Second Chance Girl (Happily Inc. #2)

Carol sighed. Sisters—who knew they could be a problem? “Thanks for suggesting we have coffee,” she said as cheerfully as she could. She motioned to the giant cinnamon roll she’d already purchased. “I was hoping we could share. Otherwise I’ll eat the whole thing and wake up weighing 400 pounds.”

“I don’t think that’s how metabolism works.” Violet eyed her. “There’s something. Don’t think you can hide it from me.” She pointed to the short line at the counter. “I’m going to get coffee and another fork. You can use that time to figure out how to either cough up the truth or lie your way out of whatever you have going on.” She took a step, then stopped. “And remember, I can always tell when you’re lying.”

Carol wanted to say that wasn’t true, only it was. She and her sister were close, which was why she’d agreed to coffee. After her unsettling evening, she’d wanted a friendly face and a bit of female support. Only she’d forgotten that although her sister loved her, she wasn’t a pushover. Which meant either coming clean or making up a very believable story. While Carol knew she had many lovely qualities, she also knew that all the creativity genes had gone to Violet. So annoying.

Rather than fight the inevitable, Carol waited until her sister had taken the seat opposite.

“Fine,” she said, her voice low. “I had sex with Mathias last night. Sort of.”

Violet’s mouth fell open, her eyes widened and she nearly dropped her fork. “I... You... What? Mathias? But I didn’t know you two were... Wait. What do you mean sort of?”

Carol took another bite of cinnamon roll. When life got confusing, sugar and fat were always a comfort.

“We’re not dating, if that’s what you’re asking. We’re friends. He’s into those sexy bridesmaids and I’m...”

“Not?”

Carol smiled. “Exactly.” Her smile faded. “I don’t know what exactly happened.”

“Oh, honey, then one of you was doing it wrong.”

“You’re not helping.”

“Sorry. I’m confused, but I’ll focus. So what happened?”

Carol explained about driving home and seeing Mathias walking Sophie. There had been the invitation to come over and margaritas and one thing had led to another...almost.

“He passed out before we could...you know.”

Violet leaned close. “Seriously? You just told me you had oral sex with Mathias but you can’t say intercourse?”

“That is hardly the point.” She glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one had settled close to them. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to say the next time I see him.”

“I think mockery is in order.”

“How is that helpful?”

“It’s the truth. Come on, the man passed out. That’s all on him, not you.” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re not blaming yourself, are you?”

Carol shifted in her seat. “Not exactly. It’s just, I’m not like the women he sees. They’re all so glamorous and beautiful.”

“They’re in wedding clothes. Of course they look all fancy.”

Logic, Carol thought. How annoying. “Maybe if I was different he would have stayed awake.”

“Only if you were coffee. Carol, you know he had way too much to drink. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I feel awful.”

“Imagine how he feels. Talking about humiliating.”

Carol stared at her sister. “I never thought of that. You’re right. He has to be devastated. I mean, he’s a guy and he just passed out. That’s not good.”

“See. You’re the innocent party.”

She liked the sound of that. Last night she’d been so shocked, she hadn’t known what to do. She’d let Sophie out and had tidied up, then left. But she hadn’t been able to sleep or known what to think. Even worse, she couldn’t stop thinking about how great the sex had been. Imagine if they’d been able to continue!

“So what do I say when I see him?”

“Probably avoid words like loser.”

“Violet!”

“Sorry. I don’t know. What do you want to say?”

“I’m not sure. I haven’t heard from him yet.” She’d kind of thought he might text her, but so far there hadn’t been a word.

“You will. I’m sure he’s trying to figure out how to crawl out from under his rock. Plus he probably doesn’t feel very good.”

“I’m sure he’ll apologize,” Carol murmured. “I’ll wait until that happens, then tell him it’s fine.”

“You sure you don’t want to demand a rematch?”

Carol’s stomach tightened. She would like nothing more, but sex on demand seemed way too risky. What if Mathias was regretting what had happened? What if he never wanted to see her again?

She knew she was looking for trouble, but it was difficult to be rational about the whole thing. She wasn’t like Violet—she had no sense of style, no attitude. Mathias was all attitude.

“I want things to go back the way they were,” she lied, hoping her sister didn’t notice. “I’m sure they will.”

“After he grovels.”

“Yes, after that. So how was dinner with your Englishman?”

She’d thought Violet might resist changing the subject, but instead her sister slumped in her seat and sighed.

“Amazing.”

“The word and the body language don’t match.”

“I know. We had a great time. He was funny and charming. My dance memory from all those years ago is restored.”

Carol smiled. “I’m glad. So he was swoon-worthy?”

“Totally.” She stabbed the cinnamon roll. “He invited me back to his hotel room.”

“Did you go?” Carol asked, although she already knew the answer.

“No. I couldn’t. I’m sure it would have been amazing, but he’s leaving and I’m not interested in that kind of thing.”

Carol studied her sister. “Your lips are saying one thing but the rest of you is saying another. Second thoughts?”

“Maybe. No. Yes.” Violet sipped her coffee. “I’m not sorry I said no and I am sorry I said no. I really like him. There’s something so appealing about him.”

“Maybe you should plan a trip to England.”

“I’m not going to go all the way over there, chasing a man. If he wanted to see me for more than a one-night stand, he would have said so. He would have stayed, or suggested we keep in touch. He did neither.”

It appeared that bitch logic had it out for the Lund sisters this morning.

“I wish I knew how to make it better,” Carol admitted.

“Thanks. I’ll be okay. It was just dinner, right? One evening in a lifetime of evenings. It doesn’t mean anything.”

Which sounded great but left Carol with the nagging feeling that both of them were lying about something really important.

*

CAROL SPENT THE NEXT twenty-four or so hours waiting for the text/phone call/visit that never came. Mathias had totally dropped out of sight and she honestly had no idea what to think. Embarrassment was one thing, as was regret, but this? What was the man thinking?

As her mind was more than willing to provide a hundred not-flattering-to-her scenarios to answer that question, she tried another tack. Was he sick? Injured? Had he moved to Borneo to avoid a humiliating morning after? Had it really been that awful?