Once Upon a Second Chance

by Marian Vere

A minute or two into the dance, we are interrupted by Chris. “Nick, do you mind if I cut in? Derek needs to have a word.”

  “Oh, sure,” he says, looking surprised as he hands me off to the groom.

  While Nick walks off in search of Derek, I look up at Chris who has a gleam in his eye.

  “So, Mrs. Kerkley, I hear congratulations are in order.”

  My cheeks blaze. “Who told you?”

  “Derek,” he answers with a chuckle at my obvious chagrin. “It’s not entirely his fault though, I set him up.”

  “Oh?”

  “I decided you and Nick would make a great couple, and was trying to get him to help me get the two of you together. He simply let me know I didn’t have to bother.”

  “Oh, God,” I groan, squeezing my eyes shut. “I am so sorry—”

  “You’re sorry? Why on earth would—”

  “Oh, my God!” I huff, my eyes popping open like someone has just punched me in the stomach. “You can’t tell Bree!”

  “Umm…”

  “Chris, please,” I beg, pressing my hands against his chest. “Promise me you won’t say anything!”

  “Well…I can promise I won’t tell her…”

  He turns and looks over his shoulder, but before I can follow his gaze, Bree comes running out of nowhere and throws her arms around my neck.

  “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!” She lets go of my neck so she can grab my face with both hands, mushing my cheeks together. “How could you not tell me?”

  Derek! Going to kill Derek!

  “Wacause sweedie, iss yor webing dlay,” I mumble through puckered lips.

  “Exactly! It’s my day, which means I get to know everything! This is so amazing! Oh my gosh!” She lets go of my face, and wraps her arms around me again. Okay, well at least she’s happy.

  I see that Nick and Derek have both joined us, and throw Derek an icy glare over Bree’s shoulder. “I’m gonna kill you!” I mouth silently to him. He seems to find my aggravation amusing, but luckily for him, the DJ interrupts my murder plot with the announcement of the last dance.

  “Brunch tomorrow, all of us, and you are going to spill, got it?” Bree demands, holding me at arm’s length by my shoulders.

  “Got it.”

  “Eeeee!” She gives me one more quick hug, before Chris takes her gently by the elbow.

  As they take the floor, I hang my face in my hands and shake my head. So much for the secret.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Nick says, running his hands from my shoulders down my arms, forcing me to drop my hands and slide them into his. “They’re both thrilled, and no one else knows.”

  “I guess.” I smile up at him. “Do I still get to kill Derek?”

  “Absolutely.” He grins.

  “Good. In that case, may I have this dance?” I ask, giving him a small curtsy.

  “You may, but first…” Letting go of my right hand, he reaches into his pocket. A moment later he is sliding my new ring—which he must have taken out of my purse—onto my finger. “Mrs. Langston insists,” he says with a smile. Only then do I notice he is also wearing his. “Now,” he says, raising my hand and kissing my fingers, “shall we?”

  We start to dance, a bit closer this time, to the last song of the night. It seems as though almost everyone joins us on the dance floor, and even Derek has a partner. This day has been a complete whirlwind that I can’t even begin to wrap my mind around, but still, somehow it all seems perfect.

  “So are you sure you don’t mind missing out on all of this?” Nick asks me, after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

  “Missing what?”

  “This. A real wedding. Reception, cake, dancing, all of that?”

  “Nope.”

  “Really? Because we can, you know.”

  “I know. But really, I don’t mind. Today was perfect, and I wouldn’t change a thing.”

  “Well, I’m glad to hear it, but just so you know, we may not have a choice. Cathy is already dropping hints.”

  I laugh. “Oh, is she going to fix our wedding for us?”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised,” he says, wryly rolling his eyes.

  “That would be fine too. I’m just thrilled that she is okay with all of this,” I admit, as I throw caution to the wind and lay my head on his shoulder.

  “So, where are we going to be living, Mr. Kerkley?” I ask after a few more quiet moments. “You passed on the Marston Estate, and I seem to recall you didn’t see yourself living there regardless, so where is it you see yourself?”

  “I’m not sure.” My head still rests on his shoulder, but I can hear the smile in his voice. “The lease on my apartment uptown is about to expire, so I guess I will need to find somewhere new. I wouldn’t mind staying right here in the city, but I’ll have to check with my wife.”

  “Oh, I’m sure she’d be fine with that.”

  “Although, I guess I’m going to need a new financial team, as I don’t know how appropriate it is for one’s wife to work as his hired help.” He chuckles.

  “Actually—” I look up at him “—that may not be a problem after all.”

  “No?”

  “There’s a position open in our firm as a group leader, and I have asked Margaret to submit my name.” Margaret had been beside herself with excitement, almost hugging the life out of me when I asked her.

  His face lights up. “Really? That’s great!”

  “We’ll see. It would mean I would run my own team, choose my own clients, and make my own hours. It would be great, but I have to get it first. Though Margaret seemed pretty confident. Her recommendation might be all that I need, but you never know. We’ll see how it goes.”

  “I’m sure you’ll get it, but even if you don’t, something else will come up. You are amazing.”

  Could he be any sweeter?

  As the song draws to an end, Nick looks down at me with warmth in his eyes that makes my knees weak. “Well, Mrs. Kerkley, I do believe it’s our wedding night too.”

  “I believe it is.”

  “Shall we?” he asks, bringing a hand up to cup my face.

  I rest my hand over his and turn my face to kiss his palm. We gather our things, lace our hands together, and make our way out of the ballroom hand in hand, down the hall toward the elevators.

  About half way there we come across a large ornate mirror. As we pass by, I look in and see, not only my present, but my future—Nick and I, together, in love, walking forward, forever. That may be the only thing I can count on, but that’s enough happily ever after for me.

  And, just as our reflections step out of the gilded frame, I can swear I see the shimmering silhouette of fairy wings behind me.

  Acknowledgments

  Love and Sincerest Thanks to:

  My amazing husband, Scott, for his encouragement, his ideas, his patients, and endless support;

  My mom and mom-in-law, Cathy and Mary, for fixing my mistakes and making it appear to the world that I spell better than I actually do;

  Julia, Brianna, Cathy, Susan, Matt, Justin, Mary, Dave, Jill, and SMS for your names and inspiration;

  The team at PS Literary for their tireless work and support of my writing, and especially to my fabulous agent, Carly Watters, for taking a chance on me;

  Liz, Sam, Ondrew, Julie, Patti, Felicia, Yelena, Beth, Jill, Cathy, Mary, and Scott for reading me and helping to make Once Upon A Second Chance what it is;

  QueryTracker.net, not only for being an amazing resource and introducing me to my agent, but also for introducing me to one of the best online support systems for aspiring writers out there;

  All the wonderful editors, staff, and authors at Omnific, each of whom I am honored and humbled to have the privilege of working with.

  About the Author

  Marian Vere is a twenty-eight-year-old writer of Women’s Fiction. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she received her degree from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in — oddly enough — vocal music performance, onl
y to later discover her love of writing and storytelling.

  Marian is represented by Carly Watters of PS Literary, and currently lives in the suburbs of Chicago with her husband and two daughters.

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