Second Chance Girl (Happily Inc. #2)

She pushed past him and walked into the living room, then turned to face him. The room was silent. Fear was there, but she ignored it as she stared into his familiar face.

He looked tired, as if he hadn’t been sleeping. She hoped he’d missed her as much as she missed him. They belonged together and if he wasn’t ready to admit that, she was going to have to convince him.

“I get it,” she told him. “Now that I’ve spent time with your parents, I have a small understanding of what you went through as a kid. It was crazy and frightening and you were never sure what was going to happen next. All you could depend on were your brothers. You had talent, and while you wanted to be successful, you weren’t sure that was okay. Then your dad made it clear it wasn’t. You were torn between who you were and who it was safe to be. But no matter what, you had Ronan. You were a team. Then one day he was gone, too.”

Mathias stood on the edge of the living room, not moving, but not looking all that comfortable, either. He didn’t speak, didn’t respond in any way. She had no idea what he was thinking. Obviously he wasn’t going to declare himself and save her the embarrassment of possibly being wrong. Only that was a good thing. He had his demons, but she had hers, as well. She had to believe she was special enough to have what she wanted and this was her moment of reckoning.

“I get why you’ve been reluctant to trust anyone else. You don’t want to be hurt or emotionally abandoned or deceived. What is it you always say? Betrayed. You’ve been holding yourself apart, thinking that would keep you safe. Only you know what? It doesn’t work. Cutting yourself off only shrinks your world until there’s nothing left. Some people can hide who they are, but you’re not one of them.”

She took a step toward him, sucked in a breath and said out loud, “You love me.”

A muscle in his jaw twitched, but otherwise, he didn’t move.

“You love me,” she repeated. “I’m sorry I didn’t see it before. It’s everywhere. You were the one to get Ronan to donate a piece, you always look out for me. You’re caring and kind. You took in Sophie and yes, I know that doesn’t have anything to do with loving me, but it speaks to who you are. And it’s not just that you took care of her, it’s that you missed her when she was gone.”

She took another step toward him. “I saw the sculpture, Mathias. What you created. It’s there. Your love. I can see it and feel it. I should have known before. That’s on me. I was too caught up in not being special, so I couldn’t see what was right in front of me. I’ve been a fool. Worse, I let you go. You were testing me before. Not on purpose, I don’t think, but because you had to be sure and I let you down.”

She smiled at him. “I always thought love was about being worthy, but it’s not. It’s about being willing to be loved and to love in return. I love you, Mathias. I have for a long time. We belong together and if you need me to keep proving that, I will.”

She stopped talking and waited for him to say something. Fear flickered, but she pushed it away. She had total faith in both herself and him. That was how this was going to work. There was no room for doubt—not anymore.

The seconds ticked on. Finally the tension left his body and one eyebrow rose.

“You sound pretty sure of yourself.”

“I am.”

“What if you’re wrong?”

“I’m not. I love you, Mathias. If you need some time to—”

She never got to finish her sentence because he pulled her close and claimed her with a kiss that told her everything she wanted to know. He wrapped his arms around her and held on as if he would never let go.

“I’ve missed you,” he breathed. “I’m sorry I didn’t get it before. You’re right. I do love you.”

She smiled. “That’s a relief.”

He chuckled. “When did you go see the piece?”

“Atsuko had me stop by just now. The second I saw it I realized what you were saying.”

He rested his forehead against hers. “I’ve been an idiot. I couldn’t see what was right in front of me.”

“I’m the one who was too scared to admit anything.”

He kissed her again. “Carol, it’s not you, it’s me. I’ve been in love with you from the first second I saw you.”

She blinked. “You have?”

“Yup. It was the third day I was in this house. You and Millie walked out into the morning light and I was a goner.”

She felt a little shiver of delight. “You never said anything.”

“I was terrified.”

“You slept with other women.”

“Not since the night when we...”

“When we had sex and you passed out and didn’t remember?” she asked sweetly.

He groaned. “We need a better name for that night, but yes. Since then.”

“Good. Because tragically, that was the best sex of my life. Until, you know, the times when you were awake.”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t go fishing for compliments. You know you’re a god in bed.”

“You like that about me.”

“I like many things about you.”

His humor faded. “I love you, Carol.”

“I love you, too.” She kissed him. “So this probably means we’re dating.”

“It does.”

She sighed. “I have a boyfriend.”

He laughed and hugged her before gently easing her toward the stairs.

“What are you doing?” she asked, even as she ran up the steps beside him.

“I think you already know.”

“You have your event.”

“There’s time.” At the landing, he touched her cheek. “You’ll come with me, won’t you?”

“Of course.” She would go anywhere with him, do anything.

“That’s my girl,” he said before pulling her into the bedroom and slowly closing the door.

*

ACROSS TOWN ATSUKO hummed happily to herself as she attached the red “Not for sale” tag to the base of the pedestal. At the other end of the valley, Millie and her herd stood together in the late-afternoon light. All was well in her world. Her lonely giraffe heart had been healed by the gift of new family and the promise of more to come.





EPILOGUE

THE DINING ROOM at Battenberg Park could easily seat fifty...or maybe a hundred. Mathias had never thought much about British history or peerage, but it seemed being a duke wasn’t a bad thing. Sure, there were a lot of rules and he would bet taking care of the old house was an ongoing challenge, but he had to admit the sense of continuity would be kind of interesting. The downside was living in England in the winter.