Love's Second Chance (Second Chances Series)

by L. P. Dover

  The smell of pine engulfed me and I breathed it in deeply. Some people liked chamomile to soothe them, but I always chose the pine scent. This land reminded me of a painting. Maybe I would bring Jenna out here one day so she could capture it on canvas. She would know how to capture it perfectly. The wild flowers that decorated the ground, along with the magical feel of the land, reminded me of a fairy tale. This was the kind of place I’d want to live. It was hidden and nestled away from every day city life. An opening in the foliage lay ahead, and the sounds of the falls became even louder. When I finally got there my body froze of its own accord, and I knew for a second that I had forgotten to breathe. The waterfalls were absolutely magnificent. There were three different sets of them, one leading down to the other. This was much better than hiking the trails with a bunch of strangers. It was hard to enjoy the nature and beauty of such a thing when there were a ton of people milling about.

  “I knew you would like it,” Galen spoke from behind me. He startled me and I jumped in surprise, placing my hand over my chest.

  “How did you know about this place?” I asked, breathing hard from excitement.

  Galen smirked and shrugged his shoulder. “I have my ways.”

  “You’re being awfully cryptic,” I confessed darkly. “What’s going on?” I tried putting on a serious face while crossing my arms across my chest.

  He looked me up and down and laughed. “Come on, let’s get to work and eat our lunch.”

  I huffed in annoyance. “Fine, don’t tell me anything, but you know how I have a knack for finding things out. You won’t be able to keep a secret from me for long.”

  “I’m well aware of that,” he teased. “You’ll find everything out soon enough.” Taking my hand, Galen led me back up the path to our awaiting picnic. The spread lay out before us looked delicious. He brought wine, cheese, fruit, and of course he couldn’t forget his favorite … peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. After looking at the expression on my face he said, “I couldn’t help it. You know it’s my favorite.”

  “I know,” I teased. Sitting on the blanket, Galen poured me a glass of wine and handed over the plate with the cheeses and fruit.

  “Are you ready to get to work?” he asked.

  I groaned and took a huge gulp of wine. “I can’t believe you’re making me work on a Saturday.”

  “Well, it’s technically just me working, but since you tagged along you might as well help me.”

  “Lucky me,” I mumbled to myself.

  “I heard that!” Galen laughed. Off to the side of the blanket, Galen had a pile of blueprints.

  “Please tell me you’re not going to have to work on every single one of those blueprints,” I griped, pointing to the pile.

  “No,” Galen replied shaking his head. “But there is one layout I do want your opinion on.”

  I usually never did anything with the layouts, but I loved looking at them. One day I would design my own floor plan. “Which one of these do you need to work on first?” I offered.

  Galen narrowed his eyes and studied the pile. While he contemplated, I stuffed a couple of grapes in my mouth, waiting on his answer. “Hmm … I believe it’s the one with the red tag taped around the top.”

  Peering down at the pile, I spotted the one with the red tag and grabbed it. “I got it!” I said sarcastically. Grasping it, I handed it over to Galen, but not before my eyes landed on something shiny and sparkly holding the blueprint together. I blinked several times to see if maybe I was imagining what I was looking at.

  “It’s real, Korinne,” Galen stated calmly. Shock and awe took over me as I stared bewildered at the shiny diamond ring that twinkled in the sun. My insides were screaming with joy and my heart felt like it was about to pop out of my chest. Was this really happening? I thought. Galen gently pried the scroll of paper from my grasp and slid the ring down until it landed in his hand. There were no words that formed in my mouth as I sat there, waiting patiently for him to speak again. Galen moved closer and took my left hand into his. He looked down at my shaking hand and smiled. “Korinne,” he began. Galen lifted his watery gaze and my heart melted in that instant. The strong and determined Galen never cried, so seeing him like that, showing his vulnerable side, meant everything in the world to me. It showed me how much he cared about me.

  “I love you so much, Korinne, and I want you with me always. You have no idea how many times I’ve prayed, thanking God that you came back into my life.” Galen took his free hand and gently wiped away the tears that began to fall like rivers down my cheeks. “Please tell me you’re going to spend the rest of your life with me. I want you to be my wife, Korinne. I want to love you and only you for the rest of my life.” He slid the exquisite diamond ring on my finger and looked expectantly into my eyes. “Please say you’ll marry me.”

  He waited patiently for an answer, but my emotions got the better of me and I found myself tackling him on the blanket, screaming and laughing the whole way. He barked out a laugh. “Is this a yes?”

  “Yes!” I screamed. “Are you crazy? How could I say no?” He held me by the hips as I straddled his body, looking down at him. “Did you think I would turn you down?” I asked.

  “I didn’t know how you would take it,” he uttered honestly. “But I knew years ago that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. When you left, I still never gave up hope, not even when I found out you had gotten married.”

  Bending down slowly, I kissed him long and hard, an urgent need to claim him as my own overtook my senses. Breathing heavily, I pulled back from the kiss and gazed into Galen’s crystal blue eyes. “I love you, Galen,” I cried. “And I want nothing more than to be your wife and to make you happy.” His smile quickly disappeared as he swiftly wrapped his arms around my back, pulling me tight against him. His lips claimed mine, his tongue demanding as he entered my mouth, tasting me as if he couldn’t get enough. He flipped me onto my back gently, pressing me into the plush blanket and the soft expanse of the green grass below. He spread my legs apart with his knee and settled himself in between them. His bulging cock was hard and ready, pressed against my core.

  “I want to make love to you.” Galen groaned as he placed kisses along my neck. I sighed in contentment as he rubbed his hard and pulsating groin up and down between my legs turning me on and making me scream with pleasure.

  “Then make love to me.” I moaned in anticipation. I didn’t care if we were outdoors, I needed him right then and there.

  Galen quickly took me up on my offer, removing my shirt and bra in a single instant. The second they were gone, he took my nipple into his mouth and sucked hard while massaging my other breast. The tingling built from just his mouth and tongue devouring my breasts, and it wasn’t long before the release hit me hard and fast. Galen gave a seductive laugh and looked at me as if he triumphed.

  “I love that I can do that to you,” he teased.

  “Me too,” I whispered breathlessly. Galen stood and removed his shirt, pants, and boxers. Just looking at his long and rigid penis made me ache to have him thrusting and filling me up inside. Impatient, I began unzipping my pants and Galen bent down to help remove them. Moving my legs apart, I invited him in. He ran his hands down my legs and up my body until he reached my breasts. Galen moved closer, until the tip of his cock was pressed firmly against my opening. He trailed kisses along my jawline, down to my breasts, and then sucked gently on a nipple as he began to slowly push into my opening. I arched my back and moaned as he ran his hands all over my body while he pumped into me, filling me to the hilt.

  “Damn, Korinne, you’re so wet.” I loved it when he said stuff like that. Moving my hips with his thrusts, I wrapped my legs around his waist and drew him in tighter, willing him to push deeper. His movements became more frantic and he wrapped him arms tighter around my body, crushing me to him. The tingling of another orgasm was building, until I knew it was about to rack my body with its pleasure. Galen’s stiff cock penetrated me with need and desir
e, but I could tell he was slowly losing control. Only when I felt him pulsing inside of me did I let my release come. I rode the wave of ecstasy while he gave those last and final thrusts. His body jerked a couple of times before he relaxed and let out a sigh of contentment. Breathing hard and slick with sweat, we both lay together on the blanket, still joined … one.

  Galen kissed me gently before he pulled out and settled his body beside mine. “I think I could get used to this.” He sighed huskily while trailing a finger over my bare stomach.

  “I could, too,” I agreed. “Just think, we’ll be able to do this every day.” I looked around at the mountains surrounding us, and I couldn’t help but think how it was purely a slice of heaven. “It’s just a shame it can’t always be here in this spot,” I said.

  Galen’s finger caresses stopped mid-motion, and I glanced over at him to see that devilish smile of his again. Sitting up, he grabbed a blanket to place around my nude body. “What would you say if we could do it here always?”

  I narrowed my eyes at him in question. “I don’t understand. What are you talking about?”

  Galen grabbed the rolled up blueprint and laid it out in front of me. “I want you to take a look at this and tell me what you think.”

  I looked down at the sketch, but I noticed that it wasn’t finished yet. The layout was nowhere near completed. “What is this, Galen?”

  He tapped his finger down on the blueprint. “This, my love, is the first layout stage of our cabin.”

  “What?!” I screamed excitedly, peering at him with wide, shocked eyes.

  He let out a genuine laugh. “You’ve always wanted to live here in the mountains and have your own cabin. Well, this is my gift to you. I want you to help me finish designing the floor plan.” He cringed when I squealed and tackled him across the blanket. Exasperated and excited, I couldn’t stop the smile that took over my face. I wrapped my arms around him and held him tight while the excitement bubbled over. “I knew you would be excited, but I didn’t think you would be this excited,” he grunted from me squeezing him tight.

  “Are you kidding? I could run around here naked I’m so excited.”

  Galen shrugged. “I don’t see why not. It’s our land anyway, so you can do whatever you want to here.”

  If I was shocked before, I was even more shocked now. My eyes went wide as the realization of what he just said hit me. How many more surprises was he going to throw my way? “This is our land?” I asked, mesmerized and not completely sure if I heard him right. Could this beautiful place actually be mine? My hands began to shake as the excitement took over my body. Galen caught my face in his hands and kissed me soothingly to calm me down. I closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath and whispered, “Is this real? Are you even real?”

  His chest rumbled with laughter as he tilted my face up. “Open your eyes, love.” I did as he said and gazed at him. “This is the life you dreamed of and I’m going to give it to you.” He took my hand and kissed it. Galen may be fun, adventurous, and a complete alpha male, but he could also be gentle and caring. I loved that he could be all of those things and also have the biggest heart of anyone I knew. “Once we get the floor plan finished we can start building,” he told me.

  “How will we live here with our work mainly in Charlotte?”

  “Well … it might take a while before we can live here permanently, but at least we’ll have our own haven away from the city life. We can come up here as much as you want,” he amended.

  “That sounds good to me.” I laid down on the blanket and a wave of exhaustion washed over me. Galen laughed when I stifled a yawn.

  “I didn’t realize I was boring you,” he teased.

  “Oh hush! I think with all the excitement it’s worn me out, or … it could be all of those long nights,” I chided with a wink.

  Galen put on his clothes and gathered mine to hand them to me. “How about we head home and stay in for the night? I’ll cook you dinner and then we can watch a movie. You can even watch your favorite if you want to.”

  “That would be wonderful, but I think you should pick the movie tonight. I think you’ve let me choose the past few times.”

  “I have, haven’t I? Well, get dressed while I load the truck and we’ll be on our way.”

  After getting dressed and the truck was loaded, I took one final look at the place I’d soon be able to call my home. The ring on my finger glistened in the sun, and then the realization dawned on me. One day soon I was no longer going to be Korinne Anders, but … Korinne Matthews instead. That day couldn’t come soon enough.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Welcome back lovebirds,” Rebecca announced. Galen and I looked at each other and smiled. We had just gotten back from our honeymoon to the Virgin Islands two days ago, and now we were back at work.

  “It’s good to see you, Rebecca,” I greeted her warmly. “I hope you kept everyone in line while we were gone?”

  Waving me off, she scoffed. “The people here know they better listen to me. You have nothing to worry about Mrs. Matthews.”

  Galen pulled me close and whispered in my ear, “I really love the sound of that … Mrs. Matthews.”

  I giggled. “Well, get used to it because you’ll be hearing it a lot.”

  “How was the honeymoon? What did you guys do?” Rebecca asked eagerly.

  “We went snorkeling,” Galen mentioned off the top of his head.

  “Oh, and don’t forget the deep-sea fishing,” I quipped sarcastically. From the expression on Galen’s face, I knew he was picturing the way I looked on that boat in his head. We had to cut the fishing trip short because I couldn’t handle it anymore.

  Galen turned to Rebecca and chuckled. “Yeah, Korinne here couldn’t handle the ocean. The poor thing looked green the whole time, so we had to go back to shore to let her off.”

  “Yeah, and I remember your precise words, ‘Look at the horizon’ you kept telling me. Looking at the horizon didn’t do a damn bit of good for me!” I snapped. “I had never been so sick in my life!” I turned back to Rebecca. “Other than that fiasco, we had a great time. We relaxed on the beach and ate tons and tons of food. I got sick a few times, but I think it was the aftershocks of the boat. I haven’t felt right since.”

  “Well, I’m glad you two had a good time. Oh, and by the way, the wedding was beautiful. Korinne, you looked amazing,” she mentioned sweetly.

  “Thank you.”

  “I had never been to the gardens before, but I’ve seen numerous pictures of that place. The flowers were so beautiful, and you didn’t even have to buy them since they were already there for decoration, but all I can say is that you two were breathtaking. I think the newspaper had a field day with it, too,” Rebecca added.

  “Yeah, we saw that when we were at the airport. I didn’t realize I was such a hot commodity around here,” Galen teased while nudging me in the arm.

  “Well, not anymore! You’re a married man now. Here are your messages from the past week. You both have a lot of catching up to do.” Rebecca handed us our messages and I thumbed through mine. It looked like I had some new clients to call.

  “I guess we need to get to work,” Galen said enthusiastically while opening the door to the office. I had never seen anyone more passionate or in love with their job than Galen was with his. It was hard to find people that actually enjoyed what they did.

  “I agree. I have a ton of people to call,” I said.

  All my phone calls had been made by lunch time. I could barely keep my eyes open, and for the past two hours I’d been eyeing the couch in our office. Galen glanced over at me and said, “I have a lunch meeting to go to, babe. Do you want to come with me?”

  I was honestly not hungry at that moment, but a nap sure did sound appetizing. Shaking my head, I strode over to the couch. “Actually, I think I’ll stay here and take a nap. I feel exhausted,” I stammered wearily. Laying my head down on the soft pillow, Galen came over to make sure I was all right, concern etched on his
handsome face.

  “Are you going to be okay? Do you need me to take you home?”

  “No, you go to your meeting. I’ll be fine once I take a nap,” I assured him.

  Galen didn’t look like he believed me, but he let it go. I was so thankful he was brought back into my life. To that day Jenna still took all the credit for us getting together.

  “I’ll be back in two hours,” he stated, brushing his lips across my cheek before he silently left the office. It wasn’t long after he left that I fell into a deep sleep, remembering one of the best days of my life.

  “You look amazing, love,” Galen whispers softly to me while we danced to our wedding song. “How does it feel to be Mrs. Galen Matthews now?”

  “It feels amazing,” I say, completely mesmerized by the man that I can now call my husband. “I never would have thought that knowing you back in college would have led to this day.”

  “It was fate, Korinne. Our time wasn’t then, but it is now. Just think of all the things we’re going to do together. Especially tonight …” he teases, wiggling his eyebrows. “Oh yeah, I have some good news.”

  “What?” I ask excitedly.

  “We just got the go ahead to start building our cabin. The delay is finally over so once we get back from our honeymoon I’ll send the builders our floor plan,” he reveals happily.

  Excited, I jump up and down in his arms. “Oh my goodness, Galen, it’s all coming together so perfectly.”

  Galen holds me tight and kisses me tenderly. His blue eyes stare mesmerizingly into mine, making me melt with his gaze. I have a feeling his stare will always make me feel like that, even when we’re eighty years old. He smiles at me, but before our dance is over he whispers in my ear the words that I will never forget as long as I live. “Today, when you said ‘I do’, my life finally felt complete. We got our second chance at love, Korinne, and from this day forward you will always be mine. Always and forever mine.”