spine and said “I’ve been looking everywhere for a copy of… ummm…” He squinted, saw that the title was Your Vulva and You , put it down, and grabbed the next nearest book. "... The Silmarillion . Yes. I’ve been looking everywhere for it, and I heard this place had a copy. I had no idea you worked here, Lizzie.”
    Elizabeth shook her head.
    Meanwhile, Gail was close to setting a new non-speaking personal record (awake division) when she looked at Elizabeth, then at Steve, then back at Elizabeth in triumph. “I knew it! ‘Lizzie?’ Who in the world calls you ‘Lizzie?’”
    Steve noticed Gail for the first time. “Sorry. I’m Steve. Steve Larson. Lizzie and I are old friends. Since junior high. We ran into each other on Christmas Eve for the first time in twenty years and I just wanted to stop in and say hi.”
    “Mmmm-hmmmm.” She lifted her right eyebrow. “I feel like I’ve walked into the middle of one of those Lifetime Christmas movies, and I’ve been cast as the black best friend. Damn it. I always hoped I’d be playing the lead…”
    Elizabeth came around the counter and gave Steve a quick hug. “Seriously, Steve. What are you doing here? Don’t you have a company to run?”
    “Oh, it pretty much runs itself these days. Well, not quite, but it won’t miss me for a few minutes. I was so tangled up in seeing you again that I forgot to tell you—I have to go out of town today. I'd rather cancel the trip, but I’m scheduled to give a keynote address, and I can’t get out of it.”
    “There’s no reason you should,” Elizabeth said.
    “Well, I can think of more than one, but it doesn’t matter because I have to go. Anyway, after that trip, I fly straight to Japan to talk to some potential investors, so I’ll be gone almost three weeks.”
    Three weeks? Ouch. Elizabeth forced a smile. “Okay, see you when you get back.”
    Steve raised an eyebrow and gave her a mock-wounded smile. “You could at least pretend that it’s bad news that you’re not going to see me for three weeks. I’m going to miss you.”
    “Forty-eight hours ago, I hadn’t seen you in twenty years. I think I can manage three weeks now.”
    “Always-Practical-Lizzie,” Steve said, a name he had tagged her with in high school. “Anyway, my reason for coming by, other than to get my ego dented, was to see if you would go with me to the Winterland Gala. It’s a charity event on January 18 th to raise money for literacy projects in the inner city.”
    “Oh, Steve, I’m sorry, but I can’t. I don’t have anything to wear, and… I would be uncomfortable.”
    “Why? You’d be with me. And I can buy a dress for you. What’s your size? I can have a dozen dresses sent over here this afternoon. Just pick out one you like.”
    Elizabeth sighed. “I was afraid of this. Steve, I can’t let you buy me a dress, especially not from someone that delivers them here to the bookstore. Do you know how expensive that is?”
    Steve opened his mouth to object, but Lizzie cut him off.
    “You’re about to say that the cost doesn’t matter, but that’s because you have money. It matters to me. I…”
    Gail stepped forward, put her hand on Elizabeth’s arm and spoke over her: “Mr. Larson, Miss Elizabeth will gladly accept