Her Second Chance Prodigal Groom

by Taylor Hart

  DJ was grateful for the time he’d had. Now, he sat in his rental car in front of Aspen’s house, feeling like a stalker. The weather had gotten considerably colder as the sun had set, and the wind had kicked up. He blasted the heater in his car and stared up at her window. Why was he here?

  His phone buzzed, and he was shocked to see a text from her: Quit being creepy and come up.

  He laughed and got out, taking the stairs two at a time. They’d had so much fun today.

  His heart got mushy again, thinking of his father. He was so grateful to finally have peace between them. He would figure out everything about his father’s house tomorrow, even if that meant hiring a team of lawyers to go to court with Bill.

  Travis had his face pressed against the glass by the door, and DJ laughed.

  Aspen opened the door, smiling at her son’s antics.

  “Uncle DJ!” Travis leapt into his arms.

  Aspen shook her head. “Come in.”

  DJ walked inside, putting Travis down. “What are you doing, trouble?”

  Travis wore pajamas. “I’m going to press my face to the glass when we go to one of your games and we’re in the VIP box.”

  This took him by surprise. “Oh, you are?”

  Travis nodded. “I’ll put my hand out, too, and then you’ll look up and see me, and you’ll know it’s game time!”

  DJ laughed. This kid became more and more of a character every time he saw him. “Sounds good to me.”

  Aspen cleared her throat. “Travis, it’s time.”

  Travis stayed in his arms. “Mama was going to put me to bed, but she’s been putting away groceries, because we had to get gingerbread house stuff because there’s a contest at the care center, and we’re going to enter.”

  DJ widened his eyes. “What? That’s cool!” He put out his fist.

  Travis fist-bumped him. “Want to make one with us tomorrow? Mama has the day off again.”

  DJ put Travis down and looked at Aspen.

  She laughed and rolled her eyes. “Uncle DJ is probably busy.”

  “No,” he said, maybe too quickly. “Not busy.”

  Aspen stared at him, and he thought about how pretty she was. She wasn’t eighteen anymore. She was a mature woman, and she was just breathtaking.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked.

  “What?” He blinked.

  Travis took his hand. “Mama, can he come help us do the gingerbread house tomorrow?”

  Aspen walked past them into the kitchen, picking up groceries. “Uh, sure.”

  “Yay!” Travis stayed beside DJ. “Maybe there are man rules about gingerbread making.”

  Aspen laughed and put away some cereal. “Man rules?”

  DJ winked at her. “Boy’s gotta be taught, and why not have his uncle teach him?”

  “O-kay.”

  He was glad that she didn’t argue. In fact, she’d been pretty amazing about letting him just come back into the boy’s life and be his uncle. Not that Travis would have let anything else happen.

  DJ waited while she finished putting away groceries.

  Travis was a nice distraction, recounting the boating experience in extreme detail.

  “Time for bed,” Aspen said a bit later, smiling at her son.

  “Can Uncle DJ tell me a story?” Travis begged.

  She shrugged.

  DJ put his hands out like he would tickle him. “Only if you want to get tickled to death.”

  Travis ran down the hall, screaming.

  DJ chased him, loving every moment.

  Chapter 16

  Aspen waited on the couch in front of the Christmas tree. Nerves pulsed through her, and it was stupid. Why had he come over again tonight? Why was he putting her son to bed? Why were they laughing like they were best friends?

  Her phone buzzed, and she stared down at the text from Harrison. Miss you. What are you doing?

  She texted him: Miss you, too. Sitting by the Christmas tree.

  Glad you finally got it up. December is half over.

  Annoyance nipped at her. Why was Harrison giving her grief about this? He knew how busy she was, how much she was trying to juggle on her own. She worked hard every day, and she did the very best she could.

  DJ had just seen a need and filled it. Harrison wasn’t like that.

  Are you there? he texted.

  Ignoring him, she switched apps so she could stream her Christmas playlist to the speakers. She got it set up, and a jazz version of “O Holy Night” floated softly into the air. Listening, she could hear DJ and Travis laughing.

  “Good night,” DJ said, stepping through the door and closing it behind him.

  “Good night!” Travis shouted back.

  Then DJ was there, standing in the hallway between the kitchen and living room. He leaned against the door and grinned at her. His blond hair, which was longer on top, hung over his blue eyes, and it was all kinds of handsome, even when it was messy. He pushed it back and walked into the room. “Hey.”

  “Hey.” She patted the couch, and then felt like an idiot. Why would he sit by her?

  He started moving to her.

  She pointed to the chair opposite the couch. “I mean, you can sit there.”

  He hesitated, glancing at the chair. “Nope, you patted the couch first.”

  He was teasing her, and she couldn’t decide if she was annoyed or charmed. Maybe both. “Whatever. How was your dad when you dropped him off?”

  He sat, and she smelled his cologne. She couldn’t place it, but it smelled good. “Dad was great.” He shifted slightly, getting comfortable. “Gone by the time I dropped him back off, but it was really amazing to have him for a couple of hours.”

  “DJ, I’m really happy for you.” She’d seen the way DJ had crumbled into his arms. The last ten years must have been hard for him. Funny, she’d always been so angry at him that she hadn’t thought about what he’d been through. To her own surprise, she put her hand over his. “I’m really, really happy for you.”

  He froze, turning his gaze to their hands. Then he nodded and put her hand fully between the two of his. “It was nice to spend the day together.”

  Every part of her went gooey. She tugged her hand back. “I don’t think you should hold my hand.”

  “Sorry, I—” He ran a hand through his hair, looking nervous. “Listen, I wanted to tell you that I should have been here for Travis a long time ago.” He lifted and lowered one shoulder.

  “Right.” She nodded. “For Travis.”

  “And my dad.”

  “Right. You should have been here for your dad.” It felt like she was slowly getting sucked into a wave, getting pulled into this undertow of energy between her and DJ.

  He scooted closer, moving a piece of hair out of her face. “Maybe for someone else, too.”

  No. She couldn’t do this. But her body responded to this man against her better judgment. “DJ,” she whispered, feeling herself giving in to this magnetic wave.

  But he was already leaning in.

  She wanted to be strong enough to withdraw, but she couldn’t hold back any longer.

  He cupped the back of her head and pulled her to him until she was a breath away, but he didn’t put his lips on hers.

  She closed her eyes, waiting.

  “Asp.”

  Her eyes opened.

  He smiled. “I want to kiss you, but I don’t want to ruin this. Whatever new thing we all have going on, I don’t want to do anything that would make us weird and make it so I wasn’t part of Travis’s life again. I can’t handle that.”

  She drew back and stood. “Right. And I have a boyfriend.”

  “Right.” He sighed. “Tell me why?”

  “What?”

  “Why Harrison?”

  She shook her head. “Don’t do this.”

  He raked a hand through his hair. “I’m just trying to understand why you would like a guy like that.”

  Anger surged inside of her. “You d
on’t get to do this. You haven’t been here. You don’t get to demand answers.”

  He took her hand. “You keep saying that, but I’m here now.”

  Her heart raced and she wanted to pull away from him, but she didn’t want to show weakness. “I like him,” she said quietly. “He’s a good man. He has great ideas for Southport.”

  His eyes narrowed. “You like him because he’ll be a good politician?”

  Frustration coursed through her and she yanked her hand back. “What do you want me to say, DJ? That he has been here. Yes, my mother introduced us and, at first, I thought he was kind of a dork, but then I started to see the goodness in him.” She knew this all would sound pathetic to DJ. “He might not play football, but he helped Travis with his science fair project last year, actually stayed up until two in the morning to help him run the experiments.” Her mind felt scattered as she tried to think of more examples of why Harrison would be a good fit for her. “And he always wants to take me out and compliments me.” She hated how stupid it all sounded. She pointed at DJ. “He might not fix things around the house, but this guy at the care center was angry about his father’s care, which was totally bogus, but he threatened to sue the care center and me, and Harrison went and spoke to him. And the guy dropped all of the charges and apologized to me.” Tears were on her face, and she pushed them away.

  DJ crossed his arms, letting out a long breath. “Do you love him? Are you planning on accepting one of his fake proposals?”

  Turning her back to him, she stared at the tree, reaching out to fiddle with its branches. She pulled herself together emotionally. “I don’t know.”

  For several seconds neither of them spoke.

  “Why did you put this up for me?” she asked softly, thinking about how much she would miss this man when he was gone.

  He didn’t respond. When she turned back, she saw her desire mirrored in his eyes. She sucked in a slow breath.

  He blinked. “I put it up to help you. Travis mentioned that you told him you had a lot to do.”

  She sniffed. It was stupid how much DJ’s help meant to her.

  “Asp, are you okay?” DJ moved beside her.

  She steeled herself. “Yes,” she said, her voice shaky. She would not fall apart in front of this man again.

  “Aspen, talk to me.” His hand was back on hers.

  She froze, unable to move. It’d never been like this. The man was different now. She found herself leaning in. “I don’t know if I’ll accept Harrison’s proposals. I don’t know.”

  His hands were on her waist. He pulled her flush against him, and she burned. “Aspen,” he whispered, smelling her hair, tracing his nose down her face.

  “DJ, we shouldn’t…” She trailed off, letting her fingers brush his five-o’clock shadow.

  He closed his eyes. “Aspen,” he whispered. “You’re going to have to be the one who kisses me first. If you want to kiss me, tell me you want to kiss me.”

  “DJ.” She wanted to do the right thing, but there was only one option now. She leaned up.

  He pulled his lips just out of reach. “Tell me.”

  Every part of her felt charged. “I want to kiss you.”

  His lips met hers and she forgot everything—the past, the present, and the consequences. His hands pulled her closer, but not close enough. She let her fingers sink into his gorgeous hair. He deepened the kiss, and she responded in kind. The passion between them was so different from anything she and Harrison had shared. It felt so right.

  DJ’s strong hands trailed up her back and tugged at her hair. “I love your hair,” he whispered between kisses.

  She giggled. He’d always played with it while they were growing up, trying to braid it.

  After a bit, when her brain finally caught up to her heart, she said, “DJ, I need to stop kissing you.”

  “I don’t agree.” Gently, he kissed around her lips one more time before she slipped from his embrace.

  She evaluated him and smiled.

  His hair was all mussed up where she’d been putting her hands through it. “I can just keep kissing you, and you can count them as just one mistake.”

  She giggled, feeling silly and young and ridiculous. This was insane.

  His lips were on hers, again.

  And she was soaring, flying, on a wave with this man that she still had all of these feelings for.

  He let go of her waist and pulled back. “I never expected this. You’ve got to know that.”

  “You’re my husband’s brother,” she blurted, before she could think about what she was saying.

  DJ’s blue eyes closed. He rubbed his face. “Listen, I—I better go.”

  “Yes, you should.”

  DJ didn’t move, though. He just studied her, like he wanted to pull her back in and kiss her again. “Are you going to marry Harrison?”

  A million thoughts zipped through her mind, too fast to sort through.

  “What?” he asked, touching her arm. “What are you thinking?”

  All cards had to be on the table. She needed to know what was happening between them. “You’re leaving. Going back to your team. Going back to San Antonio.”

  “So?” he said, like it didn’t matter.

  “So?” She broke contact with him, trying to get her mind right. Unable to look at him, she faced the Christmas tree again.

  “I’m going to come back, Asp. Dad is here. Travis is here. You’re here. I know we’ve never dealt with the past, but I want to now.”

  She shook her head, overwhelmed by what was happening. “I don’t want to do anything that would prevent you from being in my son’s life now. He loves you, DJ.” The words just came out. “He saw you, and he just had this immediate love for you.”

  He smiled at her, tears shimmering in his eyes. “I know. It’s crazy, but I love him, too.”

  Overwhelmed, she suddenly felt so confused. “He needs you. I didn’t even realize how much he needs you.”

  DJ pushed a tendril of hair out of her face, sifting his fingers through her hair. “It’s okay.”

  She closed her eyes, hating how much she liked his touch and not knowing how it would be okay.

  “You said Travis needs me, but do you need me, Aspen?”

  The question took her off guard. Confused and overwhelmed, she couldn’t stop the tears. “That’s not a fair question.”

  DJ searched her face. He frowned. “I know. Listen, let’s talk about the past. Graduation night, I was messed up. My father told me I wasn’t good enough for this family because I was choosing football over the military.”

  Her eyes widened. “That’s why you left?” Suddenly, it all made sense.

  He nodded. “He told me not to come back. Ever.”

  She couldn’t believe it. “But what about me? What about us?”

  “You married Travis so fast. You didn’t give me a chance to make things right.”

  She asked the question she’d wanted to ask for ten long years. “Why didn’t you ask me to the graduation dance?”

  Now he cursed, and his eyes grew wild. “I was going to, and Travis knew it.” He let out a harsh laugh and ran a hand through his hair. “I couldn’t believe he asked you. It’s so stupid. We got into a fight right before I was going to ask you. He watched me get the poster together. I had a stupid box of donuts, and I was going to write on the poster ‘I donut want to go with anyone but you.’ But Travis beat me to it.”

  “What?”

  “Why do you think I showed up to that dance all ticked off and by myself?”

  She remembered being confused when DJ had shown up by himself, only asking her to dance. “That’s why you and Travis got in a fight, right there, on the dance floor.” It had been a face-punching, wrestling-on-the-ground fight.

  DJ clenched his jaw. “And when Travis got home, we fought again. Dad tried to break it up.”

  “But your dad was drunk.”

  “He had his shotgun out, and it went off. Someone called the cops.”


  “I did,” she admitted.

  He frowned at her. “What?”

  “I heard the gunshot, and I was scared. Someone could have gotten seriously hurt.”

  DJ shook his head. “This is crazy.”

  Aspen was still stuck on one important detail. “You were going to ask me to the graduation dance?”

  A look of anguish washed over his face. He took both of her hands into his. “Didn’t you know how I felt about you?”

  She thought of all the times she’d hung out with him as kids. “I thought…” She trailed off. “Travis never told me any of this.”

  A sad laugh came out of DJ. “Ohh, this is so crazy. All of it was just…so crazy.”

  She couldn’t believe Travis had never told her any of it. Anger swept through her.

  “I’ve regretted that night so many times.” DJ stared into her eyes.

  Wild emotions pulsed through her as she thought about how Travis had come home from boot camp. They’d just started dating, and he’d never spoken about why he and DJ didn’t talk anymore. “Why didn’t you ever call me from Clemson?”

  DJ sucked in a breath. “My head wasn’t right. I should have.”

  “I waited for you to call. I even called your dorm, and someone told me you were out with your girlfriend.”

  “What?” He looked incredulous; then he tilted his head back and swore. “I had an idiot roommate my first year. Like the sick-in-the-head kind. You seriously called?”

  She nodded, a tear streaming down her cheek. “I called you the night Travis proposed to me.”

  His mouth fell open. “What?”

  “I called because I wanted to tell you that I loved you.”

  “You did?”

  She turned away from him, feeling confused and vulnerable and all the things she hated.

  “Asp—”

  “I’ve felt bad about that for ten years, like I had somehow betrayed Travis because I loved you.”

  The words hung in the air.

  “You loved me?” he whispered.

  She turned back. Finally, she could tell him the truth she’d buried so deeply. “I did. And I’ve punished myself for ten years over it.”

  DJ closed the distance between them. “I loved you, too.” Gently, he caressed her face with the back of his hand. “I loved you so much. I loved you in a way that broke me when you married him.”