Second Chances 2
When You Were Mine
When Cora Blanchard said goodbye to Jamie Connolly seven years ago, she knew she'd have to see him again eventually. What she doesn't expect is for all of the old feelings she thought she had let go to come rushing back to the surface. It was as if nothing had changed. Fresh out of a highly publicized train wreck of a relationship, Cora is afraid to trust in those feelings or in herself. She tries to remain friends with him, but she's just fooling herself. There's no way she can be with him and not want more.
The moment that Jamie sees her, he realizes that seven years of silence and two thousand miles haven't changed his feelings. The only thing that has changed is Cora. He sees a sadness in her eyes that was never there before. Just as Jamie is starting to earn her love and her trust, someone threatens to tear them apart forever.
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 55,810 words
WHEN YOU WERE MINE
Second Chances 2
Michelle Roth
EROTIC ROMANCE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance
WHEN YOU WERE MINE
Copyright © 2015 by Michelle Roth
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63259-201-9
First E-book Publication: April 2015
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2015 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
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Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
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
Epilogue
About the Author
WHEN YOU WERE MINE
Second Chances 2
MICHELLE ROTH
Copyright © 2015
Chapter One
Cora Blanchard ran the tip of her finger along the edge of her mouth, wiping away the nearly invisible smudge from the lipstick she had just reapplied. It was completely vain, but despite the fact that she’d been a mess for the better part of six months, she didn’t want to look that way. Especially not today. It was her niece Sophie’s birthday. Everyone would be there. Jamie would be there.
She hadn’t seen him in the six years since they’d split up. It was bound to happen eventually though. His brother had ended up marrying her sister. A small part of her wanted to look freaking fabulous. It was petty, but still. She was entitled.
Cora felt another flutter of nerves as she repacked her lipstick into her purse. She grabbed the huge shopping bag from the seat next to her, and then forced herself to get out of the car. With a quick press of the button, her blue Audi TT was alarmed. She adjusted the box onto her hip and walked toward the side entrance, admiring the classic brick exterior of the building.
Her sister, Taryn, lived above the flower shop that her husband, Evan, owned with her family. The upper floor had been two separate apartments where they’d originally lived. When they’d gotten married, they remodeled it into one giant living space. It was huge, and it was gorgeous.
Stepping through the door they had conveniently left unlocked, she walked up the flight of stairs to the main entrance for the living space. It already sounded like bedlam inside so she didn’t even bother knocking. Nobody was likely to hear it over the noise anyway.
Cautiously, she stepped inside and was immediately greeted by the sound of yelling children in the playroom off to the side of the living room. The twins sat on the couch, both texting away on their cell phones. The adults were nowhere in sight.
She set the gift down and moved toward the playroom, intent on finding Sophie. As she walked through the door, the children were coloring at the table. Madison looked up from her sketch pad with a frown and said, “Hey Aunt Cora. I’ve been banished to the kids’ playroom.”
“It stinks being just old enough to be responsible. Doesn’t it?”
“Totally,” Maddy agreed.
“What are you drawing?” Cora asked, peering down at the sketch pad.
When Madison held up the sketch pad, Cora’s eyes widened. It was a horse running through a field. For a nine-year-old—heck, probably for anyone, it was a damn good likeness. A ton better than she’d have been able to accomplish. Finally, she said, “That’s amazing. You’ve got a real gift!”
Madison shrugged and said, “It’s no big deal.” Cora could see the smile tug at the corners of her mouth though as she returned her attention back to the sketch pad. She had just been dismissed, Cora realized, as she scanned the room.
Cora walked over to where Sophie sat babbling happily
and playing with her dolls. When she leaned in and picked her up, Sophie squealed in delight. After she had pressed several smacking kisses to her cheeks, she set her down and greeted the rest of the children, who largely ignored her.
The kids coloring at the table had broken out into a heated battle over missing crayons. When Donnie’s youngest, Karla, started screaming that someone had stolen her turquoise, Cora edged toward the door.
Once she was back into the main entryway, she briefly considered making her escape but Taryn popped her head out of the dining area and said, “I knew I heard the door!”
Cora picked up the large shopping bag, then grinned and confessed, “I was about to make a break for it.”
“No escape,” Taryn said. “Let me take that. Unless it makes any kind of noise, in which case, you have to take it back.”
Cora said, “Just a teddy bear.”
Taryn gave a sigh of relief and said, “Thank god,” as she took the box and moved toward her bedroom with it.
“Did I mention it sings the song that never ends? It’s great!”
Cora watched, tongue in cheek, as Taryn froze and then turned slowly to face her
“Why are you trying to ruin my life, Cora? Why do you hate me?” Taryn whined.
“It doesn’t make any noise. Jesus. Melodramatic much?”
Taryn patted her belly and said, “I’m three months pregnant on two hours of sleep last night. You’re lucky I’m not sobbing right now.”
Cora smirked and asked, “Does he never let you rest?”
Taryn caught her meaning, then laughed and said, “Not usually but last night I couldn’t stop throwing up. Nothing puts a man off like vomit breath.”
“That’s just…gross, honey.”
“That’s what he said when I tried to kiss him,” Taryn snickered.
“Sick,” Cora said with a grimace as they moved toward her bedroom.
Taryn set the gift down on the bed with the others and inspected her outfit. After a moment, she said, “You look hot.”
“Thanks. I couldn’t handle another afternoon of pitying looks from your family. I figured I’d better at least make myself presentable. Ice-cream-and-barbecue-sauce-stained yoga pants with ‘Juicy’ written across the ass seemed inappropriate,” Cora said.
“Ouch,” Taryn winced. “Is it that bad?”
Cora shook her head and said, “No. The press has stopped camping out in front of my place. They’ve finally figured out there’s no story to be found.”
“Thank god. Fucking vultures.”
“I just wish Bryce had been a pig in a more private setting. Then I could have found out that I was getting cheated on in the same way that most other people do. Finding out in the gossip section of the L.A. Chronicle was brutal,” Cora said. “But, whatever. Fuck him. I look fabulous today.”
Taryn reached out and gave her a quick squeeze, then said, “Damn right. Come out here and sit with us. We’re putting together some of the side dishes.”
As they moved out of the bedroom, Taryn said, “Jamie’s upstairs, ya know.”
“Yeah,” Cora said, trying for a casual tone. “You mentioned he was back.”
“Are you…” Taryn trailed off.
“I’ll be fine,” Cora said, waving her concern off. “We didn’t part badly. When he moved, it just got too hard to try. We didn’t see each other for months at a clip. He was working insane hours and I was in grad school. There aren’t hard feelings. Not on my side, at least.”
“Mmkay. If you need to leave, honey, just let me know,” Taryn said.
Cora waved her off and said, “If I can survive the shit storm with Bryce, then I can see an ex that I parted with amicably in a group setting. Besides. It’s Sophie’s birthday. I couldn’t miss that.”
“C’mon then. Let’s go get you a drink,” Taryn said.
Cora let out a deep breath. Maybe a drink would help her jittery nerves.
They passed through the main living area, where Steven and Cory paused in their epic battle over the remote control. Cora gave them a quick wave and tried not to notice that they were staring at her boobs.
As they walked into the dining room, Cora asked, “Is it me or do the twins get creepier each time I see them?”
Taryn smirked and said, “Not just you. To their credit, though, they don’t do that to anyone they’re actually related to by blood.”
“Still,” Cora said, shuddering slightly.
Together they walked into the kitchen where the women were gathered. She heard several voices call out her name in greeting so she made her way around the room exchanging greetings by way of hugs.
When Jane, Taryn’s mother-in-law asked, “Hey. Where the heck is mine?” Cora moved over to where she stood chopping at the counter and dutifully gave her a hug and a kiss. “Hi, Jane.”
Jane set the knife down, then pulled her in closer and said, a grin on her face, “Good to see you, sweetheart.”
A couple of minutes later she was settled onto a stool at the countertop bar with a glass of wine. She realized that Taryn had really won the lottery so far as families went. She’d gotten to know the entire group over the years and she genuinely liked each one of them. Except maybe the twins.
Unsurprisingly, Taryn pushed a cutting board and a stack of vegetables her way and said, “Here ya go. Chop these while I stare longingly at your wine.”
“You can smell it, if you want,” Cora said, smirking.
Taryn narrowed her eyes and then pushed more carrots toward her.
Cora waited dutifully as Taryn moved to the butcher block and retrieved a large chef’s knife. As Taryn passed it over, she gestured to the carrots and asked, “How do you want these cut?”
“Julienne cut, please.”
“Not a chance. How about I slice them in rounds? That’s a pound and a half of carrots.”
Taryn frowned at her and said, “Fine, fine. I mostly just wanted to see if you’d do it anyway. Rounds make the most sense.”
“Lack of sleep makes you sadistic, Tare.”
Taryn smirked and said, “Evan’s been hiding upstairs with the menfolk since noon for a reason.”
Impulsively, Cora set aside the knife and slid off the stool. She pulled Taryn into a hug and quietly said, “You’re doing great, even if you feel like a crazy lady.”
Taryn squeezed her and whispered, “Thank you. Now can I please just sniff your wine?”
Cora laughed, pushed the glass toward her on the counter, and said, “Have at it.”
A few minutes later, the room was clamoring with several different conversations at once. As she chopped, she was half listening to them all and talking with Maureen about her webpage. She’d tried to make one for her practice and it was rudimentary at best. She was going to have to give up and hire it out. Since she was family, it made the most sense to use Maureen.
They discussed the general layout and color scheme that she had in mind. When Maureen started to talk about search engine optimization, Cora stared blankly.
“Search engine optimization is when you—”
Maureen broke off in the middle of her explanation. Cora watched as her eyes shifted toward the doorway of the kitchen. The entire room went silent. She knew Jamie was standing there. Even with her back facing toward him, she could feel his eyes on her. Slowly, she set the knife down and turned around.
Jamie stood in the doorway of the kitchen, frozen, as if he was unsure it was safe to enter. She gave him a wave and said, “Hey.”
Their eyes connected, and she felt the same familiar longing. It had been years, but he had barely changed. Maybe he looked a little older but his eyes still had that same mischievous sparkle that she remembered. She smiled in greeting. Mostly because she couldn’t help herself.
That familiar smile tugged at the corners of his mouth in answer. He raised a hand in greeting and said, “Hey.”
She felt that stupid rush of warmth come over her. It was the same one that she had always felt when he smiled at her.
She cursed herself mentally, broke eye contact, and turned around to continue chopping vegetables. She’d have to engage in some sort of conversation with him at some point, but she certainly didn’t want to do it with all these witnesses.
As she calmly chopped, she heard the sound of the refrigerator opening and then closing. Seconds later, he said, “As you were, ladies.”
Everyone’s eyes turned from the doorway back to her. She remained stubbornly silent. She was absolutely not rehashing the moment with his sisters and his mother. Not going to happen.
Wisely, Taryn started the conversation again and slowly everyone else joined in. Cora focused on the vegetables in front of her and continued slicing until Maureen finally called her name and shook her out of her reverie.
“What?” she asked. “Oh, sorry. I was in the zone.”
“I can see that,” Maureen said. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Cora said. “Fine.”
Maureen only raised an eyebrow at her.
“I’m fine,” Cora snapped.
She watched as Maureen held up her hands in surrender and then felt guilty.
“Sorry, sorry,” Cora said. “Clearly, I’m not fine. It was weird. It’s been six years but everyone still knew it was going to be weird.”
“The dead silence didn’t help either, I’m sure,” Maureen added.
Cora shook her head and laughed. “Not in the least. Thank you, though. I’ll survive.”
A little over an hour and a half later, all of the women and children had migrated to the rooftop of the building. When Evan had purchased the building, one of the first things that he’d done was turn the roof into a large outdoor seating area with a grill, a fire pit, some large picnic tables and a greenhouse tucked off to one side.
The family all mingled upstairs now as Evan manned the grill. When she went over to say hello, she spied several rib eye steaks in varying stages of doneness. She poked him in the ribs and said, “Hey there.”
When You Were Mine [Second Chances 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 1
