Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Our Last Chance at Forever
The Chance Series Book Three
K.B. Andrews
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
A Sneak Peek…
Acknowledgments
Also by K.B. Andrews
About the Author
Copyright © 2017 by K.B. Andrews
All rights reserved.
This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise - without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by the United States of America copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, at “Attention: Permissions Coordinator” at [email protected]
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover Designer: Addendum Designs
Editor: Voluptuous Book Editing
Ebook format: Two Broke Authors http://bit.ly/2lIrI7d
Disclaimer: The following story contains mature themes, strong language, violence, and sexual situations. It is intended for mature adults.
AJ,
Thanks to you, I get to live my dream.
I love you more than you know.
Chapter One
Mason
I woke with the bright morning sun shining through the thin gray curtains. I opened my eyes enough to see the dust particles floating in the stream of sunlight, lighting up like glitter. I heard Lennox’s even breathing beside me, the sound was enough to make my heart flutter in my chest. I closed my eyes and let the sound of her breathing relax me.
It had been three months since Lennox accepted my proposal. Three months of having her by my side day and night. Three months full of kisses and soft touches. If possible, I was even more in love with her. I hadn’t gone a day without hearing her sweet voice or touching her soft skin and I knew I never wanted to again.
Lennox rolled over and trailed her fingertips up my chest. I hadn’t opened my eyes again, but she knew I was awake. She always knew.
I turned to face her and opened my eyes to see the emerald green that I loved, shining brightly.
When my eyes locked on her, a smile appeared. “Good morning,” I whispered against her plump lips.
“Good morning. What do you say we get up and take a long, hot shower?” She gave me her breathtaking smile before standing from bed, naked from the night before.
I watched her walk to the conjoined bathroom without me. How could I pass up that view? Before she stepped out of my sight, she turned her head, smiling and biting her bottom lip.
I knew what that look meant.
I jumped from bed and chased after her. I captured her in my arms and pinned her against the glass shower door before moving my lips to hers.
We emerged from the shower an hour later, after taking our time with one another. That was the best part of my day. Every morning, we took a shower together. It didn’t always lead to sex, sometimes we just took turns washing each other while tickling and laughing. Either way it went, I enjoyed the uninterrupted alone time with her.
Lennox got busy making a pot of coffee while I started on breakfast. As I flipped the bacon, I thought about my shop and the progress the construction company had made. After Ashley burnt it down, I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to rebuild.
When I thought back, that shop was the only thing that held me back. I couldn’t go to college because of it and it stopped me from chasing after Lennox when she left to start her singing career. I didn’t want to let it hold me back anymore. I wanted to be free to follow her around the world.
I was never included in that part of her life. I had seen her perform on TV and on the small stage the bar had, but I never got to see her in front of thousands of people chanting her name. That part of her life was a big part of who she was. It was something she loved.
That’s when I realized, the shop, no matter how much I loved it or hated it, would always be a part of me. I couldn’t leave it behind. I had to rebuild, not only for my dad, but for me too.
“Here’s your coffee,” Lennox said, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Thank you.” I turned to take the cup from her and my eyes drifted down her body on their own. Her dark hair was a wet mess down her back, soaking through my wife-beater. My shirt was so long on her, she had it scrunched up around her waist. A small sliver of bronzed skin peeked between her top and my plaid boxer shorts.
I set down the coffee and reached out for her, grabbing ahold of her wrist and pulling her into my arms. When we were nose to nose, I asked, “Have I ever told you how sexy you look in my boxers?”
Her cheeks turned pink and a smile formed. “Only a thousand times.” She leaned in with her eyes closed. I moved in close, but my lips didn’t touch hers. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes so I could see the beautiful green that she was hiding behind her eyelids. That’s when I moved in for the kiss.
Our lips moved together while I held her close, feeling her heart race with mine. My body buzzed from holding her against me and knowing that she would always be mine.
She pulled away with a smile. “I think your bacon is burning.”
“Shit!” I moved quickly to scrape the burnt bacon out of the pan.
She leaned against the island and watched me. “I think you just broke the number one rule of cooking.”
“What rule? Don’t set any fires?” I turned to look over my shoulder at her while continuing to scrape the pan.
Her brow wrinkled up. “Oh, that’s the number one rule? I thought it was, don’t waste bacon, but that’s good too.” She shrugged before taking a sip of her coffee.
I couldn’t hold back the laugh that escaped. “Yeah, because who cares if the house burns down as long as we have bacon?”
After opening the kitchen window to let the burnt bacon smell escape, we sat down at the island to eat pancakes with no bacon.
Lennox was looking over a bridal magazine while I stayed busy replying to emails. I was expecting a big delivery to be made at the shop and the building wasn’t exactly done yet. I was trying my best to hold them off in hopes of giving the guys a few more days to finish.
I was pulled away from my email when she let out a long breath. I turned to face her. “What’s
the matter?”
“Maybe you’re right.” She didn’t take her eyes off the magazine.
“Right about what?”
“Maybe we should just elope.” Her eyes finally found mine and I saw the sadness behind them.
“Why would you say that? I thought you wanted a real wedding?”
“I do, but I’m scared Chris will find a way to ruin it.”
I covered her hand with mine. “If you want a wedding, we will have one. Don’t let him control our lives anymore. Chris doesn’t get to decide this for us.”
She visibly relaxed, her shoulders didn’t look as tense and her eyes shined a little brighter. “How do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Make all my fears fall away with just a few words?”
“That’s my job.” I picked up her hand and placed a kiss to the top.
“Oh, while you are checking in at the shop, I have interviews at the bar.” She looked at her watch. “We should probably get going.” She stood and sat her plate in the sink before running upstairs to change.
We pulled into the parking lot awhile later. Between the guys working on the new building and all the people that showed up for the interviews, the parking lot was full.
Lennox sat up in her seat and looked around the crowded parking lot. “Oh, my God. Why are there so many people here?”
I put the truck in park and looked around. “How many interviews did you set up?”
“I just put up a sign. I didn’t think this many would show up.” Her voice was laced with anxiety and fear. “How am I going to talk to this many people?”
I motioned toward the bar with a tilt of my head. “Come on, let’s go check this out.”
The minute we walked into the bar, Dane was at her side. “What the fuck, Lennox?”
She scrunched up her shoulders and offered him a small grin. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know there would be so many people.” She turned to look at me. “We can only hire five. What am I going to do?”
“I’ll handle this.” Dane walked up on the stage and grabbed the microphone. “Show of hands, how many of you are here for the interviews?”
Every person in the place raised their hands.
Dane’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? All of you want to work for my asshole brother?”
“Give me this,” Lennox said taking the microphone. “I hate to tell everyone this, but we only have five positions available.”
Half the room got up and left.
She looked at me with her eyebrows raised and shrugged.
“Okay, for the rest of you, I’ve put the applications on the bar with a list of qualifications. When you’re done, turn it into me, and I will make my way around to talk to each of you. This may be a long process so please, bear with me.”
While Lennox got busy giving interviews, Dane and I took a seat.
He leaned back in the booth and stretched his arms across the back. “I can’t believe Joey is retiring; she’s been there forever.”
“I know it. It would be reassuring having her there when I go out on tour with Lennox.”
Dane sat up straight. “Lennox is going back on tour? Why didn’t I know about this?”
I looked around a little confused. “Why would you?”
He looked at me like I had horns growing out of my head. “I’m dating her assistant. If Lennox leaves, so does Alissa.”
“Well if it makes you feel any better, she’s not going on a yearlong tour or anything.” I never thought about how the lives Lennox and I were planning would affect anyone else. “Plus, we have to finish the shop and then we have the wedding. She isn’t planning on anything yet. Not to mention, we need to put the whole Chris thing to rest.”
Dane relaxed back into the booth and pushed his dark hair from his eyes. “Yeah, what’s going on with that anyway? Have you guys heard from him lately?”
“Not since the night we got engaged,” I answered thinking back to that night.
We had a great night hanging out and celebrating the engagement with our friends. When the night wound down, we made our way out to the parking lot. Lennox’s phone rang, slicing through the night. I was mid-conversation with Trent about my new truck at the time, but it felt like the world stopped when it rang.
I watched as she answered it, the look on her face said it all.
I took the phone away and the words he said to me, haunted me.
“You know I’m not going to let this wedding happen, right? I’m taking my fiancée back.” He let out a malicious laugh, further taunting me.
I was so pissed, I busted her phone in the parking lot.
I was pissed that he thought that he could just come take her from me and I was worried that he might actually succeed. Since that day, I hadn’t left her side. I knew he would always be watching, waiting to catch me with my guard down.
We went through the legal steps we could, to keep him away. We had changed her number several times, we got an order of protection, and I had been looking into getting a bodyguard for when I couldn’t be with her. She hated the thought of having her privacy invaded, but we didn’t have much of a choice. I knew she wanted her life back and I was determined to give it to her. I just had to find a way to get him out of our lives first.
“Hey, baby.” Alissa took her seat next to Dane.
“Why didn’t you tell me that Lennox was going back on tour?”
“I just figured when it was time to go, that you would go too. I mean, Mason is going.” She pointed at me.
I leaned forward. “Are you telling me that when Lennox goes on tour, we’re all going like were the fucking Partridge Family?”
She laughed. “Yeah, I guess so.”
Dane swirled the liquid in his glass and pulled his lip ring into his mouth before releasing it. “So I’m going to be stuck on a tour bus with this asshole?” He pointed at me.
“What’s Lennox doing?” she asked to avoid answering the question.
My eyes jumped across the room to see her talking to a blonde girl. “Oh, she’s giving interviews. We need employees for when the shop opens.”
“And you’re letting Lennox do it?” She seemed a little worried.
I shrugged. “Yeah, she seems to know what she’s doing.”
Alissa smiled widely. “Yeah, she did hire me after all and look how well that turned out.”
I rubbed my jaw and looked at Dane. “I may have made a mistake.”
Dane cracked a smile but didn’t dare laugh in fear of Alissa backhanding him.
She rolled her eyes before standing and leaving us without another look.
“I love fucking with her.” I laughed and shook my head as she walked away.
Chapter Two
Lennox
I had one interview left and I couldn’t wait to get it over with. I was excited to get to the shop and see how much progress they had made.
I sat down in the booth and looked at the application in my hand. “Jessica?”
She smiled and nodded. “That’s me.”
I sat down in the booth across from her. “I’m Lennox. How are you today?”
“A lot better if I can get this job,” she teased.
“Well, let’s see what we can do about that.” I looked over the application. “It says here that your last place of employment was at Goodman’s Pro Shop. Where is that, exactly?”
“It’s in Alabama. It’s a little privately owned fishing supply store. We sold boats and fishing equipment.”
“So you know how to run a register?”
“Yes, I ran the register and did the ordering every week. I was in charge of making everyone’s schedule because the owner couldn’t remember what days everyone had asked off. When he retired and closed the shop, I moved here. I used most of my money in the move though, so I’m needing to find a job quickly.”
I was relieved to hear her say that she did the ordering because Joey was the one that always did that, Mason had no idea about any of it.
“I have to ask, you have a place to live and reliable transportation? Nothing that would cause you to frequently miss work? We plan to be away a lot so we need reliable employees.”
“Yes, I’ve lived here for about a month now and my car runs just fine.” I saw her eyes flash down to her hands. “I really, really need this job.”
The way she looked at her hands when she said it made me wonder if she was running away from something. She didn’t look any older than I was and that left me wondering what she was doing moving out of state all alone at such a young age.
“Are you here alone?” I realized how creepy that sounded and added on, “I’m just asking because people with kids tend to miss work more because of school schedules or illnesses.”
Her head popped back up and her blue eyes met mine before she pushed a piece of her blonde hair behind her ear. “I don’t have any kids. It’s just me and a friend.”
I always felt like I could read people pretty well. I knew by looking at her, that she needed a job. She reminded me a little of myself. She left home at a young age to either pursue something or to run from something. Either way, I knew how both of those felt.
I smiled and held out my hand. “You’re hired.”
Her squeals filled the room. “Thank you so much.”
I let out a small laugh at her excitement. “The shop will open on Monday. I will give you a call this weekend to get you trained.”
She stood and shook my hand again. “Okay, thank you. I really appreciate this.” She nearly bounced out the door.
I walked over to Mason, Alissa, and Dane, and took a seat.
“I’m guessing you hired that one?” Mason asked.
I let out a laugh. “Yeah, I think she will be a good replacement for Joey.”
“Babe, did you buy our tickets yet?” Alissa asked Dane.
“Tickets for what? Where are you two going?” I asked.
“Back to California to pack up my apartment. No use in paying rent when I haven’t lived there in months.”
Our Last Chance at Forever (The Chance Series Book 3) Page 1
