Love's Second Chance (Second Chances Series) Read online

  “What are you doing next weekend?” Galen asked. He leaned up against the door casually and crossed his arms. My eyes drifted to those muscular biceps and I remembered all too well how they felt when he was holding me close. His arms were one of my favorite parts of his body. Galen wasn’t a stocky man, but his arms were nothing except muscle. His T-shirt fit snugly around his biceps, and in that moment I craved to have those arms around me.

  “Are you asking me out again so soon?” I teased.

  His shoulders shook with silent laughter, and again he gave me that dashing smile. “Yes, I am. I had more fun with you tonight than I’ve had in a really long time, and I know you had fun, too. Your smile said it all.” Moving closer, he engulfed me in the pure, masculine scent of him that was all male. His voice dipped lower when he revealed his next thought, “And I’ve missed you. I’ve thought about you every day since you left.”

  I didn’t know how to respond to his last comment so I tried to play it off. It was too soon to speak the words that were really on my mind. I couldn’t tell him that I wondered about him, too. “Are you going to be taking up all my weekends? Because I have to tell you, I might be busy on some of them,” I joked teasingly.

  His lip curled up in a seductive smirk. “I’ll take my chances.”

  “I’m not going to lie … I wouldn’t mind you taking up my weekends, but remember I want to keep this on a friend level. Okay?”

  He nodded. “I understand. Well, how about this? You pick what we do next weekend. It’s your turn to pay anyway, since you were so adamant about paying at the track. I’ll leave it up to you to take this to whatever level you want it.”

  “Agreed,” I said approvingly. Uncrossing his arms, he moved away from the door. He pulled me in for a hug, and at first I stiffened, but then the heat of his body had me liquefying where I stood. Relishing in the familiar scent of his cologne, and from him in general, I moved closer to breathe him in.

  He made me shiver in response when he sighed in my ear. “I don’t want to overstep the boundaries you have, but I’ve missed this. I’ve missed the way you feel in my arms.” His warm breath tickled along my neck, sending goose bumps down the whole expanse of my body. He pulled back slightly from the embrace, and in my heart I wanted to protest. When I didn’t respond, he asked softly, “Do you not have anything to say about that?”

  “I’m not sure what to say,” I whispered.

  “You’ll know soon.”

  Surprising me, he laid a soft, gentle kiss upon my cheek before releasing his arms around my waist. He made sure to let his fingers linger a little longer than normal on my hips. I smirked at him to let him know I caught it, and he smiled in response. Backing up slowly, his eyes never wavering from mine, he made his way to the stairs and started descending them one by one.

  “Goodnight, Korinne!” he called out from down the stairs.

  “Goodnight, Galen!” I hollered after him. I watched him get in his truck and drive away before I finally decided to unlock my door. The place on my cheek tingled from where he had kissed me, and I instinctively reached up to touch it. Deep down in my heart, I knew I secretly wished it was my lips he’d kissed.

  Chapter Six

  Seeing Korinne brought back a horde of memories, both good and bad. I could tell she wanted to keep her distance, but I already let her go once and I refused to do it again. She isn’t the same as she was before. It’s like she’s trapped somehow and needs to be let free. Hopefully, with time she’ll be the same Korinne I knew and loved eight years ago.

  The day Brady told me about Korinne’s marriage to Carson I let the anger consume me. After all those years I thought I had moved on, but that day I heard the news it all came crashing down on me. Korinne and I had only been apart for two years at that time, and I knew she had moved on, but I never imagined the level of anger and hurt I would feel at the thought of her spending the rest of her life with another man. It made me sick to think of someone else holding her and touching her, even worse making love to her.

  How could I get her to love me again? Ideas swam in my head, ways to break down the wall she had built up around her heart. Being at work and looking at the blueprints spread out before me, I couldn’t seem to find the time to concentrate. Not when Korinne was on my mind. The plan to find Korinne’s spark ignited into existence when I remembered the fiasco I went through a couple of months ago when a decorator completely botched a project. I knew exactly where to start with my plan and who was going to help me.

  “Rebecca!” I called out. Jumping as if I’d scared her, she placed her hand over her chest.

  “You startled me!” she gasped and took in a deep breath. “Is there anything I can do for you, Mr. Matthews?”

  “As a matter of fact, there is,” I said, smiling. “I have an idea and I’m going to need your help. It’ll be the perfect plan in getting Korinne here if she cooperates. Are you in?”

  Her face lit up. “Of course I’m in. Tell me what I need to do.”

  I leaned over the desk and explained the situation to Rebecca. Her smile grew wider the more I told her, and when I was done she happily complied to follow through with my demands. “You must really fancy this girl to go through all this trouble,” she mentioned. “I wish my Edward would show this kind of effort, but you know how we old people are. I’ll head over there now and get to work.”

  “Thank you, Becky. I really appreciate it.”

  Rolling her eyes, she waved me off. “Go call your lady so we can get this ball rolling.”

  Excited and confident, I headed back into my office to make the call. Taking in a deep breath, I slowly dialed Korinne’s number. This had to work, I said to myself.

  “Hello,” she huffed, sounding out of breath.

  “Hey,” I replied casually. “What are you doing?”

  “I just got through taking a run. What are you doing? I see you couldn’t wait until Friday to speak to me,” she bantered humorously.

  “No, I couldn’t,” I agreed. She laughed as if she didn’t believe me, but it was the truth. I had wanted to call her the moment I left her at her doorstep. “I know we don’t have plans until Friday, but I wanted to know if we could do lunch today.”

  The line went quiet for a few seconds, but then she answered. “When and where?”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “How about you meet me in an hour at the Rose Café?”

  “Let me take a quick shower and I’ll be there. I need to hurry if I’m going to make it on time.” She chuckled. “I’ll see you there,” she said quickly before hanging up.

  First step accomplished! “Becky!” I called out triumphantly.

  She ran into the office and squealed, “Did she accept?”

  “Yes, she did! I’m supposed to meet her in an hour. Make sure everything is ready to go in two, and don’t forget to call me with the emergency like we planned.”

  “Will do!” She giggled. “I’m most definitely sure this awesome plan of yours is going to work, Mr. Matthews.”

  I truly hoped so, I thought to myself.

  The Rose Café was a small sandwich shop on the other side of downtown a few blocks from my building. There were so many around this area, but this one had always been my favorite. Walking up to the door, I spied Korinne already sitting at a table, drinking a glass of sweet tea. She seemed so calm and peaceful it was hard not to stare at her. She looked like an angel, a sexy as hell angel. Never before was I able to get enough of her, and I feared that I wouldn’t be able to now as well.

  Korinne was never one to wear a lot of makeup, and I always loved that about her. Her natural beauty outshined any woman that crossed my path. Her tight jeans were molded to the curves of her body, and her top hugged a set of perfectly sized breasts. Not too big and not too small, just … perfect. My body responded to my wayward thoughts. Once I headed inside I couldn’t very well enter there with a hard on, so I tried desperately not to think the thoughts of Korinne’s lush body and the way it melded to mine. Spott
ing me by the door, she waved. Her smile grew brighter the closer I got to her.

  “So what do I owe the pleasure of your company today?” she asked sweetly.

  I sat in the seat across from her and smiled. “I couldn’t wait until Friday,” I responded honestly.

  A blush spread across her face and I found it endearing. Taking a quick glance at my watch, I calculated how much time we had before Rebecca’s call would come in. We have forty-five minutes to spare.

  “Are you on a schedule?” she asked, looking at my watch.

  I shook my head. “No, I was just making sure I wasn’t late.”

  She narrowed her eyes and quirked a brow. “Mm … hmm,” she mumbled sarcastically.

  Korinne and I ordered our food, and I wasn’t shocked to see that she ordered a BLT with extra bacon. That was always her favorite sandwich when we would eat together at our favorite sandwich shop in college. By the time we were finished eating, my phone rang with the expected call from Rebecca. It was show time.

  “Rebecca, what’s up?” Korinne stiffened. At first I looked at her questioningly, but then it hit me. I said a female’s name, and she had no clue who Becky was. Could it be that Korinne was a little jealous? This was a good start, or at least it showed she cared if I talked to other women. As much as I wanted to bask in this development I needed to appear perturbed.

  “Yes! I understand!” I snapped into the phone. “I’ll be right there.” Closing the phone, I ran my hands through my hair in mock frustration.

  “What’s wrong?” Korinne asked, concerned. “Who was that?”

  “It was Rebecca,” I said. “It seems I have a situation at one of my developments that needs my attention. I hate to cut our luncheon short, but … you could always come with me?”

  “Yeah, I guess I could,” she replied. “Who’s Rebecca by the way?”

  “Why do you want to know?” I asked with a hint of humor in my tone.

  “I don’t know, maybe to see how many women you have chasing you around.”

  “Trust me, Korinne, you are the only woman in my life right now,” I told her. Her shoulders visibly relaxed and she let out her breath. I pretended not to notice.

  Once I paid for lunch, we hastily left the café. On the way to my car I grabbed her hand in the process, pulling her along with me. “Do you need me to drive?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “No, my car is just right around the corner. You can ride with me.”

  When Korinne saw my car, I noticed the huge grin on her face. She seemed fascinated with my choice of vehicle. “Now this is what I can picture you in. Not that I don’t like Big Blue, but this is definitely you,” she beamed.

  “I searched everywhere for the perfect Ford Mustang. I bought it brand new about a year ago,” I informed her. It was electric blue with white racing stripes, and nothing could beat the sound of its motor. We climbed into the car and I drove us toward one of the developments of houses I was designing. Rebecca should be there already getting things set up. We pulled in the long, U-shaped driveway and headed through the giant double doors. Rebecca was pacing inside, and when she saw us she ran straight to me.

  “Oh, thank goodness you’re here now. Look at this disaster!” she screamed, pointing around the house. Korinne walked ahead and searched through the many rooms of the house. I smirked at Rebecca behind Korinne’s back and she stifled a laugh. She had outdone herself with making the house look like shit. Rebecca’s going to need a huge raise after putting together this fiasco, I thought to myself.

  When Korinne reached the main sitting room, she gave an audible gasp. It echoed loudly throughout the house. When I saw the mess before me it was hard not to break down and laugh. Becky really had outdone herself. The room was a complete mess with mismatched furniture and hideous looking fixtures. It was a little unbelievable, but it seemed to be doing the job as I studied Korinne’s expressions.

  “What the hell happened here?” she asked, sounding disgusted. “This is terrible! Who’s your decorator?”

  I glanced around the room, appearing to be disgusted as well. “Someone who doesn’t work for me anymore, that’s who.” I turned to Rebecca. “We need to find someone to come in here and fix this as soon as possible. We have a showing tomorrow and I can’t have it looking like this!” I called out, sounding as angry as I could muster.

  “I tried! I called everyone I could think of, and so far no one is available. We might have to cancel the showing,” she sputtered, sounding defeated.

  I sat in one of the mismatched chairs and lowered my head in my hands, groaning in anger, or at least pretending to be. Please take the bait, I said to myself. Out of the corner of my eye I could see her hesitate for a few seconds, but she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. I smiled inside because I knew I had triumphed. When that look of concentration took over her face I could tell she was entering her zone.

  I lowered my head quickly before Korinne saw me watching her. She walked over and pulled my hands away from my face gently. Tears began to build in her swirling gray eyes. They didn’t appear to be tears of pain, but tears of … joy.

  “Galen,” she whispered, looking deep into my eyes. “I don’t know how well I’ll do, but I think I can fix this. I’ll do it for you.”

  “I thought you weren’t ready, Korinne. I don’t want you feeling obligated to help me.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t feel obligated, but I feel in my heart that I can do this. Besides, you’re going to owe me big time if I do it.”

  I raised my brow, intrigued. “What do you have in mind?”

  She quirked her lips and smiled. “I’m sure you can think of something, and it better be good.” The old Korinne was slowly peeking out, and I was enjoying watching her resurface. I could think of a million things I could do to her that would make it good, but it just so happens I knew what I was going to do to pay her back.

  I nodded in agreement. “I have just the idea. There’s been a change of plans, this weekend is mine.”

  Her smile was contagious, and I found myself wishing it was Friday already. When I accentuated the “mine” part of my statement, I meant that in every way possible. The gleam in her eye was answer enough. I could see and feel that her needs were just as great as mine. So much for keeping it on the friend level.

  Chapter Seven

  I didn’t know how it happened, but to be able to find my inspiration had opened a new door for me. I wanted it again, to feel the way I did when my ideas just flowed. Transforming that monstrosity of a house into something beautiful and elegant was heaven for me. It made me feel … alive.

  It was Friday morning and everything seemed brighter … clearer. I thought coming home would be a mistake, but it was turning out to be the best thing I could have done. I would never forget Carson, but getting back to work helped me forget the pain for a while. I felt free and happy for the first time in months.

  Galen had something special planned for the evening and all I could think about was how nervous I was. He owed me the date even though it was my weekend to pick the place. He always chose fun and creative things to do, so I wasn’t going to complain. Our relationship was never boring. In fact, that was what scared me. The look in his eyes conveyed that he had more than just a simple date in mind. When Galen wants something he gets it. I meant it when I said we should keep things on a friend level, but I could see the need in him. It burned in him the same way it burned in me. I couldn’t resist him in the past, and I didn’t think I was strong enough to resist him now.

  The text startled me as I was finishing up the last touches of my makeup in the bathroom. I looked down and smiled while reading the text from Galen.

  Galen: Are you ready for tonight?

  Me: I think so … lol.

  Galen: Good! Wear something nice.

  Me: Okay, where are we going?

  Galen: It’s a surprise! No questions.

  Me: FINE!

  Galen: Pack a bathing suit and a change of clothes, t
oo.

  What was he thinking? We were still in the winter season. Unfortunately, with Galen there was no telling what he had in mind. Once, in college, I dared him to jump into a frozen creek. Needless to say, he pulled me in, too. We both ended up sick for a week after that. My phone dinged with another text from him.

  Galen: Oh, yeah. Be ready by six-thirty.

  Me: Why do I need a bathing suit?

  Galen: No questions, remember?

  Me: OKAY!

  Looking at the time, I had one more hour to spare. Finding a bathing suit wasn’t going to be easy since I didn’t know what box they were stored in. Rummaging through them, I finally found my collection of bathing suits. I grabbed two of them, and packed several changes of clothes in my overnight bag. I was sure Galen was going to tease me when he saw how huge my bag was.

  After numerous changes from pants to skirts and then back again, I settled on a cream-colored sweater and brown dress slacks. The outfit was dressy, just like Galen asked, but not over the top. I made sure to show a little cleavage so I wouldn’t look like a prude. My stomach was in knots and my mind was racing. I went to the kitchen and poured a glass of wine. I needed about twenty glasses to help calm my nerves, or better yet maybe a few shots of vodka.

  By the time I heard the knock on the door, I had downed two glasses of wine. My nerves weren’t so frazzled anymore, and I actually felt calm and relaxed. Galen was leaning against the door frame when I opened the door, and his smoldering blue eyes raked up and down my entire body, lingering on my breasts, before meeting my eyes. Just that gesture sent chills racking through my body, making me shiver.