Second Chance Girl (Happily Inc. #2)

“Nothing. We didn’t say a word. I tried to talk to Ronan a few times, but he refused. I didn’t want to go to Mom. Ceallach’s heart attack turned out to be mild, so life went on as it had for everyone else, but not for us.”

He grimaced. “The worst part was he never said a word. Not to me and not to Ronan. He acted like it had never happened. Who does that? Why wouldn’t he have checked in on us, or at least on Ronan? But he didn’t and after a few weeks Ronan told me he had to leave. I couldn’t let him go alone, so I went with him.”

“I know he was grateful.”

“I hope so. I keep thinking one day he’ll just disappear and I won’t be able to find him. I’ve tried talking to him, I’ve suggested he see a therapist.” He rolled his eyes. “That didn’t go well. The thing is, I can’t figure out what I’m supposed to do or say.”

“Maybe he has to work this out for himself.”

“What if he doesn’t? It’s been five years. I don’t want to lose him. I don’t care if he is only my half brother. To me, he’ll always be my twin.”

Which made him about the best man she’d ever met, she thought with a sigh. How was she supposed to resist that?

“Enough,” he said firmly. “Let’s talk about you. Tell me something I don’t know about your past.”

“When I was eighteen and Violet was sixteen, our mother took us to get matching tattoos.”

He stared at her. “No way.”

“It’s true. The three of us have a little butterfly on our hip.”

She could practically hear the wheels turning in his brain. They’d had sex...sort of. Shouldn’t he have noticed a tattoo?

“It’s very small and you were pretty drunk,” she said, trying to be helpful.

“Thanks for reminding me.” He leaned back on the sofa and rested his forearm across his eyes. “I’m okay with Violet having the same tattoo but I’m less sure about your mother. Did you have to tell me that?”

“You wanted me to tell you something you didn’t know. It wasn’t as if I could talk about my three broken engagements.”

The arm lifted. “Do you have three broken engagements?”

“No. Do you?”

“Nope. And I don’t have a tattoo. Damn. Now I have to get one.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to be one of the cool kids, too.” He straightened and drew her close. “Any chance I could convince you to show me what I’ve been missing?”

His voice was teasing. Had she thought he was the least bit serious, she would have ripped off her clothes in a heartbeat and done her best to seduce him right there on her sofa. Which probably meant she wasn’t mad at him anymore. So much for standing on principle or righteous indignation.

She leaned in and lightly brushed her mouth against his. “You have to get home.”

“I could text Del and let him know I’m going to be late.”

“Or you could go home.”

“I could.”

He stood and pulled her to her feet, then cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. His mouth lingered for a second before he drew back.

“Thank you.”

“You’re always welcome here, Mathias.”

He looked at her and for a second she thought he was going to say something. Maybe hint at what he really felt about her or beg her to take him to her bed. Because it wouldn’t take very much on the begging front to get her to change her mind.

But in the end, he simply smiled and promised to see her soon and then he was gone. Carol sagged back on the sofa and wrapped her arms around a pillow.

Doing the sensible thing, even when it was right, really sucked. In her next life, she was going to be bad all the time. Or maybe come back as a spoiled lapdog, which was pretty much the same thing.

*

ULRICH STROLLED THROUGH Happily Inc on his own. Violet had a meeting with a client—something about a bride who wanted her gown to be covered with stars. Beading and pearls wouldn’t do, so Violet had been on the hunt for star-inspired buttons and was going to show her what she’d found.

He would have preferred them to spend the afternoon together. They only had a few more days until he had to fly back to England, but he of all people knew the importance of duty. He couldn’t walk away from his and he had no right to get in the way of hers. So he window-shopped and enjoyed the warmth of the desert sun, all the while knowing every second that ticked by meant he was that much closer to returning home.

He didn’t want to go. Barring that, he wanted to take Violet with him. The thought had haunted him for a few days now—the endless loop in his brain asking if it was possible. Could they make a relationship work? He’d made what he thought were all the right decisions with Penelope—he’d known her, had thought he understood what she wanted from him. In the end, he’d been wrong about all of it. Did it make any sense to throw caution to the wind and commit to someone he’d only known a few weeks?

A question he wasn’t prepared to answer, he thought as he walked by the river. And perhaps that was the point—that there wasn’t an answer at all. That he was meant to take a step of blind faith.

He found himself outside of the Willow Gallery where the fund-raiser would be held. He would attend that with Violet, then drive to Los Angeles the following morning for his flight home. She had promised to come visit him and while she might be convinced to stay for a few weeks, then what? They were an ocean and a continent apart.

He saw two men carrying a large glass statue of a bird in flight and hurried to open the gallery’s rear door.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” He nodded at the statue. “The donated bit of art to raise money for Millie?” he asked, following the men inside.

The men put down the bird. They were both about his height, with dark hair and eyes, and similar features. Brothers, he thought. As he spoke, they glanced at each other.

“Bit of art?” the first man asked with a grin. “That’s one way to put it.” He stared at Ulrich. “You’re that English guy dating Violet. Mathias Mitchell.” He stuck out his hand. “This is my brother Nick.”

“Nice to meet you both. Ulrich Sherwood.”

Mathias turned to his brother. “He’s lying. He’s some lord or earl or something. Carol told me. Carol is Violet’s sister.”

“Yes, we’ve met. She’s the one with the giraffe.”

“Technically it’s an animal preserve. Giraffes, zebras, a few gazelles.”

“There’s a water buffalo,” Nick added. “You’d think it was a boy, but nope. All girls. Nobody’s having babies.”

“Are they sure?” Ulrich asked. “Let us remember the lesson of the movie Jurassic Park.”

Mathias grinned. “Nature finds a way. Great movie. Scared the crap out of me when I was a kid. I didn’t sleep for a week.”

Nick shook his head. “He’s the baby of the family, what are you going to do? So, what brings you to Happily Inc?”

“I had business in the area,” Ulrich said, avoiding mention of his first encounter with Violet where he’d accused her of stealing, if not the family jewels, then something else equally valuable.