Love's Second Chance (Second Chances Series) (2 page)

“Mr. Matthews?”

“Yes, Rebecca?” I replied over the intercom to my assistant. Her desk was right outside my door, so all she had to do was poke her head in to speak to me, but she insisted on using the intercom. I liked to amuse her, so replying back on the intercom was only a small price to pay. Rebecca was in her early sixties and the sweetest lady I’d ever known, other than my mother. She was a close family friend and had been in my life since I was a boy. Ever since my father died, she had started calling me ‘Mr. Matthews’ and not Galen. I tried many times to convince her to stop, but she thought it sounded more professional when the clients were around.

Her high-pitched voice came back over the speakers. “Your brother is here. Should I send him in?”

Not expecting to hear this news, I bellowed out a laugh in disbelief. I couldn’t believe my little brother actually came. “Send him in!” I called out.

It only took a few seconds before my brother, Brady, came barreling into my office with a huge smirk on his face. His reddish-brown hair had grown longer since the last time I’d seen him, and now it curled over his ears and looked slightly unkempt. That was my brother though. He lived life like it was a playground; all fun and games, and care-free. Everyone would always tell us we were complete opposites, and opposites we were. I loved having fun and doing crazy things just like him, but sometimes life demanded more from me. With my conflicting work schedule and Brady living a couple of hours away, I never really saw him except on holidays. This was definitely a good surprise and a distraction I sorely needed.

“
Wow
!” Brady exclaimed, looking wide-eyed as he examined my office. Smiling and extending my hand, I thought he was going to acknowledge me, but he ignored the gesture and traipsed over to the windows. From the view that high up, you could see the whole expanse of downtown Charlotte. It was an amazing view and the sole reason why I had chosen this specific office.

“It’s nice to see you, too,” I mumbled sarcastically, letting my hand drop.

Brady laughed and caught me off guard by pulling me into a brotherly hug. “It’s good to see you, brother. You know, I think I made a mistake in not pursuing the family business,” he teased.

“Hey, it was your decision to play football instead. You could have easily had all of this, too,” I stated, glancing around the office. Brady was never one to want a lot of responsibility, and he made a point to avoid it by all means possible. He also had no interest in architecture so it wouldn’t have worked out too well for him anyway.

He looked at me incredulously. “I don’t think so. I enjoy not working eighty hours a week, and having a life. Tell me, when was the last time you went out and had any fun?”

I shrugged. “I’ll admit it’s been a while since I’ve gone out for pleasure, but it’s not so bad working the hours. It keeps me busy, and … I love it.” I do love doing what I do, but my brother was right about one thing. I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I went out and had any fun. “So what brings you here early? The party isn’t until tomorrow night,” I asked curiously. “You’re never early for anything, and if I recall correctly you were even late to your own wedding.”

He bellowed out a laugh. “Hey, I can’t help it that the keys to my car got flushed down the toilet.” Brady took the seat across from my desk and smiled at me while he rested his chin in his hand. When my brother looked like that it could only mean one thing … trouble. He was twenty-seven years old and still the same jokester he has always been. I may only be three years older, but the weight of my responsibilities had made me feel a decade older.

“The last time you had that look we were in college and were almost kicked out because of your schemes. What are you planning now?” I groaned, but in all reality I was actually curious to know what he had up his sleeve.

“Well …” he paused. “It’s not me that’s planning it, it’s Jenna.”

Jenna is Brady’s wife, a very beautiful and talented woman. My brother met her in college, and has been whipped ever since. She’s also an artist, and her work is absolutely amazing. Every gallery in the area who has exhibited her paintings was completely wiped out once they went on display. There were probably about fifty of her works on my floor of the building alone.

“What may I ask is your wife planning? Please tell me she’s not trying to set me up with someone. I think I had enough problems with my last one,” I groaned.

“Yeah, your last girlfriend was a bitch. I always wondered what you saw in her. She had a nice body, but that was about it. We’re actually here early because Jenna’s best friend just moved back from Charleston. She wanted to spend some time with her and wondered if you wouldn’t mind if we brought her to the party.” This definitely caught my attention, and my eyes went wide at the mention of Jenna’s ‘best friend.’ I knew this best friend, and I knew her well. I couldn’t help the thoughts circling through my mind at the possibility of seeing the woman he spoke of again. The last time I saw her was years ago and she had just gotten married.

“Is her husband coming with her?” I asked skeptically. As much as seeing her would be amazing, I really didn’t want to see her with her husband.

Taking a deep breath, Brady heaved a large sigh. A frown now marred his face and his eyes grew sad. Not knowing what to expect, I wasn’t prepared to hear his next words. “That’s the thing, Galen. Korinne’s husband passed away about six months ago. He was in a car accident and suffered severe internal injuries. She was devastated and left Charlotte to live with her parents in Charleston for a while. We just heard she moved back and Jenna had this crazy notion that if we got you two together it’ll help her friend. Apparently, Korinne hasn’t been coping too well with the loss.”

This news stunned me into silence. I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of anger over the tragedy, anger from no one telling me and anger for the pain Korinne had to go through. Brady should have known I would want to know. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?” I demanded incredulously.

My brother shrugged his shoulder, and it was clear in his eyes that he realized he should have told me, knowing that if it involved Korinne I would have wanted to know. I could remember her as if it was yesterday. When we were in college, her golden-blonde hair was long and wavy, resting just past her shoulders, and her smoky gray eyes could see straight through your soul. She was also a fun, caring young woman with a heart so passionate it would make any man fall hard for her. I know I did, so much so that to this day I still think of her often. A short time after Jenna began dating my brother, they introduced me to Korinne. Before she decided to transfer to a design school in Raleigh, we spent a lot of time together and grew really close, even though we knew we were doomed for heartache. We knew a long distance relationship would be tedious and complicated, so we kept it as casual as we could in the beginning. It didn’t work for long, because feelings started to develop on both fronts, and there was no way I could hold back after that. I fell in love hard. The night before she left, I showed up at her apartment to tell her good-bye. We were both devastated and heartbroken, and then one thing led to another. Even though we had sex plenty of times before that, there was something about that night that drew me in more, against my better judgment. I needed her, and she needed me. I held her while she cried, and made love to her the entire night. We both knew there would never be another chance, so we took the night for ourselves.

Brady hesitated and then finally answered, “I don’t know why I didn’t say anything. It was really tragic the way it all happened. Jenna was heartbroken for her friend, and we just didn’t discuss it for a while. I’m giving you fair warning though … Jenna’s on a mission, and I’m sure you can imagine what that mission is.”

“I just wish you would have told me. There probably wasn’t anything I could have done, but it would have been nice to know.” I paused to let that sink in and then I asked, “So Jenna’s playing matchmaker again?”

Nodding sheepishly, Brady smiled. “If I could stop her I would, but you know how she gets. She’s a determined woman.”

“I think I can handle it, and anything else your wife has in mind. As a matter of fact, I’m looking forward to it, but I wonder what Korinne will say about all of this.”

“There’s no telling. Jenna was nervous about asking her.” Laughing, Brady stood from his seat. “Well, I better get going since I’m sure you’re dying to get back to work.”

“Very funny, little brother. I guess I’ll see you all tomorrow night.”

“I wouldn’t miss it.” He turned to head for the door, but paused and turned back around. “Oh yeah, I have another favor to ask you,” he said while cringing.

“What do you want now?” I questioned.

“Jenna is staying with Korinne tonight. Do you mind if I crash at your place? I really don’t want to stay at Mom’s,” he begged.

I shook my head, exasperated. “Please tell me you’ve thought about this. If she finds out you’re in town and you didn’t stay with her she’s never going to let you live that down.”

Brady groaned and nodded. “I know, it’s just that she drives me crazy sometimes.”

The past year had been a rough one for my family. My father passed away five months ago, and we all took it pretty hard, especially my mother. Luckily, she seemed to be on the mend. I, however, had inherited the family business, and with that came a lot of responsibilities. Taking the keys from the desk drawer, I handed Brady the key to my house. He snatched it up excitedly and looked at it as if it was a treasure. “Don’t mess with anything while you’re there, you hear me? I don’t want it to be like last time when you cost me hundreds of dollars to get my things fixed,” I ordered in a serious tone.

“You have nothing to worry about,” he promised.
Yeah right
, I thought.

Once my brother had gone, I was left to the silence of my office while thoughts of Korinne and our last night together replayed repeatedly in my mind. Tomorrow I was holding the quarterly cocktail party for my employees, and for once I was actually looking forward to it. The question was … would Korinne be looking forward to it, too?

Chapter Three

The boxes in the room surrounded me, and there was hardly any place to walk, or even see the floor for that matter. The desire to unpack or decorate anything was not something I wanted to do. What is ironic about that, is decorating had been what I loved most before Carson died. Being hired to decorate for a living had earned me a name in these parts of the state. Magazines had featured me, and newspapers had run articles on my talents. However, all of that felt like a dream now. I didn’t feel like that person anymore. When Carson died, my ambition to do anything died along with him. I thought coming back home was what would hopefully help me find my way to that spark again. I wanted to have my life back, a life where I could be happy. It was just the fear that held me captive.

I rented a furnished condo in the south-east district of Charlotte, NC. It was one of the smaller condos in this development, but I had no need for the extra space. I preferred the close quarters because anything larger would’ve made the loneliness seem greater. My phone buzzed, rescuing me from my thoughts. Looking down at the screen, I saw that it was my life-long friend, Jenna Perry, now Matthews, since she got married. The name on the screen read ‘Twink’ which was the nickname she had gotten in college. A few drunken nights had left us with some pretty ridiculous nicknames. Mine happened to be ‘Ducky’ and Jenna loved to use it. We met in college and had become instant friends. We kept in touch after I transferred, and saw each other often. Once she got married to Brady, they packed up and moved a couple of hours away. I missed her greatly, and wished every day that she could be here with me.

Hearing her voice was exactly what I needed. “Hey, Twink.”

“Where are you?” she demanded, sounding impatient and concerned. “I called your parents a few hours ago and they said you decided to come home. Why didn’t you tell me?”

I sighed. “Because I didn’t want to bother you. I didn’t think it would be a big deal.”

“Well, it is a big deal when I drive all the way to your house and it looks like a ghost town. You’re not here, so where are you?” she ordered again with more force in her tone. “What’s going on?”

“Wait!” I exclaimed. “You’re in town? I didn’t know you were coming down.”

“Yes, I came to see you, silly. Now stop dodging the question. Where are you?”

I had hoped to keep my living situation a secret, but again it’s a secret that couldn’t be kept for too long. Sinking down into the cold leather of my stiff couch, I decided it was best to try and explain to my friend how weak I had been, and how I couldn’t handle walking into the house I shared with Carson.

“I couldn’t do it, Twink. I thought I could go home, but I don’t think I can face it alone. I’m just not ready. I rented a condo not far from the house, so I’m going to stay here for a few months until I get back on my feet.”

If there’s anyone I could admit my weaknesses to, it would be Jenna, but it killed me to sound so weak. I had always been the strong and stubborn female out of my friends. Always the leader, the one who took charge and wouldn’t take shit from anyone. Where was that woman, the one who was strong and fearless? How can I get her back, and how long was it going to take to feel normal again?