by Lee Rose
Willow Springs 1
Give Love a Chance
Noelle Carrington has been betrayed too many times in her life. Love is just too messy and painful for her. From now on she is concentrating on her business. If only Chance Brooks would stop tempting her into giving him another chance she might be able to focus on her business and not on love. He had his chance and he took her for granted.
Chance Brooks knows he messed up his relationship with his girlfriend Noelle Carrington. Now that he is a retired military man, he plans on getting her to give him another chance to make things right. He plans on being the victor in this mission.
Someone does not want Chance to succeed. They want to keep Chance for themselves, even if that means removing Noelle from the picture forever.
Can Chance protect Noelle and win back her heart before it is too late?
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 41,821 words
GIVE LOVE A CHANCE
Willow Springs 1
Lee Rose
EROTIC ROMANCE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance
GIVE LOVE A CHANCE
Copyright © 2016 by Lee Rose
E-book ISBN: 978-1-68295-315-0
First E-book Publication: June 2016
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2016 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
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
About the Author
GIVE LOVE A CHANCE
Willow Springs 1
LEE ROSE
Copyright © 2016
Chapter 1
Chance Brooks didn’t believe in coincidences. When he spotted Noelle Carrington coming out of the grocery store on his first day back in Willow Springs, Missouri, he took it as a sign. Noelle was the woman that had been on his mind for the last six months. The woman who kept him up at night. She had belonged to him until he messed everything up with his doubts and fears. He had to ship out with his military unit before he had time to resolve anything with Noelle. He hated leaving things in such bad shape, but at the time he had no choice.
The devastation she felt the night she caught him and Carly kissing in the bar had been clear on her face for anyone to see. He never stopped seeing it when his eyes were closed.
Chance sat in his pickup truck at the stop sign trying to make a quick decision. Could he pass up this opportunity to talk to her? Should he wait? Instead of going straight down the road where his mother lived, he made a right turn and pulled into the store parking lot. It was late in the evening and not too crowded. That was one point in his favor. He did not need half the town listening to his conversation with Noelle Carrington. He was sure everyone knew what went down six months ago.
Chance wasn’t sure what he would even say to her. He didn’t have a speech planned. His plan had been to wait a few days and let himself rest and get used to being a civilian again. Then he planned to search his hometown of Willow Springs to find her. Noelle was stubborn, but he was a determined man and he wanted a chance to fix things between them.
He wondered if Noelle would even give him the time of day and speak to him. Last time he had laid eyes on her she looked at him with a hatred he never thought he would see in her sweet eyes. Thoughts of how he had hurt his beautiful angel consumed him, leaving him a miserable bastard. Most people would say he deserved to suffer, and he had. Every single day he was without her his heart and body ached. He had been a bastard. There was no denying that. He had been so consumed with fighting his feelings for Noelle that he never realized what he was doing to her.
Noelle was coming out of the grocery store with a brown paper bag attached to her side. She looked a lot thinner than he remembered. It was just another nail in his coffin knowing the blame lay on his shoulders. Dark glasses covered her pretty hazel eyes. The spring sun was bright and making the temperature feel warm after a long winter.
She wasn’t even smiling. She looked so serious. That was not the Noelle he remembered. Her personality was serious at times, but he had made it his personal mission to see her smile. When he had succeeded and she would give him a smile that competed with the sun, his heart would swell until it felt ready to burst. She had been his sunshine, but he had been too scared to be honest with her. He regretted that now. He managed to destroy something beautiful. Her love for him. He had come to that conclusion a little late, but that didn’t mean he would just give up. Soldiers never gave up.
She was wearing a long-sleeved, light blue dress that landed mid-thigh. Her dark brown, chestnut hair was s
hort now, just reaching past her shoulders, and had a bunch of golden blonde streaks in it. The sun hit the streaks and made them glisten brightly.
Gathering up his courage, he got out of his truck. There was no time like the present. He walked up to her hoping like hell she didn’t slap him across the face the way he deserved. He sped up his steps to catch up with her.
She just unlocked her car door and placed the bag inside the backseat. She was bending down, and he had to bite his lip when he noticed her round-shaped ass was still plump and tempting. The material of the dress hugged her shape, making his cock twitch with excitement. This wasn’t a good time to think about sinking into her soft, sexy body. It had been much too long since he held her in his arms.
“Hello, Noelle.” His voice came out gruff because he was so nervous. He was a thirty-two-year-old man who ran his life with control and confidence. Noelle was the only one who had the power to unsettle him. From the beginning his feelings for her messed with his head. They consumed him and baffled him. How could a slip of a girl six years younger than him slip past his defenses?
He heard her gasp, and she turned toward him. She lifted her sunglasses to the top of her head as if she needed to double-check her vision. Her hair was cut in sassy layers that fit her thin face. She stared at him without blinking. Pain, and worse, weariness, filled her pretty, hazel eyes. The look made his chest ache. Regret filled his very soul, knowing he was the reason that look was there. Her eyes used to light up with joy when they landed on him. Now they were somber and unhappy. He could smell her flowery scent, and it was torture to not pull her into his arms and hold her and whisper in her ears all the things he wanted to do to her. Knowing she was waiting for him had been the best part of his homecomings. All that was gone now.
“Chance?” she whispered as if still trying to make herself believe he was actually standing there in front of her. He knew she hated him, and he could not blame her. He had been such an arrogant ass, dismissing her concerns over Carly’s intentions toward him. He knew he should just leave her alone and let her get over him, but he wasn’t giving up on them. He couldn’t. His soul could not live without her.
“It’s me,” he confirmed. He braced himself for a storm. Noelle was fierce and hot tempered. He expected her to yell, maybe even slap him, and then burst into tears. He would take it.
She surprised the hell out of him instead. She sighed with resignation, and her eyes got bright with unshed tears. She blinked a few times, as if refusing to allow them to fall. His gut burned with regret at the thought of her crying. He fucked up. There was no denying it, but he didn’t like feeling the waves of sorrow coming from her. He wanted to reach out and hold her. He saw her chest rise when she took a deep breath. A calmness took over her expression. Was he too late to fix things between them?
“So you’re back in town? I am sure your mother and Carly will be thrilled to have you back.” Her voice was so calm that he immediately hated it. He felt his own anger rise. It was as if she was talking to a passing stranger. He hated the chilling, polite voice. He wanted to feel the heat, the passion, and the joy she brought with her. He had spent a lot of time thinking of what he wanted. Her, permanently.
“Are you glad to see me, angel? It has been six long months. I missed you.” Chance searched for a sign, any sign. He was desperate to see anything that told him she would be open to listening to him.
“I doubt you missed me, Chance. How could you when you’ve spent all your time writing Carly love letters.” Her answer was icy cold. He could feel her pain radiating off of her. She turned her back to him, making him feel it just as strongly as if she had decked him. He preferred to feel the physical pain. The emotional pain sucked. He pressed his lips together, holding in his sarcastic retort. He expected anger, maybe a few tears, but not this coldness.
“I haven’t written to Carly. I don’t know where that idea came from. We need to talk. We never had the chance to talk before I shipped out.” He tried to sound patient, but that wasn’t him. He knew it was not going to be easy, but once he made up his mind about something he liked to resolve things quickly and efficiently.
She turned back to him looking outraged. He even took a small step back to give her some space. At least the coldness was gone from her expression. Her emotions were genuine now.
“Months ago I would have gladly talked things out with you. Now? It’s too late for any explanations.” Her hazel eyes flashed with fury, but at least the cool and polite version of her had left. Her voice was husky with emotion she was trying to hide so desperately. It looked like she held on to her composure by a thread. He felt guilty for pressing her, but he had to break down her defenses. If it was one thing he knew how to do, it was get past a defense. Years of military training had taught him that. Noelle would be the hardest mission ever, but he would succeed. His future depended on his success.
“I tried calling you before I left town. I stopped by your house the morning I left. You threw me to the wolves,” he reminded her, folding his arms across his chest. His hands were itching to just grab her and kiss her. He wanted to remind her of the intensity of desire and need between them. She needed him just like he needed her.
She put her glasses back over her eyes and slightly lifted her chin up. “That’s a bit dramatic even for you. I had Quinn answer my door for me. I had no desire to listen to more of your lies. I am sure Quinn would resent being called a wolf.”
“She threatened to skin me alive if I went near you again. She’s fierce. I believed her.” Chance snorted thinking of the redheaded dynamo Noelle called her best friend. “Besides, I had no choice but to report back to base. I knew you were hurting, and I wanted to give us both time to cool off. I had no idea my mission would last so long. I wanted to write you, but I figured my letters would get burned unopened.”
She shrugged her shoulders in a careless manner. “Who knows? It’s pointless now.”
Her skin was smooth and golden. Fighting his need to kiss her and remind her what they had was making him sweat more than the warm sun.
“I am not on a schedule this time, so we will talk sooner or later,” he warned her.
“We have nothing left to say, Chance. It was over between us the moment you slept with another woman. Maybe you didn’t return my feelings, but we agreed to be exclusive. You cheated on me.” Her voice rose with unresolved fury. He could see the conflict she was trying to deny. She felt the pull between them, but she was fighting it. It gave him hope that it wasn’t too late.
He hated muscling his way in, but he knew softness and begging would get him nowhere. He needed to be strong and prove to her that he was ready to treat their relationship seriously. He had plenty of time to think over what went wrong between them. Noelle was insecure, and he had not realized how deep it went. She never spoke about her parents, but his mother told him how they had neglected their only daughter. They had been a selfish couple who didn’t deserve a child. Everyone in town knew it, but no one did anything besides gossip about it. He knew she had trust issues, and he hadn’t realized until it was too late how hard it had been for her to allow him into her heart. He had fought his own feelings for Noelle, giving her the impression he was just using her for sex. Not taking her concerns seriously over Carly had been another huge mistake on his part. He had thought of Carly as a harmless flirt who meant no harm. That was the furthest thing from the truth.
“I did not have sex with Carly. I am guilty of not stopping the kiss between us the night you saw us. I was drunk,” he yelled, no longer caring about not making a scene or being patient. If people overheard it would save him from having to repeat himself over and over. The residents of his hometown were known for their nosiness.
“I will regret that night to my dying day. I was too blind to see the real Carly, but those days are over.” He forced himself to breathe through his nose and stay calm.
Noelle didn’t respond for a second. She gave him a look filled with hatred. “According to the gossip sh
e started, you were having an affair with her right under my nose.”
He started to deny it, feeling like he could shake Carly for her stupidity, but she put her hand up, stopping him. “I am exhausted. It’s been a long, busy day at the store. I can’t do this right now, Chance.”
“I am not giving up, Noelle. I’ll let it be for now because you do look exhausted, and so am I. Mark my words, angel, you and I will talk this out,” he said firmly, letting her know he was serious. “A day hasn’t gone by that I haven’t thought about you. I am sorry for my actions, but that doesn’t mean I am willing to give up on us. Are you?”
“There is no us, Chance.” She put a strand of hair behind her ear, and he saw her hand shaking. Despite the months apart, the wound was still fresh. Six months had not lessened the pain for either of them.
“The only us lived in my imagination. I was someone you had sex with, and according to Carly, you had sex with her, too. My eyes are open now,” she snapped with such bitterness it shocked him.
Every instinct he had told him to throw her over his shoulder and take her somewhere where they could be alone. She was too angry and emotional right now, so he would let it go for a few days. She had dark circles under her eyes, and her skin was pale. He wondered if she had been sick.
“You can’t hide from me, Noelle, so don’t even try, for both of our sakes.” He turned and walked back to his truck, not caring if people were staring or whispering to each other.
It took all his control to not turn around and taste those sweet, lush lips of hers. He still remembered everything about Noelle. How she laughed, how sweet her lips tasted, and how her body felt wrapped around his.
