Meant for Me (A Second Chance standalone) (4 page)

“What do you want to do today, babe?” Cooper asked, entering
the kitchen with only a towel wrapped around his waist. “We can drive down to
the bay. We haven’t done that in a long time.”

When he walked by me, he kissed me on the cheek before
pouring himself a cup of coffee. Driving to San Francisco was over a two hour
drive from my house, and if we stayed down there all day we wouldn’t get back
until later. From the confrontation Cooper had with Mason yesterday it wouldn’t
surprise me if he wanted to get me away just so I wouldn’t see him. All night I
tossed and turned wondering if I’d made a mistake not meeting Mason when I had
the chance. For the first time since I’d known him he actually seemed sincere
with his plea.
It was too late now.

However, I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling in my gut
saying that I made a horrible mistake in not hearing him out.

Leaning against the counter, Cooper blew the steam away from
his cup and took a slow sip, lifting a brow in the process while waiting on my
answer. Putting thoughts of Mason aside, I slid our omelets onto the plates and
passed Cooper one before answering as excitedly as I could, “Driving to the bay
sounds great. After we eat I’ll take a shower and get ready to go.”

Smiling, he seemed to be appeased at my answer, except deep
down I really didn’t want to go. My traitorous heart wanted to see Mason again
and I felt guilty for even thinking it. After I ate half of my omelet, I
couldn’t stomach anymore so I took a shower and made sure to stall just a bit
by putting my makeup on slowly and fixing my hair. I had to get Mason out of my
mind.

“Babe, are you about ready to go?” Cooper called out from
the living room. “I thought maybe we could go to lunch at that restaurant you
like so much on the way down there.”

I slipped on my little white sundress and zipped it up as
far as I could get it before grabbing my sandals and joining him in the living
room. Dressed in a pair of khaki shorts and a blue polo shirt that hugged his
perfectly shaped biceps, I smiled appreciatively at him before turning my back
so he could zip me up the rest of the way.

Instead of zipping me up, he did the opposite and lowered
it, leaning his head down to kiss my neck. “Or better yet, we could just stay
here and make love all day. You look so damn hot right now.”

I laughed and smacked his hand when he tried to grab my
breast. “Zip me up and let’s get out of here. It was your idea to go on this
day trip, was it not?”

He groaned and reluctantly zipped up my dress. “Yes, it was,
but that was before I saw you in that dress and before I got a raging hard on.
I want you so bad right now.”

Pushing his hard cock up against my back, he reached up under
my dress, trailing his fingers up my thigh and further up to …

Before he could go up any higher, a knock sounded at the
door. Grumbling under his breath, Cooper straightened my dress and marched to
the door saying under his breath that it better not be Mason. My pulse
quickened as I anxiously waited to see who was behind the door, and when Cooper
stepped out of the way, Melissa walked in with a frown on her face.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” she asked, glancing at me
warily.

“Of course,” I uttered slowly, cautiously. Again, something
wasn’t right because I could see it in her eyes.

When I joined her at the door, she nodded her head toward
outside, indicating she didn’t want to talk around Cooper. I shut the door
behind me as I followed her out. We walked around to the garden which was full
of multi-colored flowers and herbs. The water fountain we both took a seat at
had been a recent addition to my flowery escape.

“What’s up, Mel? Why do you look so sad?” I asked.

She sniffled and pulled out a thick white envelope she had
stowed away in her bag, handing it to me. “I swear, I think I’ve cried more
with being pregnant than I have in my entire life. This is absolutely
ridiculous,” she sobbed, pointing to the letter in my hand. “It’s from Mason.
He wrote it last night.”

“Really?” I gasped incredulously. I turned the envelope over
and slid my finger underneath to break the flap. “What, was he too afraid to
bring it to me himself?” I inquired, rolling my eyes. Pulling out the letter, I
started to unfold it when Melissa’s next words halted me.

“There’s a reason he’s not here to give it to you, Claire,”
she muttered sheepishly. “He left this morning.”

“What?” I shrieked, dropping the letter on the ground. “He
already left to go back home? How can that be? I can’t believe he gave up so
quickly.”

Sighing, Melissa closed her eyes and shook her head.
“Claire, he didn’t give up on you, but I do think there’s some things you need
to know.”

Usually, I could handle surprises, shocks, and bad news with
an open mind. I had to say, I wasn’t prepared for what she said next.

The more Melissa explained Mason’s mission, the more I grew
sick with fear. What made me even more upset was that I didn’t find out before
he left, or better yet he told Melissa not to tell me. He left the letter,
which I had yet to read, and was somewhat nervous to read it. Mason was on his
way to Las Vegas, and for a while I had grown to know that city very well.

After recovering from an injury that ruined any chances of a
dancing career for me, I lived in Vegas for a while, doing things I knew my
family wouldn’t be proud of, but I was angry and upset and I needed the outlet.
I experimented with drugs a little bit and enjoyed the high it offered, but it
only helped temporarily. I didn’t stay on that path for long; I finally came to
my senses and sought solace in dancing again. Dancing was my savior and I owed
it to a very special person from my past … someone I hadn’t spoken to in over a
year.

I’d seen the news reports on the dead fighters, but I never
in my life thought it would ever involve Mason. Yeah, he fought in the ring
years ago, but at that point in time I didn’t know who he was. I hadn’t met him
yet. Mason mentioned it to me briefly on one occasion when I went to North
Carolina to visit my brother and Melissa when they got married. I had no clue
he was on his way to getting a name for himself until he had to drop out to
take care of his mother.

He gave up one of his dreams to take care of his family. It
just occurred to me that we both had something in common. Mason lost his chance
at fame, and I lost mine at a dancing career when I fractured a knee after a
biking accident. The day I had to turn down my spot at Julliard was one of the
worst moments in my life; hence, the reason I spent months in depression and
fled to Vegas to get away. I was twenty-one at the time and just figuring out
how the world worked, and that not everyone always got what they wanted. After
two whole seasons, I traded my Vegas life in for a business management degree
so I could help with my family’s vineyard and winery. It was one of the best
decisions I ever made.

Mason could be a complete dick, but there was one thing I
could definitely say we had in common … we were both loyal. I was loyal to my
family and he was loyal to the badge. He was also extremely good at his job,
and I saw that first hand when we were all going crazy after my brother
kidnapped Melissa. Mason was determined to find her and he did, just like I
knew he would have that same determination to find justice in the recent
killings.

While Melissa sat quietly beside me, I opened the letter
with shaky fingers and took a deep breath before reading the words.

Claire,

By now you already know that I had to leave. I came to
California to not only see Melissa, but to see you as well. Telling you all of
this in a letter was not what I intended, but I respected your wishes and
stayed away, even though deep down I wanted to handcuff your ass to a chair and
make you listen to me. You always drove me completely crazy when I would see
you on your visits to North Carolina. I wanted you so fucking bad, but I stayed
away, not letting my feelings get too strong because I knew it would never work
with my job and the distance between us. All of that was just bullshit excuses.
I was afraid, afraid to want something so bad and have it be just outside of my
reach. But even more I was afraid of not being good enough for you.

Claire, I have never been in love before. Never once have
I allowed myself to open up and let someone in like I’ve wanted to do with you.
The night we made love, I told myself that it wouldn’t mean anything, knowing
very well it would fuck with my mind completely and make me want you even more.
When you agreed, I allowed myself to be selfish, to have that one night with
you. What I didn’t expect was to hear you say you were in love with me. No one
has ever said that to me and meant it, but hearing it come from your lips …

It scared me because I was in love with you, too. I still
am. Ever since then I have lived in a bundle of regret and prayed that one day
you would forgive me for being the insensitive jackass that I am. Failing has
never been an option for me, but I know I failed you. I will spend the rest of
my life making it up to you if you’ll let me. If I have to fight my way into
your heart again I will. All I’m asking for is a second chance, to show you
that you were meant for me. I love you, Claire, and I will be back for you. I
can promise you that.

Mason

Tears filled my eyes as I folded the letter back up and slid
it into the envelope. “What did it say?” Melissa asked hesitantly.

“It said he loved me,” I cried. “And now it’s too late for
me to do anything about it.”

Melissa lifted a brow and smiled. “Why do you think it’s too
late?”

Glaring at her, I scoffed and said, “Because he’s already
gone, Mel. Deep down I knew I should’ve let him talk to me, but I let my pride
and ego get in the way.”

Melissa pulled out her phone and gazed down at the clock. A
little smirk tilted up her lips when she looked back at me, showing me the
time. “His flight doesn’t leave for another hour. If you’re really wanting to
do this you still have time, but in doing this you might lose someone else
close to your heart. Is it a risk you want to take?” She glanced toward the
house where I knew Cooper was still waiting on me. “You need to decide who you
want, Claire. I know you don’t want to hurt either one of them, but only you
can decide.”

She placed a gentle hand on my shoulder and squeezed before
strolling up the path toward the front of the house. My heart felt like it had
been tugged in a thousand different directions and I needed to decide if I
wanted to play it safe or take the risk. Playing it safe would be the smart
thing to do because I’d spent my whole life taking unnecessary risks and
getting burned. However, some of the risks I’d taken were some of the best
decisions in my life.

What the hell was I going to do?

Cooper had the door open and was leaning up against it as I
approached. He had been my friend and lover off and on for years and had never
let me down, always being there when I needed him. Opening his arms, he didn’t
say a word as I wrapped mine around his waist and sobbed against his chest.