by Gina Azzi
And the now, well, it’s pretty incredible.
At the end of the day, I receive an email announcing Melanie as the winner of the competition. Cameron, Chloe, and I cheer, promising to take her out for dinner to celebrate. I truly am happy for her, excited that she’s going to have her first account.
After I hug her and let her know that pedicures are on me, I text my brothers that I’m coming home for a week.
Once again, on my own terms.
“Daisy. Got a minute?” Aaron catches up with me after the McKinnon management team leaves and gestures for me to follow him into his office.
“What’s going on?” I ask, taking a seat in the chair across from his desk.
“First of all, well done. Your pitch was amazing, and you should be very proud of yourself.”
“Well, not to sound conceited, but I am.”
“Good.” He remains standing, his eyes glancing over a framed photo of Olivia, before turning toward me. “Daisy, I owe you a huge apology.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I do. I’ve had some things going on in my personal life lately, and I’ve been absent-minded, not as committed to your mentorship as I should have been. As I usually am. And you suffered for it. I’m sorry.”
I wave away his apology, standing from my chair. “Aaron, thank you, but it’s so not necessary. You’ve been a wonderful mentor. Everything that happened with Dennis has nothing to do with you and would have happened even if we went over my McKinnon proposal a dozen more times. It’s really okay to focus on your family right now.”
He offers me a grateful smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. It’s strange, he looks so much like Finn sometimes, and yet they couldn’t be more different.
“How’s Olivia doing?” I ask.
“I honestly don’t know. Some days, she’s still my sweet little girl, and other days, she’s throwing temper tantrums and having shouting matches. I know this transition is tough for her. I just wish I understood how to help her more. Her mother is considering a move to Paris, and I know that would be devastating for her, so I’m hoping Kate doesn’t go through with it.”
I wince. If Kate moves to Paris, especially right now, it could be detrimental to Olivia. “I’m sorry to hear it. If you ever need anything or think she would enjoy a girl’s day with me, I’d love to hang out with her.”
Aaron raises his eyebrows. “Really?”
“Absolutely. I always wanted a little sister.”
“You know you’re too good for my brother, right?”
“Totally.”
“He’s a lucky guy.”
“I’m pretty lucky too.” I tell him, and it’s the truth.
“James! She brought the cupcakes.” Jenni calls out as Finn and I walk through the door.
“She’s getting promoted!” He hollers back and we all laugh.
“I’ve missed you, love.” Jenni pulls me into a hug and holds me close for a long minute.
“Me too. Thank you for the scones you sent. And the flowers.” I pull back. “They meant a lot.”
“Oh,” she waves a hand, “it was nothing. I was so worried about you. But you look beautiful, as always.” She links her arm with mine and steers us toward the kitchen. “Shall I put the kettle on so we can have a chat?”
“I’d love that.” I tell her sincerely. Jenni reached out to me immediately after learning about the Dennis situation. She even offered to come stay at my apartment, but I told her that wouldn’t be necessary. I had Finn. I think her delight over that news managed to overshadow some of her distress regarding Dennis.
“Oh, hello, Finlay.” She calls back to Finn over her shoulder.
“Good to see you, Aunt Jenni.”
“Same, love. Dinner will be in about twenty minutes. The guys are in the den.”
His laughter follows us into the kitchen. Jenni turns on the stove and gestures for me to have a seat at the table. She opens a cupboard and looks around to make sure we’re alone before pulling out a Tupperware filled with scones and butter tarts.
“Oooh.”
“It’s my secret stash.” She admits. “James would eat them all in a heartbeat and sometimes, well, I just want something sweet.”
I laugh and she places the Tupperware down, grabbing small plates and forks.
“Where’s Olivia?” I ask.
Jenni’s face falls. “She’s with her mother tonight. I miss her. It’s so quiet without her.”
“Have you not seen her lately?”
“Not much. I know things are complicated between Aaron and Kate, but I still hope to have a relationship with Livvy. This is such a difficult time for her, and I think she could benefit from the consistency of her routine, of being with her family but…” she trails off, shrugging her shoulders. “It’s not my place to say.”
“Poor Aaron.”
The kettle whistles and Jenni pours two cups of tea.
“I know it’s too soon, but I truly hope he meets someone. That man is too good, too caring to be on his own forever.” She hands me my tea. “Anyway, that’s my two cents. What I really need to know is…”
I lean forward, waiting.
“How are things going with my other favorite nephew?”
I laugh, taking a bite of a scone and wagging my eyebrows.
“Quit stalling, Daisy Kane.” Jenni jokes, her eyes lighting up.
“Everything is really great.” I tell her, launching into the backstory and telling her all about my complicated past with Finn.
We sit in the kitchen, talking and laughing and eating scones, and a peace settles over me. Sure, I miss my family. Yes, it’s been a difficult few weeks.
But I’ve also created a new life for myself.
And in many ways, I now feel at home.
Besides, Finn’s taking me out on a proper date tomorrow night. I can’t wait and it’s only the beginning of our relationship. But we’re in it together. All in.
Epilogue
Daisy
“How was Georgia?” Finn asks me, as I throw my arms around his neck at the airport. He arrived from Costa Rica several hours before me and is here to pick me up.
“Not as warm as Costa Rica,” I tell him, squealing as he spins me around once before placing me back on my feet.
“I missed you, Dais,” he mumbles the words against my ear as I pull back and smile up at him.
“I missed you, too. You’re very tan.”
“Were you happy to go home?”
“Yes, going back to Georgia was perfect, just what I needed.” I lace my fingers with his. “But I think Edinburgh is home now.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes, it took me a while to realize it, but this is where my life is now.”
“With me?”
“Always with you. I love you, Finn.”
“Love you more, my Daisy girl.” He fiddles with the zipper of his carry-on. “I got you something.”
“I’d hope so.” I laugh, holding out my hand for whatever present Finn is going to place there.
He raises his eyebrows, dropping a white envelope into my hand.
“What’s this?” I ask, surprise coloring my tone, as I was expecting a seashell or mini bottle of tequila, something from a tourist shop.
“Open it.”
I tear into the envelope and pull out… an airline voucher. “What?” I exclaim, my eyes scanning the page.
“We’re going to Costa Rica,” Finn announces, pointing out the destination.
“Finn, why? You just got back!”
“Yeah, but I didn’t do the ziplining.”
“Why not?”
“I was waiting for you.”
“Did you drink pina coladas on the beach?”
“Nope.”
“Did you take surfing lessons?”
“Of course not.”
I swat a hand in his direction. “So, you basically didn’t see Costa Rica at all.”
“Barely even went there.”
I gr
in up at him, reaching on my tippy toes to pull his face toward mine and kiss his lips. Hard. “We’re going to Costa Rica.”
“We’re going everywhere together.”
And now, when he says the words, I believe him.
With all of my heart.
Thank You
Thank you so much for taking a chance on Daisy and Finn’s story! I hope you loved traveling to Edinburgh with Daisy, learning more about Finn’s past, and spending some much needed time with The Kane Brothers. If you haven’t read Daisy and Finn’s prequel, My Christmas Wish, it’s FREE!
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I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Please show One Last Chance some love and consider leaving a review or checking out Goodreads.
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Now, the question that is plaguing me - what’s up next for Aaron? Betrayed by his wife, he’s devastated, but holding it together for Olivia. Aaron’s story - a single dad romance - is releasing in Fall 2019. Sign up here to learn the latest as it unfolds!
Rescuing Broken
Have you missed the start of The Kane Brother’s Series? Meet Evie and Jax in Rescuing Broken, a second-chance, military romance. Now Available on all platforms.
Chapter One
“I’m hurrying,” I grumble to my ringing cell phone as I dash into my townhouse, kicking the door shut behind me. Turning around, I flip the locks and reach into my purse, searching for my cell. Of course, my fingers connect with the phone just as the ringing ceases.
“Shit.” I already know I’m going to be late. I should probably cancel. I don’t even feel like going out tonight.
The shrill ringing cuts the air again and I sigh. Dropping my purse on the console in the hallway, I head into my living room, collapsing onto the couch.
“Jenny,” I answer, curling my feet up below me and resting my head back on the cushions. My eyes shut. “I’m not sure about tonight. I’m really not up for it and I’ve—”
“Save it. I don’t care. You’re coming. Miranda and I haven’t seen you in forever, and I really need a night out. You owe me.”
I smile in response to her tenacity, but refuse to give in that easily. “I don’t know. It’s been a really long—”
“Day, week, month for all of us, which is why we need to grab a drink. I know you’re probably pouting on your couch at the moment, trying to think of an excuse to ditch us again, but I’m not having it. Get your butt up, hop in the shower, pull on a pair of jeans and a sexy halter, and maybe, just maybe, if you cut the resting bitch face and smile a little, you’ll even get laid tonight.”
I manage to choke out a chuckle while a shudder runs down my spine, my eyes snapping open. “With a guy I meet at Raf’s? Come on. We’re lucky we don’t contract STDs just from entering the place.”
Jenny laughs, a girlish giggle she’s had since high school. “Or needing a Tetanus shot from the hazardous bar.”
I join in her laughter now, forcing myself to stand up. “Fine. I’ll meet you girls there in an hour.”
“We’ll be sitting at the bar.”
“Duh.”
“There will be a Cosmo with your name on it so don’t be late.”
“No. Lenny makes the worst Cosmos ever. Just order a whisky sour or a gin and tonic, or something he can’t mess up.”
“A shot then. He should be able to handle that.”
“See you there.” Ending the call, I walk into my bathroom and toss my cell on the vanity.
Pinning up my hair since I know I won’t have enough time to dry it, I take a quick shower and towel off in front of the mirror. Taking a moment to study myself, I note how my shoulders curve inward, as if they’re trying to kiss. I can count my ribs, my boobs are nonexistent, and my arms hang awkwardly at my sides. Dark smudges from too many sleepless nights glare from underneath my eyes, exaggerated by the paleness of my skin. I look sallow, dejected, and exhausted.
I look like me.
Fifty-four minutes after confirming I am, in fact, the most undesirable human on the planet, I slide onto a bar stool at Raf’s Bar and Grill and hesitantly accept the shot of tequila and lime chaser Miranda pushes in front of me.
“You look like shit,” she greets me matter-of-factly as Jenny comes up to stand beside me, throwing an arm around my shoulders in a half-hug.
“Bad day?” Jenny asks gently.
I wave to a girl I used to work with who is sitting across the bar at a high-top table. She left Morris last year to go to graduate school and do something with her life.
Turning toward my friends, I smile it off. “Nah, just the usual run-in with a couple of tough guys at work. Nothing I can’t handle.”
“The same guys that have been giving you trouble?” A frown twists Jenny’s lips as she peers down at me.
I shrug.
“That’s bullshit.” Miranda shakes her head. “You work at a physical therapy center for the goddamn military. You think they’d be able to control their own with all their talk of discipline and service and blah, blah, blah.”
“It’s not that simple,” I say, my voice quiet. I focus on my hands.
“It is,” Miranda counters, nodding as if to agree with herself. “You need to tell someone, Evie. Tell your boss or superior or commanding lieutenant or whatever the guy is called. Tell him you’re being harassed. We saw it that day in the parking lot. They were awful!”
“Miranda’s right.” Jenny squeezes my shoulder. “We’re just worried about you. You’ve been avoiding us.”
“I’ve been busy.”
Miranda’s eyes widen.
“I have been.” I sit straighter on the bar stool, defensive to the core. I wish they never saw what happened in the parking lot two weeks ago.
“I know,” Jenny soothes. “We just miss you and want you to be happy, Evie. That’s all. You need to tell someone about what’s been going on. It isn’t right.”
“I know. Thank you, guys. Look, I just, tonight, I just want to catch up with my best girlfriends and relax and have a good time, okay?” I gesture toward Lenny, who is walking toward us, a tray of shot glasses and mixed drinks balanced on his open palm. “Look, Lenny’s bringing more shots.”
Miranda’s eyes brighten as Jenny nods. “Absolutely. We can definitely do that.”
“Thank God.” I smile at Lenny, accepting the gin and tonic he hands me and passing my shot glass off to Miranda.
“You’re not going to have this?”
“It’s all you, girl.” I raise my gin and tonic in her direction. “Cheers, ladies!”
“To forgetting all the stupid things I do tonight.” Jenny raises her shot.
“And forgetting whoever I do stupid things with,” Miranda adds, a snort of laughter erupting from her nose as she clinks her shot against Jenny’s.
I laugh along with them, taking a small sip of my G and T.
I wish it were that easy to forget.
I wish I could throw back a shot, dance in a crowd, and give myself just one moment to turn off my mind. Enjoy a night out with my girlfriends.
I wish a lot of things.
“I love this song,” Jenny squeals, pulling Miranda off her barstool and swaying with her just to the left of where I sit.
“Dance with us.” Miranda tries to pull my hand, but I shake my head, taking another tentative sip of my drink.
“I’m good. You girls are crazy.” I sing along with the lyrics, trying to get into the good time mood. Trying.
“How’ve you been, Evie?” Lenny asks from across the bar, a welcome distraction from trying to fake having a good time with my friends.
“Same old, Lenny. What’s going on by you?”
“Not too much. Kep’s giving me more hours here, which is really helping. I’m hoping in another month or two, I’ll be able to quit my job at the mini-mart and bartend here full time.”
“No kidding? That’s great, Len.”
“I know. Then I can enroll back in school. I’ve only got one semester left ’til my BA, you know?”
I nod. I do know. I know because Lenny has always been focused on the future, even in high school. Even when things didn’t work out the way he planned after graduation, he remained determined to get his college degree, to do more with his life than anyone else in his family.
I offer a smile because I’m proud of him, even as the reminder that I’ve yet to finish my own degree flashes through my mind. Taking courses on and off, in-person and online, has stretched my typical four-year degree into nearly eight years. If I take summer courses, I can complete my B.A. by July but then what? I’m studying Psychology. Who the hell would want me rooting around in their head?
Coming from a long line of accomplished, successful, determined soldiers, my family is all military. And I’m all sorts of disappointment.
“I hope it works out, Len.”
“Thanks, Evie. You need anything?”
“Just water when you get a chance.”
“You got it.” He pulls a glass out from underneath the bar and fills it with water, setting it in front of me.
Once he’s called away from the opposite side of the bar, I shift my focus back to my friends. Grinding against each other, giggling, throwing back their heads, they attract the attention of nearly every guy in Raf’s.
I nurse my water and check my watch.
How long do I have to stay until it’s acceptable to slip away? Closing my eyes, I think of my comfortable couch, the soft sleep pants I wear at night, and the oversized mug I like to drink my tea from.
Gah!
One night out won’t kill me.
Plastering a bright smile on my face, I bop my head in beat with the music. I can do this. I’ll be fine.
Acknowledgments
Hey Lovelies!
So, they say it takes a village…and this book baby was no different. In fact, Daisy and Finn’s story was the most challenging for me to write and I rewrote it SIX times! Each time, I fell a little more in love with Finn and grew a bit prouder of Daisy’s commitment to live fearlessly. I hope you did too.