That night Danielle spent the night at the university for orientation, so Claire had the house to herself for the first time in a long time.
The timing probably wasn’t the best. It allowed Claire time alone to think. A mixed blessing.
She sat on the sofa with Charlie nestled close to her and looked through the photo album from twenty years ago. She’d been a teenager when she’d put it together, but now the same feelings were back. The same feelings she’d felt the last time Grayson left.
She closed the photo album and opened the photos on her phone. Smiled at the pictures of the two them interspersed with pictures of the three of them. Claire and Grayson. And Danielle.
It was the same. Yet different.
Her phone rang and Grayson’s picture appeared on her screen, jarring her out of her thoughts.
“Hey, where are you?” she asked.
“Albuquerque, New Mexico.”
“Really? Wow. I thought you might want to stop and see the Grand Canyon.”
“No. I couldn’t do that. I’ll wait until I’m with you.”
“Grayson…” she said.
“I miss you.”
She squeezed her eyes closed tightly. “I miss you, too.”
It was the same. Why was it so different?
“Grayson,” she said again.
“What is it Claire?”
“What were we thinking?”
“We were thinking that we have something special and we can make it work.”
Silence.
“Claire?”
“Yes?”
“Have you met someone else already? Is it that Maine D’Court guy? Is he there?”
Claire laughed and felt better than she had felt all day.
“Please say no,” he said.
“No,” she said, a tear slipping down her cheek. “What about Allen?”
“Who?”
“Allen. The guy who’s coming for a visit.”
She laughed. “I turned down his proposal.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
“Good. We’re good then.”
When they hung up the phone, Claire hugged her cat to her and cried into his fur. “I don’t think I can do it, Charlie,” she said and rubbed the tears from his fur. Once Grayson arrived safely in Pittsburgh, she would tell him. She would tell him she couldn’t do this whole long distance relationship thing.
Grayson got up early the next morning and like every morning, the first thing he did was check his phone. His screen saver was Claire’s picture. He opened up his phone and scrolled to his photos. Holding his finger against his favorite photo to animate it, he watched the two of them smile and kiss on the ferry with the Golden Gate Bridge behind them. He’d never seen her look so beautiful as she did in that wind-swept exhausted moment. Her defenses had been down and the love she felt for him was in her face.
He put his suitcase in his car, and filled up his tank with gas. The further away he got from Los Angeles and Claire, the more anxious he became. He had an odd sensation that the tie that bound them would break if he got too far away. Pennsylvania seemed like such a long way away. Maybe he should have sold his car and flown. If he’d flown, he’d be there by now and he wouldn’t be dealing with the prolonged sensation of getting further and further away from her.
Within the hour, he was struggling to see the road in front of him. The morning sunlight in the desert was blinding. It took all his concentration to keep his car on his side of the highway.
He decided to stop at a waffle house for breakfast to take a break. Perhaps if he took a break, the sun would shift and it would be less hazardous to drive.
As he waited for his eggs and bacon to arrive, he turned off his cell phone and turned it back on. His service had been spotty since he’d hit New Mexico.
He had a phone message from yesterday.
He played the message as his food arrived. Then played it again.
His face broke out into a wide grin.
And the weight of the world fell off his shoulders.
It was already nine o’clock in Pittsburgh. He quickly ate his breakfast, then replayed the message.
He then called the department chair in Pittsburgh who had hired him.
After a few minutes of conversation, he realized that he’d just made someone else’s day.
He needed to make another phone call, but he had to wait two hours. He got back in the car and this time, the sun was at his back. He turned on his music and sang along to a James Taylor song.
That evening, Claire worked late. When she finally got home, she was too exhausted to worry much about dinner. She sent out for Chinese and turned on the TV while she waited. Everything was on autopilot for her next fundraiser. It had been a very productive week. She had nothing pressing to do at the moment.
She needed something to keep herself from thinking. She dragged herself off the couch and began putting clothes in the washer. It was time to do some cleaning.
The Chinese place usually took about an hour because it was a little bit of a drive for the delivery guy. But Claire always gave him a big tip, so he didn’t mind driving out her way.
She hadn’t been watching the clock, but when the doorbell rang, she instinctively knew it was about time for the delivery guy to arrive.
She went to the door and opened it without peeking outside first.
No one was standing there. Pulling the door to behind her to keep Charlie from following, she looked left, then right.
Grayson must have been pacing on her porch. He was walking toward her.
“Now what if I’d been a serial killer,” he said, stopping a few feet in front of her.
“Grayson?” Her mind struggled to link the pieces together.
She hadn’t heard from him all day, but last night he’d been in New Mexico. On his way east. To Pittsburgh.
Now he was standing here on her doorstep.
Perhaps she was imagining things.
While her brain was in lockdown, he took two steps and pulled her into his arms, sweeping her feet off the ground.
He twirled her around, then set her down.
Her blood was flowing again.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. “You’re supposed to be heading the other direction.”
“I love you, Claire.”
Her heart skittered and she smiled. “I love you, too.” She waited a heartbeat. “Is your phone broken?”
He laughed. “Nope. But my heart was breaking.”
“I don’t understand. You came all this way just to tell me that. Are you going to be late?”
“Nope. Not taking the job.”
She stared at him. Her brain trying to make sense of it all. She rubbed her palm against the side of her head. “Wait. You said you had to take this job. You couldn’t let down the university in Pittsburgh.”
“Maybe it was something about driving alone through the desert for hours, but I had an epiphany.”
“What kind of epiphany?” she asked, not bothering to keep the skepticism out of her voice.
“I’m not the only person who needs a job right now. There’s a whole line of people who’d like that job in Pittsburgh.”
“I’m sure. But…”
The Chinese delivery guy drove up to the curb.
“Are you expecting someone?” Grayson asked.
“Yes,” she said, keeping a straight face.
“I see.” He took a step back.
Claire was a little surprised at the pain on his features until she realized he thought the delivery guy was another guy coming over.
“Grayson,” she said.
He shook his head. “It’s okay. I shouldn’t have assumed.”
“Grayson,” she laughed.
“Here’s your delivery, ma’am.”
“Thank you, Robert,” she said, signing the receipt and adding her tip.
“Have a great evening,” Robert said, heading back toward his car.
Gra
yson just watched her.
“Come inside,” she said.
“I’m a little tired,” he said.
“It’s okay. Come in. Eat some Chinese food with me. And tell me how you ended up back here.”
He smiled. “I hit the wrong button on my GPS.”
“Ha.” They settled into the living room and opened the boxes of food. “What happened with the teaching job? Did they cancel or something?”
“No. I canceled on them.”
“But you said.”
“I know. I had a sense of obligation, but after I called the department chair, she assured me that they had a list of people waiting. They had given me preference because I’m a veteran.”
“Out of a list of equally qualified people.”
“Exactly.”
“You turned down the job?”
He nodded.
“Help me understand.”
“First I need to ask you something.”
“Okay.”
“Do you think I could borrow your guest room for awhile?”
“Of course. While you look for another job?”
“I already have another job.”
“Oh.” Her heart sank. He wasn’t going to Pennsylvania, but he would be going somewhere else instead. She set down her fork with a sudden loss of appetite. She’d been so happy to see him, she hadn’t realized that he must going to take the full-time position in Texas. What was it about Texas and her men anyway? Noah had been from Texas. He was living in Alabama now, but he still had a business based out of Fort Worth. Now Grayson was going to be living in Texas. Where was it? San Antonio? It didn’t matter. It was Texas and not here.
“Claire,” he said. “I’m staying here.”
She shook her head. Grayson wasn’t inclined to be unemployed while he looked for a job. She couldn’t allow him to do that. Even if it meant he had to move to Texas.
“I can’t let you be unemployed,” she said it out loud. “Even if it means moving to Texas.”
“They already filled the position in Texas.”
“You can’t not work,” she said.
“Claire,” he said again. “Look at me.”
She looked up. Met his gaze. Took a deep breath.
“I’m going to work for the VA.”
The VA. He’d said that was a possibility for the future. That it was really hard to get a job there. “But…”
“I know. I said they wouldn’t hire me because they rarely have openings. But they did.”
“They hired you?”
He nodded.
“Here? In L.A.?”
“Yep.”
“For good. Permanently?”
“Yes,” he said. “I got really, really lucky.”
“This is like… a miracle.”
“Fate is keeping us together this time.”
“Wow,” she said. Then she threw her arms around him. He pulled her into his lap and held her tightly to him.
“There’s nothing keeping us apart anymore,” he said. “Except maybe the Chinese delivery guy.”
Claire started laughing. Then she couldn’t stop. “I can’t believe you thought I’d have a guy over already,” she said through giggles.
“I don’t ever have to worry about that again.” He waited a beat. “Right?”
“You don’t have to.”
“Claire,” he nudged her back to look into her eyes. “I know how much you love this house.”
She nodded. She didn’t want to leave here.
“That means you’ll have to invite me to stay here with you.”
“I’ll think about it,” she said.
His expression sobered. “It’ll be awkward if you don’t want your husband to live here with you.”
“I don’t have a husb…” She stopped talking and stared into his eyes. “Anymore…”
“Do you think you could tolerate another one?”
“I’ll think about it,” she said, swallowing the lump in her throat. She was overcome with emotion. Emotion that threatened to spill over and consume her.
“One who’s around all the time, especially in the evenings and weekends.”
“I don’t know,” she said, biting her lip to keep her face from splitting into a ridiculous grin.
“Think hard,” he said. “Because you’re about to have to make that decision.”
“What do you mean?”
“I like you, so I’ll warn you. You’re about to be proposed to.” He dumped her off his lap onto the sofa and before she knew what he was doing, he was kneeling on the floor. “Claire Beauchamp…” he said. “Worthington….” He started over. “Claire… Will you marry me?”
She couldn’t hold it any longer. Her face split into that ridiculous grin. “Yes!” She slid onto the floor with him.
He pulled her against him and they ended up lying side by side on the floor, arms wrapped around each other.
He swept the hair from her face and lifted her hand. Kissed her knuckles. “Tomorrow,” he murmured. “Tomorrow we’ll go shopping and get something to put on this finger.” He kissed her ring finger and she thought her heart might burst with happiness.
Then he was kissing her. Suddenly he stopped and looked into her eyes.
“Will Danielle be back tomorrow?” he asked.
“Yeah. Why?”
“I was thinking we could find a Justice of the Peace tomorrow.”
Her eyes widened. “Tomorrow?”
“I don’t want you to have a chance to get away this time. Besides, I don’t have anywhere to live, so I need to lock this thing down.”
“You’re such a romantic,” she said.
He grinned. “Let me show you just how romantic.”
Then his lips were on hers again.
Claire’s befuddled mind worked to make sense of all that was happening. Grayson was back. For good. And tomorrow she would be his wife. Then her emotions trumped her thoughts.
And she was lost in his kiss.
No matter how they got here.
Life moved in only one direction. Forward.
If you enjoyed Love Again, I think you’ll also love Danielle’s story, Falling Again. Please continue reading for a sneak peek at an unedited version of what I’m working on now!
Falling Again Excerpt
Falling Again
Love’s Second Chance Series
Book 3
Chapter 1
Falling Again
Danielle Worthington did not believe in happily ever after.
She zoomed in and snapped a picture of the models posing as a happy couple. They were wearing jeans and tee-shirts giving them a casual, relaxed look. They were at Sam Houston Park posing in front of an historic wooden house with a white picket fence – representing the American dream.
Their smiles looked true and their affection genuine. Only Danielle knew that Avery and Jacob could barely stand the very sight of each other.
They shifted and gazed at each other, their faces only inches apart. Danielle went up the stairs and stood on the other side of them. Snapped more pictures. She shook her head. They were such a cute couple.
“I’ve got enough casual,” Danielle said, “go get dressed up.”
As they turned away from each other, their smiles turned to scowls. At least they were professional enough to pretend to like each other during the shoots.
Danielle glanced at her phone. She had two hours to get back to her office in time to meet her father for lunch. A wave of anxiety swept over her at anticipation of that meeting.
She took a deep breath and swallowed the nausea. Her father loved her no matter what. Right?
He’d always been there for her. There was no reason why he wouldn’t be there for her now.
Avery and Jacob were back within minutes. Avery was now wearing a red party dress and Jacob was wearing a black tux.
They made such a beautiful couple.
Two hours later, Danielle looked up from her computer at a knock on her open door. A ma
n holding a large box stood in her doorway.
He wasn’t wearing a uniform, so he wasn’t a delivery guy. Besides, the box was wrapped in what at first glance appeared to be blue birthday wrapping paper, not shipping paper.
A birthday gift? No one here at the office knew it was her birthday.
She glanced at the time on her computer. She had a male model coming in to interview at three o’clock. Maybe he was early. She could get that out of the way while she waited on her father who was characteristically late. No doubt he would blame it on the weather or other flight delay problems.
“You’re early,” she said.
Confusion crossed his features. Adorable. Oh yes! He was hired before he even got inside her office. He was tall and slim with clean-cut features. It was hard to find an attractive male model without a beard. And those bright blue eyes were going to light up her camera.
“I try to always be on time, if not early,” he said.
Too bad she wasn’t doing videos. His smooth voice sent tingles all over her.
“Come in,” she said. “I’m meeting someone, but he’s late. We can go ahead.”
He came inside, shifting the box. “Where do you want this?” he asked.
“What is it?”
“It’s an Apple computer. But I think it’s supposed to be a surprise.”
Danielle glanced at the smaller Apple computer sitting on her desk and salivated just a little.
Who all knew she wanted a new, larger, computer? Her mother, Claire, her father, Noah, and her ex-boyfriend.
“Just set it here, on the floor,” she said, indicating the space beside her desk. The relief was evident on his face as he set it down. Danielle didn’t see a card attached.
I’ll have to come back to this.
“Sit,” she said, nodding toward the empty chair in front of her desk.
After he sat, she laced her fingers under her chin and allowed herself to gaze into his eyes. “How long have you been a model?” She asked.
“I’m not a model.”
She smiled as she considered the possibility of exclusivity. She could be the only graphic artist with his handsome face on book covers. “So… no experience?” She asked.
He frowned and shook his head. “Not with modeling.”
“It’s okay,” she said quickly. “You don’t have to have experience.”
Love Again: Love's Second Chance Series Page 17