The One who got Away_A Second Chance Romance

by Mia Ford

  As far as Pope Financials was concerned, Nathan went to work creating a plan to expand without outsourcing. He explained to the board why he felt it was the best way, and to his surprise, they all agreed. They wanted to see the expansion, and they had joined his team because they believed in his moral approach to business, something that was pretty much extinct in the industry. They started the project, Chris heading it up, and in the next month or two they will be opening their first office in London. Everything he wanted to do with his company was happening and he felt good about his choices because they were on his terms.

  I stood there in the mirror, staring at myself, and admiring the beautiful diamond necklace he had given me just a couple weeks before. Nathan walked up behind me, and I smiled, feeling him grab the zipper of my dress and pull it all the way up. He leaned over and kissed my neck, sending shivers down my spine. He was taking me to dinner for our one-year anniversary, something that I had been looking forward to all week. He hadn’t told me where we were going, but I knew wherever it was we would have a delightful, intimate time.

  I grabbed my shawl and followed Nathan from the apartment, riding the elevator down to the lobby and smiling sweetly at George as we passed. He had been the biggest cheerleader for me when I first moved into The Avalon and was trying to get used to all the wealthy people that were judging me on a daily basis. After a few weeks, though, they figured out who I was, and they left me alone. Turns out Nathan Pope is known as a very powerful man, even if he thought that was preposterous. I guess money still equates to power, just another thing that drove me nuts about society.

  We hopped in the limo and headed out into the city, staring out at all the lights. I loved New York at night time, it was always so beautiful. The people, the giant buildings, and the sounds of the city made me feel like I was where I was supposed to be. After a few minutes we pulled up out front of the restaurant and he smiled, knowing he had picked one that I had been eager to try. It was the Public, and little did I know when we arrived, but Nathan had rented out the entire roof for our dinner. He continually spoiled me with such lavish surprises, and I wasn’t going to lie, it was heartwarming and made me feel loved.

  We sat across from each other and stared out at the view. It was so gorgeous with all the buildings lit up in the background and the lights on the terrace creating a sexy and romantic vibe. We had our own private server who brought us wine, appetizers, and drinks that Nathan had preordered for the occasion. We sat there like not a day had passed since we first met, drinking, talking, eating, and laughing. He had become my best friend and calmed me even better than my sister was able to do. He smiled and listened as I ranted and raved about something that happened on the news or in Washington and then sweetly reminded me to remember the bigger picture, something I was getting better and better at as time passed.

  After our entrée’s they brought out several desserts and we grabbed our spoons sharing all of them at once. The server tried to hide a smile, but I was sure she thought what we had been told a million times. We didn’t act like your typical billionaire power couple, we acted like regular folks, minus the fact that we had rented out the roof of one of the most expensive places in the city. That aside, we joked, laughed, and acted like children around each other. It was the perfect relationship for me, one that I knew I never wanted to see end. When we were done with the desserts, I noticed the server disappear back down into the restaurant, leaving us alone on the roof.

  “Ruby,” Nathan said. “I want to tell you something.”

  “What’s that?”

  “When we first met I could not believe there was a woman out there that was not only beautiful, but passionate, intelligent, and motivated,” he said. “You were everything I wanted in a woman but had given up on finding because I felt like it was never going to happen. That night in the bar changed my world forever. You have shown me I can be myself and I don’t have to be afraid or guarded. You have shown me there is much more to life than working all the time. You have shown me how to be compassionate and empathetic toward others in a way that has not only improved me as a person, but it has improved my company as a whole. There is something to the saying that behind every great man, there is an even greater woman. You pull the strings, that’s for sure, but you pull the right ones. There hasn’t been a day that’s passed since India that I haven’t thanked the Universe for allowing me to keep you in my life. I don’t ever want to lose you again.”

  I smiled at him and reached for his hand, but he had already pulled it away. I looked at him curiously as he stood up from his chair and reached into the breast pocket of his jacket. He slowly pulled out a small black velvet box and lowered himself down onto one knee. I gasped, covering my mouth with my hands and immediately bursting into tears.

  “Ruby Woods, you are everything in this world that makes me happy,” he said. “Please do me the honor of accepting this ring and becoming my wife.”

  “Yes,” I said nodding my head up and down, tears streaming down my face. “Of course, yes.”

  I stood up as he did and wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing his lips and laughing through my tears. I looked down at the ring box that was open, and my eyes widened, the largest diamond I had ever seen was sparkling up at me. He reached into the box and pulled it out, taking my hand and slipping it onto my finger. I spread my hand out and looked at it, amazed at how it sparkled. I turned back to Nathan and hugged him again, this time pressing my lips long, hard, and passionately against his. I could feel the love pulsing through every inch of me, circling us like a bubble on the rooftop. I pulled back and stared him deep in his eyes.

  “I love you, Nathan,” I said. “I cannot wait to be your wife.”

  I knew right then and there that happily ever after was real, and I had found mine.

  Ssh…Don’t Tell - An Exclusive Romance Novel

  Chapter 1

  “Well, Mister McWaters, let me be the first to welcome you to the city...to Fort Wayne,” the real estate agent said, extending his arm to shake his client’s hand. “I think this city will have just what you’re looking for when it comes to investment opportunities.”

  Darren shook Doug’s hand and then the two men stood up. Darren had flown in from Chicago earlier in the day and was planning to spend the night in Fort Wayne. His only reason for being in Ft. Wayne was to meet with this real estate agent about purchasing some rental property in the area. The market was good, the prices were even better, and the demand was supposedly only going to rise in the coming years. Coming from a prominent, real-estate-invested family in Chicago, Darren knew how to look for an opportunity. And now, thanks to Doug Sharp’s help, Darren had finally secured some rental property after a few months of coming back and forth.

  “Thank you,” Darren said.

  “Well, I have to get going now,” Doug said. He looked around at The Blue Ivy, a small but cozy bar and restaurant in the heart of Downtown Ft. Wayne. “It really was a pleasure working with you and meeting you.” The real estate agent gathered any documents that belonged in his folder off of the table then pushed in his chair. “Also, if you should have any other problems or need more information about the local real estate market should you get to the point where you think you’re ready to invest more, don’t hesitate to call my office, Mister McWaters.” The graying, middle-aged man smiled then walked at his client’s side towards the door.

  “Absolutely,” Darren said.

  Darren walked alongside Doug out to the sidewalk. A festival was in town, so the streets were a bit busier than usual. On top of that, a baseball game was happening just a couple of blocks over from the bar. Darren looked down the street as cars lined up out into the street as stadium goers tried to get into the stadium’s parking lot. The 6’2”, brown-haired former frat boy wondered himself what he would be doing for the evening. His flight back to Chicago left at 10:30 the next morning.

  The 33-year-old man shook his agent’s hand once again and then the two parted ways. Darre
n looked down at his phone, wondering if he’d gotten any emails or calls. With the fall wind whipping down the street, he ran his hand through his hair then decided to head back into the bar. With it going on 7 o’clock in the evening, Darren wasn’t opposed to having a little something to help him feel good. He figured he could look around online and figure out what he wanted to do with the rest of the night, if he wanted to do anything at all.

  Darren stepped back in The Blue Ivy and zigzagged through the clusters of chairs. He approached the bar and waited on a couple of already-waiting couples to give the bartender their drink orders. Once the couples walked away, he lifted himself up onto a stool and leaned over the counter while he waited on the bartender – a woman – to come back over to serve him.

  Shortly after scanning through a couple of emails, Darren looked up and noticed a different bartender coming his way. This woman had just zipped out of the back, somewhere in the kitchen. Her long, blond hair swayed with every step she took. Her clear skin glowed under the bar lights. The 5’3 woman made a couple of drinks so quickly and efficiently, Darren wouldn’t doubt if she could do it in her sleep. He watched how she moved – how she did her job and smiled graciously to any and everyone – then she headed over toward him.

  “Hey, what can I get you?” the woman asked, leaning over on the bar. Darren managed to control himself long enough to look into her eyes rather than her chest.

  Darren smiled. “Yeah, can I just get a Heineken? No rush.”

  “Okay, I’ll get it for you,” the woman said.

  Darren said thank you then once again watched the bartender rush around the bar. Even though he only heard her say a few words, there was something about her that seemed to be genuine – so soft, yet not like a pushover. Her blue jean shorts exposed a rose tattoo on her thigh. The moments she came closer to Darren’s side of the bar, he tried to look at the tattoo and make out the wording, but her constantly moving made it hard. Still, the perkiness of her chest continuously stole the man’s attention. Darren guessed it to be a nice, full C-cup as well as a bit bouncy. Before Darren knew it, the woman, who looked to be in her mid to late twenties, was headed back his way with his Heineken.

  “Here you go,” she said, setting the drink on the bar.

  “Thank you,” Darren said. He smiled, letting some of his charm shine through.

  “No problem. Just let me know if you need anything.” She smiled.

  Darren watched the woman make a few more drinks then start to clean shelves and configure things under the counter nearby. He looked down into his phone as much as he could, but got to a point where he had to say something to her. Why had he been so drawn to this woman? After all, he did come from a family that was very class conscience. Several of his aunts and uncles were people who barely even made eye contact with lower-class people, much less purposely engaged in conversation with them.

  Just as Darren was about to speak, another bar employee popped out of the back. “Sherry, what did you do with that bucket of towels?” the raspy-voiced, sassy woman asked. “And don’t say it wasn’t you because I know you had it.”

  Her name is Sherry, Darren thought.

  “Well, dang, Samantha,” Sherry said, turning around swiftly. “Why don’t you go and get a bullhorn and stand out in the street and announce it, huh?”

  Darren chuckled at the woman’s wit, as did several employees within ear shot.

  “It’s under the sink, like I told you,” Sherry said. “I know I put it there, so don’t even try to say I didn’t.”

  Samantha rolled her eyes then turned away, disappearing into the back. Sherry shook her head as she wiped down shelves where a wine rack had once been. Darren had been noticing how busy the bar was relative to its size, as it didn’t look like the kind of place that would normally be this kind of crowded. “Busy night, huh?’

  Sherry shook her head. “Yeah, you can say that. Some of these people in here don’t know how to work a busy night, ‘cause we usually aren’t that busy.”

  “Yeah, I figured that,” Darren said. “There’s some kind of festival going on here or something, I guess. I think I drove by it when I was comin’ back downtown. Up by some park.”

  Sherry sighed. “Yeah, the Three Rivers Festival. A lot of people out and about downtown. Plus, the baseball game. And,” she rubbed her chin in thought, “I think their might be something going on at the convention center.” She looked passed Darren and out at the tables. “There were some people in here with these lanyards, but I never got close enough to see what they were saying.”

  Darren nodded. “I see. Busy is good for you, though.”

  “Yeah, I guess,” Sherry said. She finished with the shelf then dropped the towel. She looked at this man sitting at the bar. This time, though, she looked a little closer than she had before. Sherry noticed his suit – looked like it cost a pretty penny. Then, the way his hair was cut – didn’t look like the regular run-of-the-mill barber in Ft. Wayne. How he carried himself definitely stuck out to her as well as the way he asked about what was going on. This city has a lot of festivals, but the Three Rivers is one that anybody from here would know. Where is this guy from?

  “You from out of town, aren’t you?” Sherry asked.

  Darren chuckled under his breath then sat his drink down. “Yeah, I’m not from here. I’m from Chicago.”

  Sherry nodded. “Oh, okay. I figured you were from somewhere else.”

  Darren’s forehead wrinkled as he looked at the woman. “Wow, is it that obvious?”

  Sherry laughed, now realizing how she must’ve sounded. “Well, I didn’t mean it like that. I can just tell by the way you talk...how you dress...how you carry yourself. You look like you’re looking around analyzing stuff.”

  Darren chuckled once again. This chick is funny. “Oh, wow...you picked up on a lot of stuff.”

  “Yeah, well,” Sherry said, shrugging her shoulders. “When you serve people drinks everyday, and some people sit up here for hours and hours talking to you about their lives, you learn about people.”

  Darren nodded as he sipped his drink again. “I can see that.”

  “So, what brings somebody from Chicago to Fort Wayne?” Sherry asked. “You got family here or what?”

  Darren smiled, shaking his head then going on to explain. Sherry listened at the guy talked about coming to town to look into some real estate opportunities. “So, you’re thinking about living here? You’re going to move from Chicago to Fort Wayne?”

  “Um, well,” Darren said, his facial expression that of a bashful little boy. “I didn’t say that. It’s a nice place, it seems. Small, but kinda big in some ways.”

  “Yeah, I guess,” Sherry said. “I’ve been to Chicago once. Looks like a fun place to live.”

  Darren scuffed and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, that’s how it looks. Trust me, though, it’s not what it appears.”

  Sherry laughed at the guy’s sarcastic tone.

  For the next couple of hours, groups of people fluctuated in and out of the bar. The tables swelled with locals as well as visitors. The Blue Ivy was practically packed when the baseball game let out. Then, after a while, Darren and Sherry both noticed the lanyards. An older, gracious-acting man with one around his neck approached the bar to ask for a drink. Here, they both learned the convention was a religious convention. Darren turned away, hoping to not make eye contact with the guy as it could possibly conger up a conversation. When the guy walked off, Sherry looked away and giggled.

  “What?” Darren asked, now on his second drink. “What are you laughing at? I saw the way you looked over here then started laughing.”

  “Just you,” Sherry said. “Man, I saw the way you looked at that guy...the one with the lanyard from a church convention around his neck. You looked away like you hoped he wouldn’t say anything.”

  Darren wished he hadn’t been so obvious. “Sorry, I hope that didn’t come across the wrong way or anything. You super into religion and stuff?”

&nbs
p; “Psst,” Sherry said, waving her hand dismissively – an action which caused Darren to nearly choke on his beer. “Can’t stand them.” She looked around then lowered her voice. “The way they’re always trying to push that stuff off on people.”

  “Yeah, tell me about it,” Darren said. “My parents used to have this condo in this kinda ruff part of Chicago that I had to live in for a little bit while I finished up school. Anyway, it was the kinda area where Jehovah's witnesses were making their rounds...frequently.”

  Sherry rolled her eyes then shook her head as she rummaged through a box under the counter. “Yeah, I know what you mean. Those people are everywhere with that stuff.”

  “Yeah, well,” Darren said, shaking his head, “that’s why I used to joke with my cousin how I couldn’t wait on the winter to roll around...ice and snow and all. That seemed to stop them, if nothing else.”

  Sherry broke out in laughter, leaning over as she grabbed her stomach, knowing that nobody in their right mind would ever be waiting on a Chicago winter to roll around. When she lifted her head back up, she had to wipe her eyes from nearly crying. She looked into Darren’s eyes for a few seconds too long before she suddenly turned to assist a woman who approached the bar.

  In between making drinks, Sherry entertained conversation with this guy from Chicago sitting at the end of the bar. Every so often, she’d look down at him, if she weren’t close enough, and think. Really, he wasn’t the kind of guy who would normally catch her interest. In fact, Sherry couldn’t recall if she’d ever dated a man who wore a suit to anything but a funeral. This guy, though, was confident. He spoke well and was obviously educated.

  Later in the night, as the more family-oriented kinds of people had long returned to their hotels or congregated in downtown parks while the moon glowed in the sky, Darren had talked with Sherry so much the spark he felt when he’d seen her had transformed into a full-blown flame. Eventually, she came around to asking his name and how long he’d be in town.