“Was it?” he asked innocently, holding her closer.
“We always seem to find ourselves dancing.”
“It’s the only way I can get you to slow down.” He smiled at her then, but it seemed more strained than before. Which reminded her. She pushed back at him, and he let her go. Everyone clapped, reminding her they had an audience.
“Can we talk outside?” Chance asked her quietly.
She nodded. “Oliver. Eat your hamburger, okay? I’ll be right back.” She followed Chance out of the diner, rehearsing in her head what she was going to say. “Chance, like I said in my text—”
“I read the article,” Chance said.
She blinked. “What?”
“Anita Phillips sent me the article.”
“The new one?” Everything she’d written in there about him, how it might as well have been a love confession. He’d read it. He was never meant to read it. Not now.
He took her hand. “Why are you trying to leave again?”
“I wasn’t trying. I was doing. But apparently I did a crappy job of it.”
This made him smile. “It was actually pretty effective, until I got an email from Verity asking my permission to run the article, and Kim forced me to read it.”
“They’re running it? I told them to pull it.”
He lifted his eyebrow. “I gave them permission to run it. It was the best article I’ve ever read. And not just because it was about me.”
She turned away, too embarrassed to acknowledge his teasing. She couldn’t believe he’d read it and she had to face him like this.
“Madelyn.” His hand touched her shoulder. “The writing was phenomenal. And you somehow managed to catch the exact feeling of Take a Chance in words. I forwarded it on to everyone, and they were floored.”
“It doesn’t change anything.” Madelyn choked the words out.
“It changes everything.” He walked around her so she had to look at him. Or his shoes, anyway, since she was staring at the ground.
You can do this, Madelyn. For Chance. “I’m a distraction, Chance.”
“You definitely are. The best kind.”
“No. I’m the kind of distraction that keeps you from reaching your goals.”
“Madelyn.” He touched her chin lightly, and she finally tipped her head up toward him, falling into his eyes just like she knew he would. “Without you, none of this means anything. I’d give all of it up if it meant I got to have you with me.”
“But you can’t give it up!” she said, desperate. “Hannah told me you were blowing this opportunity to do something really great because of me.”
His jaw tightened. “I love Hannah. But she has no idea what she’s talking about.” He stepped closer, his hand sliding up into her hair, sending waves of pleasure over every nerve ending. “Madelyn. I thought I loved you eight years ago, but I love you even more now. I can’t imagine my life without you. When I got your text …” He let out a short breath. “Let’s just say I’ve been through an emotional upheaval between that and the email from Verity. I think I’m going to take a break from technology for a bit.”
She laughed, but to her surprise, Madelyn felt a sting in her eyes. She swiped at them. “Everything is brighter with you in my life,” she whispered, knowing she was gone forever. Forget reality. Forget work and money, high-maintenance family members, and coming from different worlds.
She loved Chance. And she’d never be able to let him go again. She just wasn’t strong enough.
Or maybe, she was finally finding the strength to hold on. To face her fears and be with him, this man who loved her in a way she’d never experienced before.
“Being with you is my great adventure, Madelyn. And no matter what happens, as long as you’re by my side, we’ll figure it out. Together.”
She reached up and kissed him, finally finding the courage to hold on to what she’d always wanted, knowing she’d never let go.
Epilogue
“It’s not that far to the ground. Only a couple hundred feet.” Chance kissed Madelyn’s neck, nearly distracting her from the steep drop inches from where she stood.
She pulled back. “Only?”
“Ready?” the zip line guide asked, checking her harness. Rog was hooked up to a third line, his camera ready. Hannah had already zipped ahead to the next platform so she could take pictures as they arrived.
“I don’t want to be on camera,” she said firmly to Rog, who only rolled his eyes and gave her a salute. In the six months she had been together with Chance, his team learned she hadn’t been kidding when she’d told them she was terrible in front of the camera.
Chance had peer-pressured her into trying a segment with him, an event they all looked back on now with various levels of cringing or laughter. An event not to be repeated. Still, one couldn’t completely trust Rog with his camera and his insistence that she did okay as long as she didn’t know the camera was running.
But now she always suspected the camera was running, and it all became messy.
It was just better to order him to leave her out of it. Oliver could have enough appearances on the channel for the both of them. In fact, he’d become an ambassador for the show, one of several young, fresh faces that Chance had recruited to help explain their adventures. Ratings had shot back up, people loving the shift in focus from Chance’s adventures to Chance teaching the kids about the world.
Who knew kids shows were so big on MyChannel?
But today, they weren’t out for a taping of the show. Today, they were taking photos for the massive wedding montage video/slide show that Hannah was making for their upcoming wedding. Because nothing said “love” like hanging side-by-side two hundred feet from the ground, strapped in ropes, wearing helmets.
“Is this really authentically us?” Madelyn asked, taking small, reluctant steps toward the edge. “Because I don’t think it is.”
“What could be more authentically us than me pushing you into some adventure you’re reluctant to do?”
Madelyn had to give him credit for his argument. “Maybe I should turn in my article first. Just in case.”
“You don’t even have your phone with you.” He touched the tip of her nose. “Stop stalling.”
“Fine.” She turned to Rog, who, sure enough, had the camera focused on her. Her words were immediately higher-pitched than normal. “But I want to go on the record saying that it would really suck to die three weeks before our wedding.”
“You’re not going to die,” the guide said, his voice bored.
“And if you do, I’ll make sure your article gets turned in to Ms. Phillips,” Chance promised.
After the success of her article about Chance, Ms. Phillips had allowed her to write another higher-profile article. And then another. Until Madelyn was finally able to quit her job at the diner and work full time as a writer. She still dropped in often to see Linda and Garth, but it was nice to go and order, not have to wait on tables.
She tried not to read the comments on her articles anymore, but Trent sent her one a few months ago that warmed her every time she thought of it:
Madelyn Stewart’s stories manage to reach into your core and make even the hardest-hearted person feel something.
“Other groups are waiting,” the guide said, moving his hand in a circle to hurry her along.
Madelyn leveled an irritated look at him before stepping up to the edge. “Let’s get this over with.”
“That’s the spirit,” Chance teased.
She pointed a finger at him. “You should be grateful I’m even doing this.”
He took her outstretched hand and kissed her palm, his touch sending her senses whirling. His eyes sparkled, but he firmly stated, “Madelyn, I am grateful for every second I get to spend with you.”
Her heart melted. She squeezed her eyes shut while the zip line instructor checked their lines, Chance’s hand warm and perfect in hers.
“Spin around and smile once you kick off,” Rog instructed.
“Madelyn, open your eyes. Hannah will be taking pictures of you from the other platform.”
Things had gotten better between Madelyn and Hannah over the last few months, to the point where Madelyn would even consider them friends. Hannah had apologized for trying to break them up when it became clear that Madelyn wasn’t going anywhere. It probably hadn’t hurt that Madelyn’s article had helped boost ratings, just as she’d hoped, and then led them straight into their evolved show idea.
Chance leaned over to kiss her quickly on the lips, his eyes gleaming with excitement. Seeing Chance light up was always her favorite part of these adventures. “One. Two …”
“Three!” she yelled with him. They kicked off, zipping down the line. Madelyn screamed out, and then laughed, realizing she was having fun. Around them, the stately redwoods whipped past them like blurs. She couldn’t believe she’d gone her whole life without visiting the redwood forest. The tall trees had nearly taken her breath away, and flying through them like this was magical. The wind blew against her face and she tipped her head up.
“I feel like a bird!” she yelled to Chance, who smiled back at her just as widely.
“You’re beautiful!” he yelled back.
Too soon the ride was over, and the instructor at the other platform pulled her in first, and then Chance. Adrenaline rushed through her veins, and she didn’t even care that Hannah was taking a ton of pictures.
“Worth it?” he asked.
“Yes.” She smoothed back her crazy hair.
They were unhooked form their harnesses and they scooted toward the middle of the platform. Chance wrapped her in his familiar embrace while they waited for their guide to come across the line next. He rested his chin against her temple, the familiar scratchiness of his jaw comforting. “Three more weeks, and it all begins.”
She smiled into his neck. “No way. It began months ago—” She paused dramatically. “—when I took a chance on love.”
Chance threw his head back in a full-throated laugh. “You’ve been holding on to that one for a while.”
She shrugged with false modesty, but couldn’t hold back her grin. A common occurrence around Chance. “Just waiting for the perfect moment to use your catch phrase.”
He pressed his forehead against hers. “Every moment with you is perfect,” he said, kissing her soundly. The zip line guide landed on the platform with a thump and began to ready the next line. Chance moved to Rog to discuss the shot, while Hannah zipped ahead.
The zip line guide motioned Madelyn forward. “Ready?”
Madelyn looked at Chance, who waited for her to give the go. With him, she knew her future would be filled with laughter, adventure, family, and a love greater than she’d ever expected. It was everything she’d once dreamed of, but had been too afraid to hope for. Being with him hadn’t taken away her independence, but had somehow built her into a stronger, happier person.
She bit her lip and gazed out at the endless line that stretched to another platform. And another one after that. But with her and Chance together, anything was possible.
She grabbed a hold of Chance’s hand and stepped toward the edge. “Let’s do this.”
Thank you for reading Take a Chance on Me by Kaylee Baldwin. If you enjoyed this MyHeartChannel Romance, you will love Sweet Home Vermont from Amberlee Day.
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Also by Kaylee Baldwin
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About the Author
A glamorous day in the life of Kaylee Baldwin includes: chasing after her four children, obsessively checking her email, writing her latest book, trying to get motivated to train for that race she shouldn't have signed up for, hanging out with her husband, and reading in every spare second she can find.
She graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in English lit and currently lives in southern Arizona with her family. Her books include Whitney Award finalist Meg's Melody, Six Days of Christmas, Silver Linings, and she has a story included in A Timeless Romance Anthology: California Dreamin.
You can reach her on Instagram or Twitter @kayleebaldwin1
Follow Kaylee on Amazon by clicking here and clicking “Follow.”
Take a Chance on Me_A My Heart Channel Romance Page 18