Love's Second Chance (Second Chances Series) (20 page)

“It was fate, Korinne. Our time wasn’t then, but it is now. Just think of all the things we’re going to do together. Especially tonight …” he teases, wiggling his eyebrows. “Oh yeah, I have some good news.”

“What?” I ask excitedly.

“We just got the go ahead to start building our cabin. The delay is finally over so once we get back from our honeymoon I’ll send the builders our floor plan,” he reveals happily.

Excited, I jump up and down in his arms. “Oh my goodness, Galen, it’s all coming together so perfectly.”

Galen holds me tight and kisses me tenderly. His blue eyes stare mesmerizingly into mine, making me melt with his gaze. I have a feeling his stare will always make me feel like that, even when we’re eighty years old. He smiles at me, but before our dance is over he whispers in my ear the words that I will never forget as long as I live. “Today, when you said ‘I do’, my life finally felt complete. We got our second chance at love, Korinne, and from this day forward you will always be mine. Always and forever mine.”

Hands had begun to rock my shoulders, which in turn woke me from my glorious dream. Damnit! I didn’t even get to the wedding sex yet. “Why do you look so disappointed?” Galen asked, laughing.

Running my hands through my hair, I straightened up from the couch. “Because I was dreaming about our wedding day and I hadn’t even gotten to the good parts yet.”

Galen chuckled. “I’m sure we can recreate our wedding night when we get home. How about we go and get some dinner first?”

“Didn’t you just have a lunch meeting?”

Galen looked at me like I’d lost my mind, and then down at his watch. “Umm … Korinne, that was over four hours ago. You were still asleep when I got back and I didn’t want to wake you.”

I rubbed my eyes, wishing they didn’t feel so heavy. “Oh wow, food sounds great. I can’t believe I slept so long. Not eating lunch was a bad idea because now I’m starving.”

“Does sushi sound good?” Galen suggested with a twinkle in his eye. That look meant that he really wanted it.

“Sounds great,” I agreed. Sushi did sound pretty good at that moment.

Chapter Seventeen

“Oh, what the hell!” Korinne groaned. She fumbled out of the bed and ran to the bathroom. She slammed the door and I could hear her heaving over the toilet. Oh no! I hope she didn’t get food poisoning from the sushi. We ate the same thing, so if it was food poisoning I should be feeling the effects too, but I wasn’t.

“Baby, are you okay?” I murmured outside the door.

“Yeah,” she sputtered. Her voice sounded weak and unsure.

“Do you think it was the sushi, or maybe the stomach flu or something?”

“I’m not sure, but all I know is that I feel terrible. I haven’t been this sick in years.”

“I’ll get you a Coke and some crackers, maybe that’ll settle your stomach.” When I came back from the kitchen she was laying back in bed. I used my free hand to touch her forehead and her cheeks. She didn’t feel feverish and her coloring looked normal, so it probably wasn’t the stomach flu. I guess it must have been the sushi.

She peered up at me with sad, puppy dog eyes. “This sucks,” she whimpered.

“I know it does, love. You just need to rest and take it easy. I’ve had food poisoning before and it sucks ass. If you’re still sick in the morning I’ll call your clients and have your meetings rescheduled. Does that sound okay?” I questioned softly.

A small smile splayed across her face while a tear escaped the corner of her eye. Before I could ask what was wrong, she spoke. “Why are you so amazing? I don’t see how I could have ever left you all those years ago,” she murmured weakly.

Brushing the hair from her face, I stared into her gorgeous gray eyes with understanding. “You had to, Kori, but we’re here together now and that’s all that matters.”

She blinked sluggishly and I could tell she was about to fall back asleep. “I know. I just want you to know that I still thought about you.” Her eyes began to droop, and it was only a matter of seconds before she was sound asleep. I pulled the covers snugly around her and I left her to rest.

The phone rang the second I closed the bedroom door, so I rushed down the hall to answer it before it woke Korinne up. “Hello,” I grumbled impatiently.

“I see you’ve woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning,” a sarcastic voice said. I laughed into the phone when I realized it was Jenna. Her obnoxious snickering gave her away.

“I didn’t, but Korinne did,” I informed her.

“Is she okay?” Jenna asked with concern clear in her voice. She was like a mother hen when it came to Korinne.

“I think she has food poisoning, but she’s asleep right now. If you’re calling to talk to her I can tell her to call you when she wakes up. I know she’s going to be dying to tell you all about the honeymoon.”

Jenna gasped with enthusiasm. “I bet you guys had a wonderful time. I can’t wait to hear more about it.”

“You’ll definitely get a good laugh over a few things I’m sure.” I chuckled.

“With you two there’s no telling what kind of crazy stuff I’m going to hear. The actual reason why I’m calling is to tell you the painting that you asked for is done. I know it’s taken a while, and I’m sorry, but I had a huge request come in from a gallery in New York wanting my work. I couldn’t say no to that.”

“That’s amazing! Congratulations about New York. You have nothing to worry about. I actually think the painting would be the perfect anniversary gift. We still have a
while
until then, but do you mind holding on to it? Korinne has a habit of always finding things, and I know she’ll find the painting if I hide it here.”

“That’s no problem at all. Yes, I know how Korinne is. Do you remember how we tried to have a surprise party for her that one time and she found out? I still don’t know how she figured it out,” she uttered.

“Me neither. It must be her super sleuthing skills. I swear she could have been the perfect private investigator,” I stated honestly.

“I know, right! She always knew who was doing what and who was cheating on whom in school. It’s kept things interesting that’s for sure. Well, I guess I’ll let you get back to our favorite girl. Let her know I called and that I’m thinking about her.”

“Will do, and tell that worthless husband of yours I said hey,” I told her.

“I’ll be sure to tell him that,” she joked before hanging up. I couldn’t wait to see the painting that Jenna had done for me. I hated to wait until our anniversary, but it just seemed fitting to do it that way. Korinne was going to love it when the time came.

I heard the door open to the garage before I saw her. “What are you doing?” Korinne asked. It took a second for her to come into view from around the car. Her eyes went wide and she reigned in her laugh when she saw me covered head to toe in oil and grease. “Wow. You look a little … um … dirty.” She grinned weakly.

“How are you feeling?” I asked her while I finished safety wiring the drain plug to my motorcycle. Changing the oil could be a bitch, but I had always enjoyed working on my bikes.

Korinne squatted down to look at all the tools I had scattered across the floor. “I’m doing better, but I’m still really nauseous.” Her eyes strayed to the bike hesitantly before she continued to speak again. “I didn’t know you could work on motorcycles. When did you start riding? You don’t talk about it much other than the time you told me you broke your leg riding in the snow.”

“If I’m not mistaken, it’s been about five years ago. The only time I could relax and get away from life was when I was riding. When my dad died, I left for a while. I took off and didn’t look back.” I paused to take in her reaction, and she was staring at me with her mouth wide open. “Why do you look so shocked?” I asked, laughing.

Korinne shrugged. “I guess because you seem so invincible, like nothing can bring you down. You don’t take me for the running away type.”

“That’s how I appear, Kori, but deep down I hurt just like anyone else. I left because I knew the weight of the firm would be on my shoulders. It was a lot to take in, so I packed a bag and let the road lead me away. I rode for days until I knew that I could stay away no longer. My mother needed me and so did the firm. Even though I love what I do, it felt good to have that freedom and to not think of the burdens that awaited for me here.”

“I can’t believe you never told me any of this. I know it hurt losing him. You used to tell me all about your fishing trips with him when you were a boy and how much fun you had. I never did anything like that with my father, so it was nice hearing you talk about him. Just know you can talk to me about anything. We are married, you know?” The hurt in Korinne’s voice was apparent, so I pulled her to me even though I was covered in grease.

“I didn’t keep it from you on purpose, babe. It was a part of my life where I let the pain take over. The hurt I caused my mother with running away is something I regret every day of my life. She needed me and I left.”

“Your mother adores you. I’m sure she understood your reasoning,” she offered politely. I released her, and she gazed up at me with a sad expression on her face. “She keeps asking when we’re going to have kids. I haven’t told her yet that we’ll probably have to adopt.”

“I’m sure she’ll be perfectly happy with our choice. As long as we’re happy, there’s nothing else that matters, right?”

“That’s right,” Korinne mumbled weakly. She started to sway on her feet, but I caught her before she stumbled. “Whew … that was a close call,” she gasped.

“Babe, you’re scaring me. Maybe you need to go to the doctor. You’re not acting right.”

“No, I’m okay I promise. It’s just I haven’t eaten, but I’m too nauseous to eat. I’ll throw it up if I do.” She leaned against me, so I wrapped my arms around her waist and guided her back inside.

“It’s really important that you eat something. If all else fails, you need to keep drinking fluids. Let me see if I have any medicine that’ll help, and if not then I’ll go get you some from the pharmacy.”

Picking Korinne up, I carried her down the hallway to the bedroom. I laid her down on the bed and pulled the covers over her. “I can’t stand feeling like this. Never again am I eating sushi,” she groaned. Korinne smiled up at me, but I could tell it was forced. I grabbed the Coke and crackers from the bedside table and handed them to her. “Drink some of this, and when I come back from the kitchen I want one of these crackers to be gone.”

Korinne grabbed my hand before I could go. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

Squeezing her hand, I glared down at the crackers and then back up to her. “I’ll always take care of you, love, but I’m serious. You better have eaten one of these crackers by the time I come back.”

“Yes, sir,” she saluted in a mocking way. I could hear her crunching away on a cracker as I descended down the hall to the kitchen. Looking through the cabinets, I couldn’t find anything that would settle her stomach. Normally, I didn’t have issues with mine so it was rare if I kept anything on hand for it. By the time I made it to the bedroom, Korinne had already eaten three crackers. “There’s not any medication here for an upset stomach or nausea, so I’m going to run out and get you something from the pharmacy. I thought I might have had some here.”

“Galen, you don’t have to do that. I’m sure I’ll be fine in just a little bit,” she assured me.

“Maybe,” I agreed. “But if not, I want something here that’ll help you. I can’t have you throwing up all night, can I? You might ruin the sheets,” I added jokingly. This earned me a genuine smile from her and a gentle laugh. I hated seeing her so weak and sick.

“Be careful,” she said as I leaned down to kiss her forehead.

“Always, babe. I’ll be back shortly.”

She sighed. “I’ll be here.”

Shutting the bedroom door, I headed back out to the garage. This would be the perfect time to take the bike out for one last ride. I hadn’t mentioned to Korinne that I planned on getting rid of my bikes, but I was sure she’d be extremely happy when she found out. I never rode them anymore anyway, and now that I had Korinne I didn’t think I’d have much time to ride. The sound of revving the bike was a sound I would surely miss, along with the freedom of flying down the road. The adrenaline I got from riding brought a different kind of excitement that I wouldn’t be able to get from anything else. Safety was the key with riding, so I put on my leather jacket, riding boots, gloves, and of course the full face helmet. Hopping on my bike, I lowered the visor and headed off down the road. The rain clouds seemed to be moving in, but it looked like I still had a little bit more time before it started pouring.