Second Chance Girl (Happily Inc. #2)

Her attention split neatly in two. Part of her brain—the sensible part—was annoyed and wanted to tell him she had a whole bunch of words she could use and none of them would be approved for listening by anyone under the age of eighteen or with delicate sensibilities. The other part of her paused to notice how dreamy he looked with his chiseled features and dark blond hair. Oh, the suit was nice, too. Tailored, probably custom from that fancy street in London.

Her sensible half won. “What are you doing here?” she demanded. “And I don’t mean on the planet or even in this country. What are you doing here, in my friend’s business? Are you following me? Stalking me? Last time you threatened me with all kinds of scary law enforcement. Now it’s my turn. Explain yourself or I’ll be on with 9-1-1 in a heartbeat.”

Ulrich’s stern mouth turned up at the left corner, as if he were trying not to smile. “I went to your shop. You’d left a note on the door saying where you were. I will admit, despite Americans claiming to speak English, we do occasionally have a bit of verbal confusion. Did I misunderstand?”

Damn him! Violet really wanted to stomp her foot, but knew that would only hand him more of a win. She settled on tossing her head.

“That note wasn’t meant for you,” she said as icily as she could, then remembered everyone in the room just behind her.

They were all watching intently, even Maya, who looked wide-eyed with interest.

“This is fun,” the bride-to-be said and waved. “Hi. I’m in China.”

Ulrich smiled. “Lovely to meet you.”

“Thank you.”

Violet grabbed his arm, which could have been a mistake. Her fingers closed around very impressive biceps. Ulrich might wear a suit, but he wasn’t a guy who sat around all day.

“Let’s take this down the hall and let them get back to their meeting,” she said.

“As you wish.”

Her body tightened as she recognized the line from the classic old movie The Princess Bride. Only Ulrich wouldn’t know anything about that. He was simply being polite to annoy her—she was sure of it.

She carefully closed the door before moving a few feet toward the stairs. She crossed her arms and glared at Ulrich.

“Yes?”

“I would like to apologize for what I said to you the other day. I was wrong to assume the worst about you. Upon further investigation, I have discovered you are exactly who you claimed to be. The mistake is mine and I take complete responsibility for it.”

Violet was careful to keep her mouth from dropping open. As apologies went, it was pretty good. Quick, to the point, with no waffling. If only the man delivering it weren’t so annoying. Or handsome.

“Great. Apology accepted. Now if that’s all...”

“It’s not.” His steady gaze locked with hers. “I’m not just saying the words, Violet. I mean it.”

When had she gone from Miss Lund to Violet? Miss Lund was safer. Miss Lund was stern and strong. Violet was more likely to be overwhelmed by a combination of English accent and sexy smile.

“I believe you. Thank you for the message.” She looked pointedly at the closed door. “I have to get back in there.”

“Of course. There’s just one more thing.”

“There always is,” she muttered.

He ignored that. “Would you do me the honor of having dinner with me tonight? If you won’t accept for my sake, then please do so for the sake of my grandmother who speaks very highly of you.”

Another nicely delivered little speech. He must have taken a class. And while she was tempted, she wasn’t foolish. Or forgiving of the fact that he’d spoiled a perfectly good memory of a fourteen-year-old girl being swept off her feet by a handsome almost-duke.

“Thank you. You’re very kind, but I’m busy tonight.” A lie, but one she was willing to live with. “I would suggest tomorrow, but I’m sure you have to get back to whatever airport you flew in to. Your estate awaits.”

His gaze remained steady. “It does,” he said slowly. “However, this dinner is important to me. I’ll still be in town tomorrow. Shall we say six at the Mountain Top Grill?”

Drat and double drat. She couldn’t even blame anyone but herself—still, who would have thought he would be willing to stay in Happily Inc to have dinner with her? Or not—the man could have business somewhere nearby. Or simply be handling things via email and conference calls. He wasn’t staying just for her. If she thought anything else, she was foolish. Or if he was, he was because of his grandmother. Not her.

“Six,” she agreed reluctantly.

“Of course. I’ll see you then.”

He turned and walked away. Violet watched him go and did her best to quell a sudden sense of foreboding. It was dinner. Just dinner. Whatever crush she’d maintained all these years had been on a different man. Or so she hoped.

*

CAROL STRADDLED MATHIAS, her thighs nestled against his hips. They were both naked and it was all he could do to keep from touching her full breasts as she raised her arms, locking her hands behind her head. As she moved, her breasts shifted and bounced, making his erection harder and more painful. She smiled at him.

“Take me,” she whispered as she leaned close. “Take me hard and fast until we’re both—”

What? Both what?

“Carol? Carol?”

Instead of answering she laughed and licked her lips, as if taunting him. Mathias reached for her, only to come awake—drenched in sweat and sporting the world’s hardest, most painful boner.

“Dammit all to hell,” he muttered as he threw off the covers. He continued swearing for several more seconds, then had to push Sophie away as she rolled over to investigate the cause of his bad mood.

“Not your problem,” he muttered as he stood. He was aroused and uncomfortable. The sex dreams with Carol were getting worse, he thought grimly. More detailed and not the least bit satisfying. Those damned images would stay with him all day. There was only one solution to the problem.

He left Sophie snoring gently in his bed, and walked into the bathroom. Five minutes later he was in the shower, the hot water pounding his body. Talk about humiliating, he thought as he grasped his erection and began to move his hand up and down his shaft.

It didn’t take long. The relief was medicinal at best, but at least the immediate problem was solved. As for what to do about Carol—there was an issue that had no resolution.

By the time he was showered, shaved and dressed, it was nearly daylight. Sophie reluctantly got up and he took her for an early walk. They had breakfast before driving to the studio.

Mathias had an order for custom light pendants. He began by matching the colors his client had sent him, then began the slow process of creating a perfectly formed pendant to their exact measurements.

Ronan strolled in about three in the afternoon. They hadn’t seen each other since Elaine’s visit, but having Ronan disappear was hardly news. Mathias had just finished the second pendant and left it to cool. His brother wandered over to study the two pieces.

While each pendant contained the same colors and had the same pattern, they weren’t identical. Mathias had reversed the swirl so they were more of a mirror image. He planned to create the third one to match the first so there would be added vertical interest when they were hanging next to each other.

“Nice,” Ronan said. “You were precise. I like the details.”