Second Chance Girl (Happily Inc. #2)

“You were so pissed at me when you first got to town,” she said conversationally.

He grimaced. “I believe I have apologized for that.”

“You should do it again.”

He smiled. “I’m very sorry that I misjudged you.”

“You assumed really bad things about me.”

“I did and it was wrong.” He studied her. “Is this your way of saying you’re into spanking and you want to punish me?”

“What? No. Never. Ick. Why would you ask that?”

He grinned. “Just checking. One never knows what others find erotic.”

“Not that.” She narrowed her gaze. “You’re not spanking me, by the way. Just so we’re clear.”

“Good to know.”

“You totally messed with my train of thought,” she complained.

“Then my work here is done.”

She smiled. Ulrich had a surprising sense of humor. He was smart and loyal, caring, determined and sexy. Falling for him was not her fault. How could anyone not want to be with him? Okay, maybe his lifestyle wasn’t for everyone—there would be a lot of expectations and it wasn’t as if his wife would ever inherit the house, but still. That was okay. Any children would be the ones—

She stared at him. “You have to have children.”

Ulrich nearly choked on his juice. “Excuse me?”

“Children. You need heirs. You have to get married and get on that, Ulrich. You have a duty to your family and the estate.”

“Volunteering?”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m serious. What are you going to do?” She sighed. “You’re going to be sensible, aren’t you? Find someone who understands your situation and wants the same things you do. Won’t that be difficult? Not to love her? Or do you think you’ll grow to love her?” Not that she wanted to think about Ulrich loving anyone, but this was bigger than them. She had to be realistic.

“You seem to have all the answers,” he said drily. “What do you think I should do?”

“I can’t decide for you. Plus, I’ll admit I’m not wild about the idea of you falling madly in love with someone else at this exact moment.” She realized what she’d said and flushed. “Not that I’m implying that you, um, are more than smitten with me. I was just making, you know, a point.”

He leaned toward her and took her hand. “I know exactly what you meant. For what it’s worth, as you Americans say, I have no interest in falling for anyone else, Violet. I will at some point have to do my duty to God and my country but that is not for today. Today is about us. Agreed?”

She nodded, then wondered how he defined smitten. Did he like her a lot? Did he like her really a lot? Or was he possibly in love with her?

She knew there was no way she would ask, which made her pathetic, but better to wonder than find out the answer wasn’t what she wanted to hear.

“I’m glad you danced with me all those summers ago,” she said instead.

“As am I.”

She laughed. “You don’t even remember me. I was simply one in a series of duty dances. I, on the other hand, will treasure the memory forever.”

“In that, sweet Violet, you are far more fortunate than I.”

*

MATHIAS PULLED THE small statue of a glass bird out of an Amazon box. “You drove down the mountain like this?”

Ronan shrugged. “I used tissue paper.”

“Not very much.”

Ronan had shown up at the studio with several boxes, all filled with his artwork. He’d decided to use the fund-raiser to showcase a few more of his bird pieces. Or as Nick put it, yard sale a few dusty leftovers.

Mathias turned the smallest of the birds so it was directly under the light. He could practically feel the wind ruffling feathers as the creature took flight. Damn, his brother was good.

Nick had also set out a few of his wood carvings. There was a three-foot-tall giraffe that was a surprise to everyone.

“I worked at home,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Pallas’s neighbors had to love the sound of a chain saw going at all hours.” Ronan crossed to the elegant carving and ran his hands down the smooth neck. “I don’t know how you do this.”

“I didn’t plan on a giraffe, but that’s what it wanted to be.”

Nick had also set out a couple of plant carvings, along with a crouching cheetah.

“I sense a theme here,” Ronan said. “And we’ll all be represented.”

Mathias glanced at his own work. The two pieces stood on a thick pedestal in the back of the studio. He hadn’t yet decided whether he would show them or not. When he’d finished, he’d been sure, now he wasn’t. He figured he would wait until Thursday night and make his final decision then.

The studio doors opened. In the second before the visitors appeared, Mathias felt something cold slip across the back of his neck. When Ceallach and Elaine walked in, he couldn’t help thinking of the late, great Obi Wan Kenobi. There has been a great disturbance in the Force. Only when compared with Ceallach Mitchell ready to assess his sons’ work, Darth Vader seemed kind and gentle.

“I just had to see where you worked,” Elaine said cheerfully, hurrying over and hugging each of them. “So I can picture it later.”

Mathias thought about pointing out that she’d been to the office to drop off Sophie and she hadn’t been all that interested in touring it back then. Then he told himself not to be an asshole. His mother would do what she always did in situations like this. Dance around her husband, trying to keep the peace without actually siding with any of her children. Funny how that had always pissed him off before, yet right now he couldn’t summon much beyond sympathy. She’d picked a difficult road when she’d married Ceallach. He wondered if she questioned whether or not it had been worth it.

Ceallach walked directly to Ronan’s bird pieces and studied each of them. The room went quiet. It was more than the principal showing up in a classroom. This was a god come down from on high. Mere mortals who wanted to keep their lives knew to be quiet and await judgment. Only when it came to his father, Mathias had never been very good at following the rules.

“Pretty rad, huh, Dad?” he said.

Nick and Ronan both shot him a look, warning him to shut up. He ignored them.

“The way the feathers seem to flutter. You can feel the breeze. Ronan has some talent.”

Ceallach walked around the pieces. Elaine hovered by Ronan, lightly touching his arm, as if wanting to reassure herself he was real. Mathias wondered if this was the first time she’d seen him since she’d arrived for the wedding. Ronan, being a total jerk, took a step away from her.

“There’s too much movement,” Ceallach said at last. “It’s distracting.”

Nick snorted. “It’s glass, Dad. How can there be too much movement? Movement is life. That’s what we’re trying to re-create.”

“Think what you want and be wrong,” their father said as he crossed to Nick’s carvings. “I see you’re still wasting your time with wood.”

“Every single day.”

Ceallach circled the giraffe. “I’ve seen worse.”