SECOND CHANCES: A ROMANCE WRITERS OF AMERICA® COLLECTION

by ROMANCE WRITERS OF AMERICA®

  Between the shadows, he caught sight of his brother, Tyler, leaning against a sporty rental car idling along the curb.

  “You made it.” Tyler gripped Drew in a bear hug.

  “Barely. And I’m starved.” Drew tossed his bag in the rear seat.

  “Not to worry. Noël’s dad is taking good care of us.” Tyler slipped behind the wheel and steered toward the main road.

  Drew cut a side glance, exhaling. Did he get into it now or wait until a decent meal took the edge off?

  “You’re going to love Noël, Drew.”

  “You realize I came to talk you out of this.” Might as well get into it.

  Ty chuckled, low, disbelieving. “You know, I’m grown up now. I know what I’m doing. I don’t need my big brother looking out for me.”

  Five years younger, Tyler was the son of his mother’s second husband. When the marriage went south, Drew made sure Tyler ate his breakfast, did his homework, and took his nightly bath.

  “You just met this girl. On a surfing trip to Costa Rica. How can you pledge your life to someone you’ve only known for three months? Need I remind you about the others?” The ones Ty fell head-over-heels for. “You were engaged to—”

  “I knew you’d bring up Amanda.”

  “And Kayleigh. And Jodi.”

  “I wasn’t engaged to Kayleigh or Jodi. Look, I’m not the same guy. This with Noël? It’s real. I know it.” He smacked his chest. “I feel it.”

  “That’s what you said about all of them.” What Drew had said about Louise.

  “I was eighteen with Amanda.” Tyler sighed, hammering the steering wheel as he pulled up to a red light. The sign on Drew’s left indicated they were heading up US 1.

  “I’m just pointing out your track record.”

  “I’m sorry about what happened with you and Louise, but don’t rain on my happiness.”

  “There’s no rain. Just sound advice. Losing Louise, and my career, was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

  “Oh, really? So why are you hiding in Hawaii? When are you going to give love another chance?”

  “I’m busy, building the business. But you … you’re basing the next fifty-plus years of your life on a two-week dalliance in Costa Rica followed by three months of texting, FaceTime, and a couple of long weekends. There’s been no testing of your relationship, of how you’ll be together. You’re not even out of giddy, butterflies stage.”

  “We’ve had plenty of reality checks.” The light flashed green, and Tyler hit the gas.

  “Okay, like what?” Drew powered down his window letting the wintery breeze of Florida’s east coast cool his jet-lagged, hot skin, listening as Tyler rattled off a bunch of stupid “challenges” he and Noël had faced.

  Like where to have the wedding. If he should wear a tux or not. If they should have a vanilla or chocolate cake.

  Drew laughed, and even he heard the sardonic note. “Vanilla or chocolate cake? You think cake flavors are a test of your relationship?”

  “Okay … we had a tough time deciding if we’d have joint or separate checking accounts.”

  Drew slapped his chest. “You’re killing me.”

  “What? Money is the one thing couples fight over more than anything. We decided if we keep separate accounts, then we won’t fight.”

  “Until you realize she spent three hundred dollars on a pair of shoes while you paid five hundred for the electric, water, and garbage bill.”

  “That’s not fair, Drew. Don’t make Noël out to be like Louise.”

  “My past doesn’t change the truth, Ty. You’re a dreamer, and this marriage is in haste. I aim to take you to Honolulu as a single man.”

  In the light of the dash, Drew caught the tense knot in his brother’s jaw. “I’m not abandoning my fiancée three nights before our wedding.”

  “Then I can’t be your best man.” He threw down the gauntlet. It was harder to say than Drew imagined.

  Tyler swore under his breath. “You beat all, man. My own brother …”

  “I’m trying to save you from yourself.”

  “No, you’re trying to save me from you. But you have us confused. It’s my life, Drew. My choice. You can’t always be bossing me around, playing the big brother. You haven’t even met her yet.”

  “I’d love to meet her. Tell her exactly what I’m telling you.” A sad dread twisted in his chest. The burn and burden of being both brother and parent. The fear of Ty’s heart breaking like Drew’s. He couldn’t bear it. He couldn’t.

  One day before New Year’s Eve

  ANSLEY RODE WITH HER mother to the hotel on the beach. She and Noël were staying in the honeymoon suite for Noël’s last night as a single woman. Tomorrow night, Tyler would take Ansley’s place.

  “You slept well,” Mom said, her reddish-brown hair whipping in the breeze. She’d insisted on dropping the top to her new convertible Mustang despite the cold late December morning. The woman who’d wanted Ansley to be a doctor recently started independently publishing sweet romance novels and apparently earned herself a new car.

  And Dad had joined a golf club.

  “Thanks for breakfast. It was good.” Eggs, bacon, toast, a chilled Diet Coke. Mom carried it up to Ansley’s room, the same one she’d slept in from eight to eighteen.

  The home touches surprised her. She missed her family and the pieces of herself she lost while on the road.

  Ten years ago, Ansley couldn’t wait to leave. She bolted the day after she graduated from high school—a backpack trip through Europe with girlfriends, then off to Florida State to major in music—and never looked back.

  She wanted to be a star. Away from the goody-goody life her parents espoused. But lately, she’d started to remember the sweet moments she had with Jesus and her guitar.

  From her jean’s pocket, her phone vibrated. Noël. Ansley answered with, “I’m about five minutes away.”

  “His brother … he… he’s trying to convince … Tyler… too soon. He … doesn’t… know… me…” Noël’s sobs echoed through to Ansley. “… not get married.”

  Ansley sat forward with a glance at her mother. “Noël, slow down. What are you saying?”

  “His brother …” Noël’s sob echoed through Ansley. “Doesn’t want us to get married. He said it’s too soon … we don’t know each other well enough.”

  Who was this overreaching, evil brother? “Noël, we’re almost there.”

  “What’s going on?” Mom said, a side glance at Ansley.

  “Tyler’s brother is fighting the wedding. Told him it was too soon.”

  Mom clucked her tongue while Ansley promised to find the brother and give him a piece of her mind.

  No one hurt her best friend.

  Minutes later, Noël collapsed against Ansley as she crossed the honeymoon suite’s threshold.

  “Ans, what am I going to do? He’s going to leave me. The love of my life … What will I do without the love of my life?”

  “Hush, hush, Ty is not going to leave you.”

  “We were fine … doing great. So in love. So sure. Until his stupid brother showed up.” Anger flashed over Noël’s sorrow.

  “What does Tyler want? What does he say?”

  “H-he’s thinking of … postponing.” Sadness rimmed her friend’s blue eyes with red, tears welling and spilling over. “Going to Hawaii without me.”

  “Where’s his room?” Ansley started for the door. Noël had been her rock when Ansley dropped out of Florida State to pursue music. She’d run interference with Ansley’s parents, remind her of her dream when she faltered, and kept her life straight when she shot to stardom.

  “What?” Noël dried her eyes. Blew her nose. “Are you going up there?”

  “You bet.”

  “Ansley, now wait a minute.” Mom, all sober and earth
grounding. “If he can be that manipulated by his brother, maybe Noël is dodging a bullet here.”

  “Or, maybe he needs to be reminded how amazing she is and why he fell in love with her in the first place.”

  “Mrs. Moore, do you think we should wait?” Now Noël was caving. “I asked my mom, but she’s as upset as I am.”

  “I think you two have to work this out for yourselves.”

  “They’re getting married.” Ansley jerked open the door. “Noël, I wrote you and Tyler a wedding song and I’m singing it tomorrow night. Now, what room is he in?”

  “Nine twenty-one.”

  Up the elevator and down the hall, Ansley rapped on Tyler’s door, rehearsing a short speech, her heart thumping, as she waited for him to answer, the clank of dishes reverberating through the door.

  When the door swung open, she launched her speech. “Listen, Tyler—”

  But it wasn’t Tyler on the other side, it was Drew Callahan from Honolulu, from Atlanta, from first class. A thick anticipation surged through her.

  He leaned against the door in nothing but a pair of board shorts, his T-shirt fitted to his tan, muscled frame. His blue gaze bore through her until she felt every secret she possessed about to be exposed.

  “Ansley Moore’s doppelgänger. What a pleasant surprise.”

  “Wh-what are you doing here?” Her words tripped over her lips. Drew’s presence set the edge of her heart on fire.

  “I was about to ask you the same thing.” He eyed her, still with that enticing gaze and stood aside for her to enter. “Want to come in?” He gestured to the open balcony doors. “The Atlantic is perfect this morning. Calm, blue, beautiful.”

  The word beautiful lingered on her.

  “No, no, I can’t. I’m on a mission.” She backed away. “I must have the wrong room.” Ansley glanced at the number on the door. 921. “I was looking for Tyler Houston.”

  He tipped his head, beckoning her to enter. “You’re in the right place. He’s my brother.”

  “You’re Tyler’s brother?”

  He watched her as she entered, making her conscious of her movements, of her bare face, of her hair in a sloppy ponytail.

  “He’d like to deny it from time to time, but yeah.”

  Drawing a deep breath, Ansley faced him. “Well, my best friend is a broken, scared, sobbing bride because of you.” She tapped him on the chest.

  His eyes widened. “Your wedding is this wedding?”

  “Yes. And you’re messing things up.” She sat in the nearest chair, then shot to her feet again, hands on her hips, her jaw set. “You’re really Tyler’s brother? Where is he by the way?”

  “Out running errands. Look, Ansley, I’m sorry for your friend, but Tyler has no business getting married to someone he’s only known three months. Most of those long distance.”

  She regarded him for a second, trying to dislike him, trying to be angry. But compassion rimmed his eyes, and she knew he loved his brother.

  “That’s not your decision, Drew. It’s theirs. Do you have a vendetta against happily ever after?”

  “Ha! There is no such thing as happily ever after. My brother knows it. I know it. Our mom married four times trying to find that elusive land of happily ever after.”

  “Ah, I see. A cynic.” She took a step toward him. “Did you know Noël’s parents have been happily married for thirty-two years? My parents are going on thirty-five. Happy, lasting marriages do happen … despite the cynics and naysayers.”

  “Do you know Tyler has been engaged twice before?” He moved around the chair, his attention set on her. “He falls in love at the drop of a hat.”

  “I don’t know about dropping hats, but what he has with Noël is real.” Ansley stepped closer, into his space. A fragrant, clean space.

  “How do you know?” He mirrored her step with his own. “How much time have you spent with them? And when were you last in love?”

  “Besides not being any of your business, my love life has no bearing on theirs.” She jutted out her chin and moved nearer. “But I know true love when I see it.”

  “Do you now? What is that, some sort of super power?”

  “Maybe. Yeah, it is. It makes me a great country song writer.” Ansley poked him in the chest again. His very firm chest. “Here’s my question. What gives you the right to barge in here and demand Tyler abandon his fiancée? This is their wedding, their decision, their lives.”

  Drew snatched her hand, holding it tight, his body inches from hers. “I’m his brother. If I don’t speak the truth to him, who will?”

  “You should’ve spoken your piece before the wedding weekend.”

  “In a perfect world, yes.” He released her. Her hand tingled where his had been. “But I didn’t know about the ceremony until two days ago. He didn’t tell me because he knew what I would say. What does that tell you, Ansley?”

  “That he’s a smart guy.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about. This … this whole wedding isn’t about love, it’s about … lust … or some fantasy.”

  “Oh, you’re some sort of expert, are you?”

  “Let’s say I’ve had a few experiences.”

  “The kind that makes you bitter? Envious of other people? The kind that make you fly thousands of miles to break up a wedding? By the way, what kind of businessman doesn’t have a cellphone?”

  A red hue ran under his high cheeks. “You shouldn’t talk about stuff of which you know nothing.” He walked toward the door, his back straight and stiff, the edges of his hair curling at the top of his neck. “Have a good day, Ansley.”

  She paused in front of him as she exited the room, shaking her hand, trying to release the feel of his touch. Of the overwhelming sensation that with Drew Callahan, she’d be safe. “Stay out of their way, Drew.”

  “Sure, and you stay out of mine, Ansley.”

  He thought of her all day. He should be irritated, but the girl with the hazel eyes and determined soul drove him to distraction.

  Heading to the beach for a run, he passed the rehearsal ballroom, pausing as a soft melody slipped around the open door, the singer’s smooth, raspy voice capturing him.

  “Sometimes you have to let go and trust your heart.”

  Peering around the door, he saw Ansley on stage with her guitar, eyes closed, singing as if she were the only troubadour in the universe.

  He swallowed hard, quelling his pounding heart. Her melody, her posture, made him want to hold her, kiss her, and say things to her he’d not said to a woman in a long time—if ever.

  When the last chord rang out, Drew slipped away. He didn’t want to be moved. Or soften to love. He wanted his brother to come to his senses.

  He’d spent the afternoon trying to reason with Tyler. But the more his brother talked, the more Drew felt his argument weakening.

  By the time the sun was about to set, he’d been argued out and needed the run to clear his mind. He told Ty not to expect him at the rehearsal.

  “You’re just projecting your broken heart on me. I won’t let you, Drew.”

  Ty’s words reverberated through Drew as he ducked through the lobby for the beachside exit.

  “I saw you. Listening.”

  He turned to see Ansley coming his way. “I wasn’t necessarily hiding. Nice song by the way.”

  “I wrote it for Ty and Noël. Going to cut it on my next album. Maybe they’ll have a hit song dedicated to their love.”

  “Or divorce.” He pressed through the door onto the boardwalk, stretching.

  She followed, laughing. “Wow, you are cynical. What did she do to you? And rehearsal is that way.” She pointed toward the door. “In the ballroom. And you’re going to be there.”

  He snorted. “You’re going to bully me into going? Send a henchman in to break my arm?”


  She knocked on his forehead. “Why are all the pretty ones so clueless? Drew, he’s getting married with or without you. You abandon him now, you’ll create a wedge that will take forever to fix. But if you go in there as his best man, you’ll be his hero. What if, God forbid, your dire prediction comes true and something does go wrong in their marriage? Don’t you want to be the first one he calls? I don’t know what happened to create this bitterness in you, but don’t paint it all over your brother.”

  Her bold truth cut through his weakening resolve. Losing his relationship with Ty would kill him. “But they’ve only known each other a few months.” Even to his ears, his argument sounded weak and tired. Joyless.

  “So? They love each other. Is that so hard to believe, Callahan?”

  He glanced toward the beach with a long exhale.

  “Sometimes you have to let go and trust your heart.”

  “For ten years, I worked in San Francisco buying and selling businesses. Made my first million at twenty-eight. I slept with my cellphone in my hand. I had a drop-dead gorgeous fiancée, Louise. A socialite. Daughter of a hotel mogul. I had a staff of twenty and had the proverbial tiger by the tail. No, I owned the tiger. Then, four years ago, I had not one but two near heart attacks. Stress was literally killing me.”

  “Ah, I’m sorry. I guess that explains the anti-technology. But why the anti-love?”

  “Wanting my brother to marry with his eyes wide open doesn’t make me anti-love.”

  “But you are, aren’t you?”

  “I prefer cautious.” He didn’t like the way she read him, saw through to his core.

  “What happened to Louise?”

  “She left me at the altar while five hundred of our closest friends and family looked on. By left, I mean she flew to Bora Bora the night before with her maid of honor’s brother. I heard they got married last year.”

  Ansley whistled low, soft and her quick touch on his arm sent a flame to his heart. “Okay, I get why you’re cautious. But trust me, Noël would never do that to Ty.”

  “No one thought Louise would do such a thing to me. And I’m not just concerned about Ty. Noël’s getting in the ring with a guy who’s tapped out once before.”