Second Chance Girl (Happily Inc. #2)

Carol was in her office, waiting for her computer to boot. Her eyes widened with surprise.

“Do you know what time it is?” she asked, her tone teasing. “Shouldn’t you be asleep?”

“I wish.” She offered one of the coffees, then set the box of donuts on the desk. Irritation and hurt and a dozen other emotions burned. “I’m so angry, I couldn’t sleep.”

Her sister immediately looked concerned. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“Yes. No. I guess. I just...” She stomped her foot, wishing Ulrich’s head was in the vicinity of her shoe. “For the record, English dukes are stupid. Especially Ulrich.” She collapsed into a chair and groaned. “I hate him. No, I disdain him. He’s loathsome.”

“Okay, tell me who he is so I can hate him, too.”

“You know I get buttons from all over the world,” Violet began. “I got started when I was in England like twelve years ago.”

“Nana Winifred,” Carol said. “The dowager duchess of...” Her voice trailed off as her eyes widened. “His mother?”

“Grandmother. And she’s not the problem. I buy and sell buttons. That’s what I do. It’s how I make my living. But does he know that? No. Instead of asking anything, he waltzed into my store with his prissy accent and accused me of stealing!”

Violet briefly explained what had happened. “He threatened me, if you can believe it.”

“What a jerk. Do you need to talk to a lawyer or something?”

“I don’t think so. I have records of all my purchases. I didn’t steal anything. As for taking advantage of his grandmother, I buy everything sight unseen. If anyone is at risk, it’s me. He’s a pinhead.” She sipped her coffee. “Good-looking, but still. That’s no excuse.”

She thought about everything he’d said. “He didn’t talk to me first, you know. He just accused. There was no thought that he might have been wrong. And to think that all this time, I’d liked him.”

Carol’s brows drew together. “Okay, you’ve lost me again. What?”

“That summer when Mom took me to England and you stayed with Dad, that’s when I met Ulrich. He was four years older and I thought he was so sophisticated and handsome. There was a dance. He danced with me.” She didn’t mention the part about him telling her that she would grow up to be a beauty. That was too private to share, even with her sister who knew almost everything about her.

“I was a kid and he was nice at a time when not many guys were. I daydreamed.”

“Your handsome prince.” Carol’s tone was sympathetic. “Or in this case, your handsome duke.”

“Who turned out to be a complete jerk. I hate him.”

“You disdain him,” her sister corrected mildly.

“That, too. He ruined everything. It’s so unfair. I was minding my own business, and then suddenly, there he was, polluting my world.” Violet reached for a donut and took a bite. “I know he can’t hurt me. Nana Winifred is going to be furious when she finds out about this. I hope she slaps him.” The thought of the elderly woman backhanding Ulrich across his high cheekbones brightened her morning.

“You have quite the vindictive streak,” Carol said mildly. “I totally respect it and you. So you’re not going to do anything.”

“I’m not sure what I would do. Call his grandmother? That sounds like tattling. Plus it would break her heart and I don’t want that. She adores Ulrich.” Which meant the cliché of there being no accounting for taste was painfully true.

“What’s the next step?”

“Aside from whining to you?” Violet sighed. “There isn’t one. I’m only sorry I danced with him.” And liked it. That was the real kick in the gut. That she’d liked the dance and the man and she’d imagined oh so many wonderful things about him.

“But if I ever see him again, I’m going to tell him he’s a complete and total jerk.”

“You go girl,” Carol told her.

*

MATHIAS GLANCED AT the clock and knew he didn’t have much time. He put down the small glass piece he was working and pulled off his protective goggles. It was nearly three in the afternoon, so approaching eight in the morning outside of Shanghai. Maya, his brother Del’s fiancée, had emailed him requesting a video call. They’d settled on a date and time, although Mathias honestly had no idea why she wanted to speak to him. He barely knew Maya.

She’d been his brother’s girlfriend back in high school, but he hadn’t bothered paying attention to much beyond his own life. By the time she’d returned to Fool’s Gold a few years ago, he and Ronan had already left their little hometown in the California mountains. They’d met a couple of times since, but that was it. So what did she want with him now?

A question that would be answered soon enough, he told himself just as his screen shifted to show an incoming call.

He hit the video button and Maya appeared on his screen. She was a pretty, green-eyed blonde wearing an oversize T-shirt and holding a mug.

“Morning,” she said with a smile.

“Afternoon. How’s China?”

“Good. How are the States?”

“Also good.”

Maya grinned. “I hear you’re taking care of Sophie for a month. How’s that going?”

He grimaced. “Let’s not talk about that. I’ve had to bribe Natalie, our office manager, to keep her in her office while I work. That dog has an uncanny ability to find the most expensive piece of glass with her tail and destroy it.”

“Yikes. I’m sorry.”

“Me, too. I’ve hired a dog walker in a futile attempt to tire her out. She gets two walks a day. She sleeps well, but loudly.” He thought about mentioning the massive piles of poop, but decided against it. Maya was probably still on her first cup of coffee.

“You’re being domesticated,” Maya teased. “By the time Elaine’s back, you won’t want to let Sophie go.”

Mathias leaned back in his chair. “Right. That’s going to happen.”

She laughed. “Okay, maybe you won’t be sobbing, but I suspect she’ll find her way into your heart.” She took a sip of her drink. “So you’re probably wondering what I wanted to talk about.”

“I am.”

“It’s the wedding. You know it’s at the end of the month, right?”

“I received your charming email invite, so yes.”

“Good. I was hoping you could help with that.”

“I don’t understand. With what?”

“The wedding. Planning it, really.”

Mathias nearly came out of his chair. “You’re getting married in less than four weeks and you haven’t planned your wedding?”

He was aware that he sounded painfully like a woman, but even he knew that weddings took months to pull together. There were a million details about which he knew nothing.

“I have my dress,” Maya said helpfully. “That’s something. Originally Del and I were just going to do the justice of the peace thing but we’ve been talking and we want a traditional wedding. There’s a business in town—Weddings Out of the Box. I’ve spoken with the owner. Do you know her? Is she the one engaged to Nick?”

“She is and you should be talking to her, not me.”