Only One Chance

by Madison, Natasha

  “I can’t believe you invited my grandmother over,” I tell him, and he just shrugs.

  “I figured you would be nervous as it is, so having someone else on your side wouldn’t hurt,” he says, and I just shake my head.

  “Have I told you that I love you?” I ask him, and he bends to kiss me.

  “I want to go change,” he says, pulling me with him into his bedroom. He puts the bag in the closet, and I walk over and toss my purse on the chair. Looking around, I see scraps of paper on his side table. Upon closer inspection, they are the notes I left him each time I left. I sit on the bed and open the first one.

  “You kept them?” I look at him when he walks out of his closet, wearing jeans and a shirt.

  “It was my last lifeline to you,” he says, sitting down on the bed next to me and wrapping his arms around me. “I would read them at night.”

  I wipe the tear away from my eye and look at him. “I love you,” I say softly, and he leans in and kisses my lips softly.

  “Knock, knock, knock,” his father says, sticking his head in the room.

  “The food is on the table,” he says, looking at us. “Nancy just put her special brownies in the oven.”

  I jump up at the same time that Miller jumps up. “Um,” I start to say.

  “They smell very earthy,” he says, and I run out of the room to the kitchen.

  Sara and Nancy stand there, laughing at something. “Oh, good, you guys are finally ready,” Grandma says. “I just put the brownies in.”

  “Oh, no, no, no, no, no,” I say, shaking my head and walking to the oven. “Grandma,” I say to her. “How could you bring this here?”

  “Why wouldn’t I bring them here? I took an Uber,” she says. “Plus, it’s to help you relax.”

  “I am not eating these,” I say, pointing at the oven and then turn to see Sara just looking at me while Miller and his father join us.

  “Um, Miller.” I say his name to get his attention. “Would you perhaps, I don’t know, Uber eats us some cupcakes or something?” I look at him wide-eyed, and he just nods.

  “Wait,” Sara says. “Why can’t we eat the brownies?”

  I look at Miller. “I told you this was going to be bad,” I tell him, and I blink away tears. He rushes over to me and puts his arm around me. “This is.”

  “I don’t see what the fuss is all about,” Grandma says.

  “Those are her special space cakes,” Sara says. “And I, for one, was excited for that.”

  “I love your son,” I say. “Like a lot.” She just smiles at me, and Grandma Nancy puts her hands together in front of her mouth. “But I’ve been divorced, and I know it’s like I’m tainted. But I really do love him, and if I could go back …” I wipe away the lone tear that’s escaped from my eye.

  It’s Sara’s turn now to throw her head back and laugh. “Honey, you aren’t tainted just because you got divorced.” She comes to me now. “No one is tainted. It just means they have to search a bit harder to find their missing lid.” I arch an eyebrow. “Every pot has a lid. Some are too big, and some are too small, but then you find the right one.” She pulls me in and whispers, “Thank you for loving him as you do.” I look at Miller. “And for giving love one more chance.”

  Epilogue One

  Miller

  Six months later

  “I can’t believe it’s almost time for the season to start,” I say from the middle of the sunbed. The soft white curtains dance around us from the warm breeze. I’m lying in the middle, wearing my shorts as Layla lies beside me in her bikini. Her legs are intertwined with mine, and she has her arm lying across my stomach.

  “I don’t know if I want to go back,” she groans as we watch the soft waves hit the white sand. We’ve been in Turks and Caicos for over three weeks, just the two of us. I rented us a private villa right on the beach away from everyone else. “Are you excited about the new season?” she asks as her finger draws figure eights on my chest.

  “I think if we get better, we might even make a play for the cup next year,” I tell her. We finished fifth in our division and were knocked out in the second round by St. Louis, who went on to win the cup.

  “I think so, too,” she says, looking up at me now. Her face looks sun-kissed. “Want to go into the water with me?” she asks me, sitting up, and I just shake my head. She gets off the bed and walks down to the water. My hand reaches behind me under the pillow, grabbing the red box that was placed there by our butler after lunch.

  Rising, I walk to the shore, admiring the sunset on the horizon. She turns around and smiles at me as she walks out of the ocean. “Was the water nice?” I ask, holding a towel open for her.

  “It would have been better if you came in with me.” She tilts her head up so I can kiss her. In the six months we’ve been together, the only time we’ve been apart is when I’m on the road. She moved all her stuff into my place a month ago when she finally sold her house. “Love you,” she says after I kiss her. It’s crazy how in love with her I am. It’s even crazier that I got her to fall in love with me.

  “I love you,” I tell her, the red box in my shorts getting heavier and heavier. “You know that, right?” She looks at me with a strange look on her face. “I mean, I hope you do.”

  “Umm …” she says. “I kinda have a feeling.” She laughs. “I think. Is that a trick question?”

  “Do me a favor,” I say, handing her my phone. “Ask Google if I love you.”

  “What?” She laughs. “How in the hell is Google going to know that answer?”

  “Just would you do it,” I urge her, my palm getting sweaty. I wanted to propose to her as soon as the sun started setting because there were candles that spelled out “marry me.”

  “Fine,” she says. “Does Miller love his girlfriend?”

  “Read what it says,” I tell her, hoping like fuck this worked.

  “It says Miller Adams fell head over heels in love with his girlfriend, Layla Paterson, over four years ago. But he had to get his head out of his ass to prove to her that she was the one for him.” She laughs now, looking at me, and I just watch her. She goes back to reading. “Layla Paterson once paid twenty-five thousand dollars to go on a date with Miller. It was on that date that Miller knew she might be the one.” She looks at me. “Is that so?” She shakes her head and goes back to reading. “Miller had to practically beg Layla to move in with him, and when she did, he knew there was only one thing left to do.” I get down on one knee now, but she doesn’t stop reading. “On a warm day in the middle of Turks and Caicos, Miller got down on one ...” She stops reading and looks at me. “Oh my God.”

  “Layla Paterson,” I say, “will you marry me?” I open the red box to show her the four-carat square diamond with the infinity band of diamonds. “Will you be my wife and love me forever?” She puts the back of her hand to her mouth and looks over my shoulder at the Marry Me sign now lit up bright. “Make me the luckiest man around and be my wife.”

  She nods her head at me as she sobs out. “Yes,” she says, launching herself at me. Kissing her lips, I rise and swing her around in a circle.

  “I knew Google was always right,” I tell her, and she throws her head back and laughs.

  Epilogue Two

  Layla

  Six months later

  “Oh my God, what is that smell?” I say, coming into our bedroom. Miller’s lying in the middle of the bed dressed in shorts and a shirt that look wet.

  “That would be me.” He lifts his head. “I didn’t shower after practice.”

  I scrunch up my face and lean against the doorframe. “Why the hell not?” I ask. “And why would you lie on our bed?”

  “I was exhausted,” he says, sitting up. “Come sit with me.”

  “No.” I shake my head. “You smell like cheese. If you make me throw up”—I point at him—“I’m going to hit you.” I’m almost at my twelve-week mark. Almost at the point when we can tell people although a couple of people have guessed it sinc
e I don’t drink wine anymore. Grandma Nancy felt it in her bones. Apparently, it also didn’t help that I threw up on her shoes.

  It happened by accident when I forgot to take a pill and then doubled up the next day. I knew there was a chance, and well, wild horses couldn’t keep him out of me, especially since he’d just gotten back from a four-day road trip. When my period didn’t come, I just thought it was a mistake, but the seven pregnancy tests I took told me otherwise. I was scared he would say he wasn’t ready, but instead, he insisted I marry him that weekend, which was beyond ridiculous since it was Thursday. Yet he flew his parents in on Friday, and on Sunday afternoon in the middle of the backyard, I married him. I look up at the picture hanging in the middle of the room. Us on our wedding day, walking down the aisle after we said I do. The camera had caught me laughing while he was kissing my ring. It was beautiful. He was beautiful. Our life was beautiful.

  “Now, can you please go and take a shower?”

  “Will you come with me?” he asks, and I peel my shirt off. “That’s my girl.”

  “Actually, it’s the hormones in me that will not let me say no,” I tell him over my shoulder. “Who knew getting knocked up would make me even hornier?”

  “According to Google, it’s the estrogen and progesterone in you,” he says, and I turn the water on.

  “Whatever it is,” I say, “I need you now.” I pull up his shirt. “First, I’m going to soap you up and get that smell off you, and then it’s on,” I tell him. He laughs, picking me up and placing me in the shower.

  He washes while he teases me, and I can’t hold back. I put my foot on the bench and play with myself while he watches. I’m about to come when he picks me up and slides me down his cock. My head goes back, and in a matter of seconds, I’m coming all over him.

  He gets out of the shower before I do, leaving me to wash my hair. Once I turn off the water and dry myself off, I walk into my walk-in closet. Hanging my towel, I slide on a pair of panties, then step into his closet and grab one of his T-shirts.

  “What did you want to eat for supper?” I ask him as I walk out of the closet and shake my wet hair out of the towel.

  “Oh my God,” Miller says. “Oh my God,” he says again as he looks at something on his phone. Then his eyes come up to mine. He shakes his head, and then he dials someone. “Manning, it’s me. Call me. Come here if you need to.”

  “What in the hell is going on?” I ask him. He turns his phone and gives it to me, and I gasp as I scroll through the picture with the caption.

  Dallas captain is hot on the ice but apparently not hot enough to keep his wife satisfied. The captain’s wife is seen here getting hot and heavy with an unnamed man in what looks to be someone's car. From the looks of it, she left him looking mighty happy.

  Continue the Only One Series

  Only One Night

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  Books By Natasha Madison

  The Only One Series

  Only One Kiss

  Only One Chance

  Only One Night

  Only One Touch

  SOUTHERN SERIES

  Southern Chance

  Southern Comfort

  Southern Storm

  Southern Sunrise

  This Is

  This Is Crazy

  This Is Wild

  This Is Love

  This Is Forever

  Hollywood Royalty

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  Perfect Love Story

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  Broken Love Story

  Mixed Up Love

  Faux Pas

  Acknowledgments

  Every single time I keep thinking it’s going to be easy. It takes a village to help and I don’t want to leave anyone out.

  My Family: There are no words that I can say thanking you for loving me and being by my side during this wild and crazy ride.

  Dani: There is no other person I would want by my side. Thank you for always guiding me and not ignoring all the million of messages that I send you.

  Beta girls: Teressa, Natasha M, Lori, Sandy, Yolanda, Yamina, Sarah, Jan, Mary and Layla. Thank you for holding my hand, telling me when things sucked and for being by my side.

  Madison Maniacs: This little group went from two people to so much more and I can’t thank you guys enough. This group is my go to, my safe place. You push me and get excited for me and I can’t wait to watch us grow even bigger!

  Julie: You’ve been with me since book one and I trust you with anything and everything. Thank you for loving me and for making my words looks pretty!

  BLOGGERS. THANK YOU FOR TAKING A CHANCE ON ME. You give so much of yourself effortlessly and you are the voice that we can’t do this without.

  And Lastly and most importantly to YOU the reader, Without you none of this would be real. So thank you for reading!