Second Chances

by Nicole Andrews Moore

  He sighed. “Okay, but we have plans tonight. No later than five.” He placed his hands on his hips as though delivering some edict.

  Her eyes narrowed. “Or else?” She crossed her hands over her chest. She could hardly stand the idea of the kids being around the stripper period, let alone for an extended length of time. She closed her eyes as she imagined having to explain what pasties were or why Krystal’s underwear had no crotch. “Never mind,” she sighed. “I’ll be back in time.”

  And without giving him further chance to respond, she blew kisses at the girls, who were waving at her from the window, and headed north to the lake.

  Having no idea what to expect, but armed with some knowledge of the area, Hannah drove by mansion after mansion following the detailed directions Gavin had emailed her. She reached the cobbled drive and swallowed hard as she pulled in. She didn’t want to gape, but it was hard not to. Judging by the exterior dimensions, the house had to be at least eight thousand square feet, covered in stucco and stone. It was majestic, but all she longed for was a home.

  Carrying only her purse, she hoped to get a lay of the land before moving even her first box. Almost instantly an older woman wiping her hands on an apron that was no doubt a permanent fixture about her waist answered her knock. Hannah knew instinctively this was most definitely not Mrs. Meyers, yet still she squirmed under the scrutinizing gaze this woman gave her.

  “Follow me,” the woman demanded curtly.

  Doing as she said without question, Hannah traipsed along after her, noting the travertine floors that appeared to cover the entire first floor, the dark wood moldings, and the even darker shades adorning the walls that gave the place a cave-like quality. Somehow it wasn’t right. She made mental notes to institute a few changes as soon as possible.

  “Ah, I see you found the place,” Gavin said seriously. He stood from behind his desk in the study.

  It was definitely a man’s room, but at least there was a hint of warmth here, and not just from the fire burning in the floor to ceiling stacked stone fireplace. The walls were lined with shelves filled with books that Hannah longed to explore. There were two leather chairs angled to face the fireplace and anchoring a colorful Art Deco rug that covered the center of the room. Gavin’s desk, large and mahogany, was clearly more functional than decorative with the papers scattered across it and files lining one side of the desk. Behind it, two sets of French doors covered with gauzy curtains, allowed filtered sunlight to spill into the room, which was painted a soft shade of sage.

  Inhaling deeply, Hannah sighed. Leather and wood. This room was Gavin. Tilting her head to one side, she asked, “So, do you have a moment to show me around or should I just find everything on my own?” After dealing with Brett and worrying about the girls the entire drive north, she was feeling a bit peevish.

  Gavin raised his eyebrows at her. “I can show you around,” he said. And without another word, he gestured toward the door she had just entered and followed her into the hall.

  Though the hall clearly stretched to the left, he turned the other direction. “What’s down there?” She asked pointedly.

  He stopped. “You won’t need to go down there. Those are my rooms.” His face was stony as he led her to the kitchen.

  She scrunched up her face. Normally she loved kitchens. And this one should have been her dream come true with its granite counter tops and top of the line stainless steel appliances, real wood cabinetry. Instead, it felt as oppressive as every other part of the house, dark and dank, smelling of lack of use. Well, at least that much she could work on. She continued to make mental lists.

  There was a keeping room off the kitchen, with a warm stone fireplace that had a rough-hewn wooden mantle. She smiled. This place had potential; she could certainly breathe life back into it. She glanced at the clock over the mantle and scowled. The long drive had cut into her move time.

  “What if I look around later? Right now, if you could just show me to our rooms…that’s about all I have time for before I have to go pick up the girls.”

  “That’s right,” said Gavin. He had very nearly forgotten that she came with children as he had yet to meet them. “So where are they now?”

  Hannah hugged her arms around her body. “With their father,” she murmured.

  He wanted to pry. He was under the impression the father wasn’t in the picture any longer. If they were still…on good terms, this would never work. And yet there was something in the way that she looked when she told him where the kids were that he found incredibly reassuring. She wasn’t happy. She wasn’t comfortable. And she was in the worst mood he had yet to see her in. Gavin tipped his head to one side as he thought.

  In silence, they walked up the stairs to the second floor. Moving down the hall, he pointed to the first door on the right and opened it. “The girls will have to share a room. Will that be a problem?”

  She shook her head. “They’ve never roomed apart,” she commented quietly as she explored the room. This room was utterly untouched. It was as though no paint, save the basic eggshell white coat had ever been applied to the pristine walls. There were two large windows with window seats separated by a large bookshelf. And on either side of the windows were built in cabinets.

  “There are other cabinets beneath the seats for storage,” he explained, lifting the hinged seat to reveal the empty space below.

  Hannah smiled and nodded. This was a great room for the girls. And with very little effort, she would have their beds made up and their toys and books unloaded before she went to pick them up. That should help them adjust. “This is perfect,” she murmured.

  Somehow that admission, the first pleasant interaction between them since her arrival, made a smile tug at the corner of Gavin’s mouth. It took him a moment to realize what it was. And ever so slowly, a smile spread across his lips, only to be shattered when she calmly asked, “And where will I sleep?”

  It was an innocent question. He knew the answer; he just could hardly bear to show her. Trudging down the hall with her on his heels like a trained dog, he finally stopped before a set of double doors at the end of the hall. Inhaling deeply, he gave the doors a push to reveal her room, then stepped aside and allowed her to enter.

  Hannah walked in slowly, awestruck. When she reached the center of the room, she stopped and glanced back, expecting him to be behind her, but instead he had remained in the hall and wasn’t even looking at her. Rather, his attention seemed to be focused on some hangnail he had just discovered and was picking at absent-mindedly. She shrugged and explored the immense space. Her first realization was that the apartment she had just vacated could probably fit in this room, the entire apartment, garage included. And the second realization was that is was utterly destroyed.

  It wasn’t just that the king sized bed was naked, without even a mattress pad to cover it, or the empty bookcases in the sitting area off the bedroom. No, the room had been stripped, almost down to the studs. There was no carpeting, no curtains, although the dangling assembly on one of the windows suggested that had not always been the case. There were holes in the walls that were most likely created by the sledgehammer found on the floor near the closet.

  Setting her shoulders determinedly, she walked over toward the window to inspect the view. On the way she glanced at the Serta iComfort mattress. She recognized it not just by the exposed tags, but from the hours she spent contemplating how many eggs she might have to donate to even afford the queen sized version of it she found in the mall. She smiled wistfully. She hadn’t had to give up any eggs after all. Instead, Hannah had given herself and her children up to this man. She shuddered a little at the thought, wondering if the donation might have been a safer way to go.

  Turning her attention to the windows, she studied the breath taking views. The grounds, the pool, and the lake made an incredible backdrop for her new life. Turning, she found a double-sided fireplace that she knew opened into the bathroom on the other side, bracing for more debris, she slowl
y walked in. The bathroom was opulent. There was no other way to describe it, filled with light from the enormous palladium window over the Jacuzzi tub that was offset by columns. Marble covered the floors and vanity. Off the bathroom was her dressing room and enormous walk-in closet that could have come from a brochure by California Closets. It was…more than she ever could have dreamed of. And at the same time, it still was not what she wanted…security and love.

  Sighing, she returned to the doorway where Gavin stood, looking almost nervous. He looked her in the eye for the first time since he had shown her to the suite. “Obviously you are going to need to do some decorating,” he said, referring to the bedroom.

  Hannah nodded, thinking of the entire house. “At least we are in complete agreement on that,” she said with a smile.

  Gavin paused. “Can you make do for a little while as it is completed or do we need to make other arrangements?”

  She scrunched up her face. It wasn’t so bad. She had lived in far worse. Shaking her head in disbelief, she replied, “I guess I’ll just have to rough it.”

  He heaved a sigh of relief. “Well, other than this, what do you think?”

  Looking in to his eyes, she thought about tempering her answer for a moment, but then decided that she had always tempered her answers. And what had it gotten her? She was treated like a doormat and left. Not this time. Not even for a business arrangement. She was going to be real. “I think your decorator hated you,” she said bluntly.

  Obviously taken aback, Gavin spoke without thinking. “What makes you say that?”

  Shrugging, Hannah continued with her explanation. “I guess that idea was initially formulated downstairs with the dark oppressive colors and the angry artwork, but now I’m convinced.” She glanced over her shoulder into her room once more. “This was supposed to be your room, right? But it was never finished?”

  Inhaling sharply, he responded, “Something like that.” They started to walk back down to the foyer and Gavin began to study the place, see it from her perspective. “Huh,” he said.

  “What?”

  “I think you’re right.” He smirked. “I think my decorator did hate me.”

  Hannah scowled. “I hope she didn’t take you for too much,” she said angrily.

  “For more than she deserved,” he answered wryly.

  And with that observation, he headed back to the study and shut a door behind him. Hannah, who was used to never having a man to help her out and certainly not expecting her employer to start now, thought nothing of moving her boxes in all by herself.

  He couldn’t concentrate. For the last two hours, Hannah had been traipsing back and forth, moving stacks of boxes. She would carry a few in, empty them and then break down the boxes and stick them back in her SUV. He had watched her struggle some, dropping boxes here and there, trying to lift too many and putting them back. She had seemed to maintain a pleasant demeanor through it all, laughing at herself, giggling and smiling through it all.

  And while she did that, Gavin paced. Not helping went against his very nature. He was raised to be a gentleman, to assist the fairer sex at every opportunity, opening doors, pulling out chairs, helping them with their coats. He closed his eyes as he remembered their first meeting and how it felt to help her with her coat. Gavin rubbed his hands together. This was silly. There were plenty of ways he could teach her a lesson. It shouldn’t be this. And with that decision made, he opened the door of the study and prepared to assist however possible.

  For the last few hours, Hannah had been moving boxes. She hadn’t seen Gavin the entire time, but she assumed he was busy at work in his study, making money so that he could keep her in the manner to which she might like to become accustomed. She giggled at the thought.

  The girl’s room was completely finished. That was always her first priority. She wanted them to be comfortable and feel as at home as possible in their new surroundings. She had lugged up boxes of toys and games, their matching comforters, and even stuffed animals. Each trip had taken its toll. She had lost count of the number of times she had gone up and down the steps. Her legs were sore, and her back ached some from the bending and stretching and like movements.

  Now she was on what should be her last trip. Her legs quivered a little as she added the second box, but it was so much better than the idea of going up and down yet another time. She balanced the boxes precariously in one arm as she reached up and shut the trunk door. Hannah pushed her way through the front door and backed into it to shut it behind her. Moving cautiously, her vision partially obscured by the second box, she made her way to the stairs and felt her way up one curving step after another. She had almost reached the top when the boxes began to shift and she started to lose her balance. “Oh.” That was all she had time to say before she began to stumble.

  When Gavin stood in the open doorway, he discovered that she was part way up the stairs. He began to go to her, but he had to admire her first. She was so strong, mentally and apparently physically. She had been working diligently all afternoon without disturbing him. He had set one foot on the stairs and looked up, gauging the distance between them when he noticed the top box begin to slide. Fear clenched his throat. He wanted to call out and warn her but there wasn’t time. Without thinking, he rushed up the stairs.

  Just before he reached her, the boxes tumbled and so did she, while making a last ditch effort to right them, and clearly injuring her back. By the time she landed in Gavin’s arms, there were tears in her eyes and she was biting back the pain, her lip white and shaking.

  “It’s okay,” Gavin murmured, pulling her tightly against him. “I’ve got you,” he said while he stared intently into her eyes. I thought they were brown, he marveled. But up close, it was obvious that her eyes were this incredible shade of hazel, more than a hint of green and flecked with gold, whose color would best be dictated by whatever she was wearing that day. As the first tears spilled out of them, he couldn’t help himself. Pressing his lips against her temple, he scooped her into his arms and carried her to the girls’ room.

  Once inside he paused for a moment to note how much she had accomplished in such a short period of time then carefully deposited her on the nearest bed. Kneeling beside her he asked, “Are you okay?”

  Hannah closed her eyes for a moment. It was too much. He had held her close like she was so fragile, so precious to him. He had planted the most delicate kiss on her right temple, a kiss that still warmed her skin. And she had responded by crying. Well, true, her back did hurt, but she was ashamed of her clumsiness, that she had needed his rescue, and even more that she was so moved by his kiss. She swallowed. “I’m fine.”

  Brushing the hair back from her face, Gavin paused a moment before he stood. He was being ridiculous and far too…concerned. “Well, I’ll leave you to it then.” He stopped at the doorway. “Where should I leave those boxes?”

  “They go in my room,” she said weakly.

  He felt his heart slamming into his sternum. “I’ll just leave them outside that door for you.” And with that, he turned on his heels and walked away.

  Ever so gingerly, Hannah began to move from the bed. She swung first one leg, then the other over the edge and braced herself for the pain as she rolled off and attempted to stand. Great, she thought, and I still have to drive to get the girls and make it back.

  She laid her hands on her lower back as she straightened and followed it with stretching her arms, one at a time in front of her to stretch the area between her shoulder blades. Her back still hurt, but it would. There wasn’t much else she could do about it now. There was work to be done.

  As Gavin passed by the doorway, he noticed how she worked to maneuver herself from the bed, and then on his way back down the hall, she was attempting to stretch out her back. He sighed and shook his head, knowing full well it would never work. What she needed was a massage, a nice deep tissue one, or better yet, a hot stone one. That would soothe her muscles and work out the tension. He knew just who to call
. Reaching for the phone that seemed permanently affixed to his belt, he scrolled through his contacts and dialed.

  “Mr. Meyers!” The woman on the other end of the phone exclaimed. “What a pleasant surprise! I didn’t expect to hear from you again.”

  In truth, Gavin never expected to have to call her again. They had become acquainted during his rather extreme last-ditch effort to save his marriage. When he finally realized that all was not well in his world, a world he took much pride in creating and maintaining, he had decided to examine the marriage as he had every merger and business transaction in his life. All he needed to do was provide a little service and surely India would be happy. He had sought to uncover her need and then merely fulfill it.