Her Second Beginning: A Sweet Romance

by M. J. Perry

“You will when the time is right.”

  “His kiss was timed right. It was amazing. I have never been so lost in a kiss before.” Guilt filled her as she said the words. Her kisses with Ryan had been explosive, but in a different way. She had to stop comparing because Ryan and Mason were two very different men, but each of them had her heart. Comparing them would hurt Mason and hurt her memories of Ryan.

  “With Ryan you had a safe, lasting relationship. You both loved each other and you would have grown old together if he hadn’t got sick.”

  “That’s what makes me feel worse.”

  “Why?”

  “Knowing I wouldn’t have met Mason guts me.”

  “He’s a part of you now as Ryan is.”

  “Yeah, a huge part of me.”

  Ava looked behind Liv and grinned. “He’s back. No more girl talk.” She laughed.

  “Is everything all right?” Mason asked as he slipped an arm around Liv’s shoulders.

  “Yes, everything is perfect.” Liv smiled sweetly.

  “Tony said Maggie will be here any minute. We can have a cuddle and then I’ll take you home.”

  “Ok.” Liv blushed because going home with him meant more kissing and she wanted that so much. She thought he knew because he caressed her burning cheek and gave her a dimple smile.

  They heard the front door open and Ava clapped her hands. “Yay, baby time. Josh is so loveable I could just eat him up.”

  “I’d rather you didn’t eat my son.” Maggie laughed as she walked towards them. “But I know what you mean.” She passed the baby straight to Ava and as Jack walked up behind her, Liv could picture them as a family, and it filled her with delight. She didn’t think Ava had to worry about growing old alone anymore. Liv looked at Mason and caught his heated stare; Liv didn’t think she had anything to worry about either.

  Chapter Nine

  Ryan’s Birthday

  Liv woke up in a panic. Last night she’d been so wrapped up in Mason and his passionate kisses that she’d gone to bed dreaming of him. She hadn’t dreamt of Ryan at all and surely that was wrong; she felt like she’d betrayed him when he should have been on her mind. It was his birthday today, the day she’d been dreading was here, it was one more year that he’d been away from her, while she’d grown older, one more year of her being alone and holding her dead dream tightly because she didn’t want to let it go. She looked over at his bedside table, at the wedding photograph that sat there and she burst into tears. She cried for him; she cried for the life she’d had torn away from her. How could she leave him behind? The positive attitude she’d had last night disappeared like a popped bubble and it left her filled with despair. All of her thoughts about moving on were wrong. She couldn’t replace Ryan or leave him behind. Pushing the duvet off her body, she climbed out of bed and headed straight to the shower. She was going to see him. The flowers she’d bought yesterday sat in her kitchen sink waiting for her to place them on his grave. The shower was hot, and she needed that to warm her cold bones. Quickly washing and drying herself, she pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and then slipping on her trainers, she made her way to the kitchen to grab the flowers. Locking the door behind her, she headed towards the churchyard; it was only a short walk, a couple of minutes at most, but to her, it felt like hours. She needed to be near Ryan. She felt almost hysterical from the need to be close to him. Walking as fast as she could, she finally made it. She sat down cross-legged on the grass next to him and burst into tears. He was gone; she knew that, but somehow it felt to her like she was losing him all over again and her pain was intense. Moving on with Mason, accepting him into her life as more than a friend meant letting go of her old life for good, it meant letting go of Ryan and her heart felt like it was breaking.

  “Hey,” the softly spoken word dragged her out of her misery. She rubbed her hands over her cheeks trying to remove the tears flowing down them. Looking up she saw Mason. He walked towards her with his hands out in front of him as if he was trying not to scare her. She got to her knees, feeling like a trapped animal, any sudden movements and she’d bolt. She couldn’t explain why she felt that way because she wasn’t afraid of him, he made her feel safe, but her fear was starting to make her panic. Her breathing increased until she couldn’t suck in enough air, she tried to calm herself down. Her frightened eyes met Mason’s, and he sucked in a breath before quickening his pace. He sat next to her on the grass and pushed her head between her raised knees. His hands caressed her hair, and they sat in silence for a while until her breathing even out. Once she’d pulled herself together, she raised her head and his hand dropped into a fist on his lap.

  “Honey, do you want to talk about it?”

  She shook her head. “It’s too hard.”

  “Fair enough. Can I hold you?”

  She raised her eyes to his. “I’d like that.”

  Liv had expected him to hold her hand or maybe slip an arm around her shoulders, she had not expected him to lift her up and slide her on to his lap, but that’s exactly what he did. She froze for a second before relaxing into his hard frame. His hand rubbed her back in a soothing motion and she burrowed her face into his warm neck.

  “I thought we’d grow old together, that we’d have children, and watch them get married and have children of their own. I never thought one of us would die and leave the other behind.” She rubbed her cheeks as her tears started to fall again, her face still safely burrowed in his neck she continued. “They keep telling me to move on, but how do I do that? How do I forget about Ryan and make our dream come true with someone else?”

  “Olivia, baby, you don’t forget about him. You hold him here, always.” He said as he placed a hand over her heart. “Ryan was special to you; he’ll always be with you. The dream you had with him was yours, you have to make a new one.”

  “You make it sound easy.”

  He shook his head, the movement dislodging Liv, and she looked up at him. “It’s not easy, but it’s essential. If you keep holding onto the old dream, you will never be happy.”

  “I am happy.” She argued.

  “Sometimes when you let yourself be, but I see your sadness. You don’t think you deserve to be happy, but you couldn’t be more wrong. You deserve it more than anyone does. Ryan would agree with me.”

  Laying her head on his shoulder, she sighed. “I know you’re right, he’d hate to see me like this.”

  “You need to acknowledge he’s gone.”

  “I know he’s gone.” Liv snapped.

  “You need to let go in here.” He touched her chest again with the palm of his hand and she sucked in a breath.

  “It’s hard to let go, but I think I’m more frightened of moving on. Remembering Ryan, keeping his ring on my finger works like a barrier.”

  “It keeps people away.” He raised his eyebrows in surprise as if he’d just realised something. “It keeps me away, doesn’t it?”

  She nodded. “When I watched you from a far you were a sexy man with no name and you weren’t a threat.”

  “And now I am?”

  “Yeah, you are.” She admitted.

  “I would never hurt you Olivia.”

  “You might not mean to.” She looked at her toes. “What if you get sick like Ryan did? I can’t lose you as well.”

  “I can’t promise you that won’t happen, but you can’t run from me and the life we could have because of your fears.”

  “I don’t know how to stop feeling scared.”

  “Don’t you want children, pretty little girls with golden hair?”

  She caught her breath at his words. “Yes.”

  “With me?”

  Pulling in a shocked breath, she stared up at him. The answer was in her eyes, but she couldn’t find the words, especially not here while they sat at Ryan’s grave.

  “I want to have your children, Olivia. I want to see you grow large with my babies, see you be a mother because I know you’ll be a fantastic one. You’ll be a pushover though, so I’
ll have to be the strict one.”

  Liv laughed. “You couldn’t be any stricter than me.”

  “Maybe not, but we’d have to work on that. We don’t want spoilt brats.”

  “We wouldn’t have. We’d teach them better than that.”

  Mason grinned.

  “What?” Liv asked him confused.

  “You said we.”

  “I guess I did.”

  “So you do like the idea?”

  “Yes I do, I just need time.” She admitted.

  “I understand that and I’ll be here waiting for the day you are ready for me.”

  “I can't expect you to wait, Mason.”

  “There is nowhere else I would rather be.”

  “You could be in for a long wait.” She warned him.

  “I don’t think so. I have a feeling you’ll be ready sooner than you think.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “Baby steps, Olivia. You’ve moved on, you’re just not ready to admit it to me yet, but you will.”

  She sighed. He was right, they'd gone from strangers to friends, to sweet kisses, and now they were talking about babies. She thought he might be right. “I can't believe we've had this conversation by Ryan's grave.” She said.

  “I can. I think you needed to have him close to make the decisions you have.”

  She climbed off his lap and moved closer to Ryan’s headstone. She touched it gently and rubbed her hand over it.

  “He’s always been my constant. He was my safety net. When I lost him, I lost a piece of myself.”

  Mason nodded in understanding. He looked sad, and she knew she was hurting him, but she was trying to explain.

  “Slowly, I’ve gained that piece back. You’re helping me do that. I love Ryan, I will always love him, but you came along, all darks looks and sexy attitude and you broke through my defences. Little by little you’ve claimed a piece of me.”

  Tears pricked her eyes when she caught sight of Mason’s face. His eyes were blurry with tears and the look of awe on his face astonished her. He stood up and held out a hand to her and she almost ran to him. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and she cried as she realised what she’d said without actually saying the words. “I love you Mason.” She said calmly as her tears poured down her face. “I’m not sure how it’s happened so fast, but it’s the truth.” She murmured.

  “I love you too, Olivia.”

  “I know, I’ve always known. That’s why I ran.”

  “I’m a patient man, I knew you’d come around.”

  “I knew too, I’m just more stubborn. Hang on, how did you know I was here?”

  “I followed you. I was just coming to your door when I caught sight of you walking up here.”

  “I’m glad you did.” She gave his arm a squeeze. “Can I have a minute?”

  “Sure, baby, I’ll take the rubbish from the flowers to the bin.” He picked up the bouquet and took the paper away handing the flowers to her.

  “Thank you.” She felt his lips brush her forehead and then he left her alone. Moving to Ryan’s grave, she lay the flowers down. She sat down crossed legs just like before, except this time she didn’t cry. Instead, she told Ryan a story. The story of how she'd met a lovely lady on their pier and how she'd told Liv to embrace her second chance. She told him she loved him and she would always love him. She’d mourn him forever; she’d miss his cheeky grin and his sweet ways and he would never leave her heart, but she loved Mason.

  Standing up, she ran her hand along his stone. “I love you, Ryan.” She whispered. She saw Mason walking back to her, and she smiled. “He is amazing, Ryan. He treats me so sweetly and I know I’m safe with him.” she bit her lip. “I have to say goodbye now.”

  Mason cradled her face when he reached her. He understood, without words how much it had cost her to say that. “It’s not goodbye, Olivia, its farewell.” He turned to face Ryan’s grave. “Farewell, Ryan, I’ll look after her, you have my word.”

  Liv sobbed quietly in his arms, her body shaking from the grief she was finally letting go of, she hoped wherever Ryan was, he was looking down on her knowing she wasn’t alone anymore and that Mason made her happy. At that thought, a butterfly flew past where they stood. It landed on Ryan’s headstone and she gasped. Ryan had always thought butterflies were lucky, Liv thought he was giving them his blessing.

  Epilogue

  Her Second Beginning

  “Sometimes bad things happen, and when they do, it’s hard to find the good in life. Mason came into my life at a time when I was lost. I had no idea where I was going, what I was doing and then, bang, I saw him in the street, and I knew he was special. I took a while to let him in, but he didn’t give up on me.” Liv looked down at Mason, her happiness radiating off her and she gave him a beautiful smile. “Now, here we are standing before our friends, as Husband and Wife.” She looked at her hand where her magnificent rings circled her finger, and she smiled through her tears. “I’m a lucky woman to have him in my life and I know he will love our children very much.” Liv held Mason’s eyes as she slipped her hand down to her stomach. Masons eyes widened before he jumped out of his seat and wrapped his arms around her. All around them, people started to clap. “Surprise,” She said beaming up at him.

  “Oh baby, you make me so happy. Today is the best day of my life.”

  “So far.” She corrected. “I think the best is yet to come.”

  Their wedding day was exactly six months after Liv had said farewell to Ryan. When Mason had taken her home that day, they’d made coffee and talked, mainly about small things, she’d been too tired for anything else. She’d sat curled up in his arms on the sofa and looked around the room noticing for the first time that it looked like a shrine. Nothing of Ryan’s had moved since he’d died, she hadn’t wanted to change anything. Mason had sat in her house many times and he must have realised what Liv just had, but he had never once mentioned it. He’d never flinched when she’d talked about Ryan, he’d been her support throughout everything, and she felt ashamed that she hadn’t thought more about his feelings. Once Mason had left, she’d tidied up. She’d moved all of Ryan’s things and put them in the spare room. She’d taken down all the photos of them except one, and put them in the spare room as well. By the time the morning had come around she’d put every trace of Ryan away. When she’d looked around the house, Liv had thought it looked horrible, it was dull and lifeless, the very thing she’d been dreading in the first place, but it hadn’t filled her with despair, instead she’d felt free. A new start was ahead of her, and she’d decided to embrace it. Mason had been surprised by what she’d done when he’d come to see her that night, but she’d also seen his relief. It was as if Liv was telling him she had let go of the past.

  Two days later, he’d asked her to move in with him; two weeks after she did, they’d made love for the first time. It had been everything Liv had thought it would be and more. Afterwards, she'd looked at her hand to see Ryan’s ring still there on her finger. Mason hadn’t ever complained about it, but she should have realised that it would be painful for him. Still lying in his arms, she’d reached up to cup his face and kissed him with all the love she’d felt for him, she’d slipped her ring off and placed it on the bedside table.

  Things had moved fast from then on, he proposed, she’d said yes and then they’d planned their wedding day.

  Now, they were married and the rings she wore were her future. Mason was her future, so was the little bean in her stomach.

  She thanked god for second chances and for new beginnings.

  THE END

  Author Note

  Thank you so much for taking the time to read Olivia’s story. If you enjoyed reading Her Second Beginning, please think about leaving a review. I love to hear my reader's thoughts.

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  Protecting his Love (Book Three)

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