[Canyon Cove 02.0] No Regrets

by Liliana Rhodes

"To honor all of her hard work, I'm here to present Deborah with an honorary degree for her incredible devotion to the art of fashion design. Everyone, please put your hands together for one of my dearest friends and business partners, Miss Deborah Hansen." Joshua stepped back from the podium, clapping.

  Humbled and embarrassed, I slowly rose from my seat while everyone clapped. I climbed the stage, not very different from last year when I got my diploma, but feeling so much more confident and happy.

  My heart raced in my chest knowing I needed to say a few words. Hugging Joshua, I took a deep breath before turning around and facing the large crowd of students, their families and friends, and the school administrators. I looked down at Will and smiled back at him, feeling better as I nervously spun my engagement ring around my finger.

  "Thank you for this incredible honor. I can't help but think the school ran out of people to give this to," I said as the crowd laughed politely. After taking another deep breath, I continued. "I want to dedicate this honorary degree to my grandmother. If it wasn't for her endless support and patience, I would've never been able to achieve the things I've done."

  In the distance I heard a rumble of thunder and smiled, knowing my grandma was watching over me as she had been since her death. I knew she'd be proud of all my successes if she had been alive to see them. I also knew she would love Will as much as I did.

  Missing her, my eyes filled with tears as they always did when I thought about her too much. I blinked, trying to hold the tears back as my vision blurred. After swallowing hard, I forced a smile.

  "I'm really no good at this and no one wants to hear a long speech, so really, from the bottom of my heart, thank you."

  The crowd applauded again as I walked off the stage and back to my seat next to Will, who hugged me and held out a handkerchief. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw it, making the tears finally flow down my cheeks.

  Will gently wiped my tears with the handkerchief then kissed my forehead. Moving closer to me, he put his arm around my shoulders and I leaned into him.

  "I'm so proud of you, Deborah. There's just one small thing."

  "Is something wrong?"

  "Yes, there is. You see, I have this suit that needs to be tailored, and I'm still waiting for you to show me that new method of measuring my inseam."

  He grinned that same lopsided, knowing grin from the first day we met. His eyes twinkled mischievously and I laughed, surprised he remembered that. I had to be the luckiest woman alive. Not only did I have my dream job, but I had my very own Mr. Sexy who wanted to be with me forever.

  The End

  Continue reading for a bonus scene

  No Regrets Bonus Scene

  “Let’s go, Deborah,” Ashley said as she walked ahead of me through the parking lot. “I can’t believe we’re going to be late.”

  Mirabella’s Café was on the corner of a strip mall in downtown Canyon Cove. Golden light spilled onto the sidewalk from the restaurant’s large windows, and inside I could see that everyone else was already there.

  “I told you, it doesn’t matter what I do, I’m always late,” I said.

  “How is this possible? I picked you up so you wouldn’t be late.”

  “You used to be late all the time too, remember? I think you caught my lateness.”

  “Hmm, so lateness is a virus,” Ashley said with a grin. “I buy it.”

  The bells hanging from the door jingled as Ashley pulled the door open. The scent of cinnamon rolls, one of Mirabella’s specialties, wafted towards me as we walked through the café to the round table we always sat at.

  We had started going to Mirabella’s months ago as a way to force ourselves to never lose touch. If I remembered correctly, Jackie, Ashley’s old friend, was the first to come up with the idea to get Ashley out of the house after the baby was born. As time went on, we added more friends until there were seven of us.

  “It’s about time,” Jackie said. “We’re starving. I hope you don’t mind, we ordered some appetizers a few minutes ago.”

  “No, that’s great,” Ashley said. “It seems I caught Deborah’s lateness.”

  “I don’t know,” Samantha said. “I think Deborah might have caught that from you.”

  “Mental note, do not show up late,” Becca said with a laugh.

  “Actually, Becca, you’re the reason we’re late,” I teased.

  “Me? What did I do?”

  “I was waiting for Will to come home, but he got held up in a board meeting for the South End restoration project. Eventually Ashley and I left before he got back.”

  “Mmm, yeah, sorry about that. The meeting went longer than planned. I would’ve been late if I didn’t work a couple blocks away.”

  “It’s really great how so many people are coming together to fix that area up,” Ashley said.

  “Will was excited when he heard about it,” I said. “After what happened to his parents, he’ll do anything he can to prevent that from happening to someone else.”

  “And how is Mr. Sexy?” Tara asked.

  “He’s just amazing,” I said. “He’s been so supportive of my work with Joshua and…he just makes me so happy. I feel stupid sometimes because I’m always smiling. What about you and Mason? Anything new there?”

  Tara sighed. “I’m going to do it. I said yes to a date and I swear I will not cancel this time.”

  “You have so much history together, Tara,” Ashley said. “And it’s obvious you still have feelings for him.”

  “I’ve never gotten over him,” she said. “Seeing him, talking to him, brings all of that back.”

  Tara looked down and it was clear she didn’t want to talk about it anymore. As Samantha pulled out her phone to show off some baby pictures, my phone chimed in my bag. I pulled it out and saw a text from Will.

  Will: Any chance I can steal you away?

  Me: Maybe. What did you have in mind?

  Will: I was thinking dinner at The Breezes. We haven’t been there since our first date.

  Me: I can’t believe you remember that.

  Will: I remember everything. Is that a yes?

  I looked up at my friends and felt torn. Cassie, Ashley’s cousin, was sitting next to me. She must have seen the look on my face because she leaned towards me.

  “Something wrong?” she asked.

  I showed her Will’s texts and whispered so no one else would hear. “I don’t know what to do. I know I see him all the time and you guys maybe once a month, but...”

  “If Gabriel sent me that text, I’d go. Sometimes you can’t listen to what your head is saying, you have to go with your heart.”

  I nodded. She was right. And while I loved my friends, I couldn’t pass up Will wanting to take me to the place where we had our first date. I knew I’d regret that if I did, so I texted him back then waited for a lull in the conversation.

  “Umm, I’m sorry, but I think I need to go,” I said.

  “So soon? Is everything okay?” Ashley asked.

  “Everything’s fine. Will texted me and wants to take me to The Breezes, where we had our first date.”

  “Ooh, nice,” Jackie said. “Go, we’ll expect details next time though.”

  I hugged them all good-bye and as I stepped out onto the sidewalk, Will pulled up. My heart thumped in my chest like it did the first time I saw him. I got into the car and his hand reached for the back of my neck and pulled me close as he claimed my lips with his.

  “Wow, what was that for?” I asked, a little out of breath.

  “That was for my beautiful wife. I just wanted to make sure you know I love you,” he said, his eyes a little sad.

  “I love you too. Is everything okay? I thought you were just at a meeting.”

  “I was. And then I drove past where my mother died and I thought about how short life is. You never know when something is going to happen, good or bad. So I want to make a promise to you. I promise that every day I will make sure you know how much I love you. I couldn’t imagine som
ething happening and being left wondering if you knew how much you mean to me. You are my everything.”

  He took my hand and intertwined his fingers with mine then smiled at me. I wanted to tell him how much he meant to me too, but he left me speechless. He put the car in gear and started to drive.

  “So, The Breezes?” he asked.

  “Let’s just go home.”

  “Are you sure? I thought you might like a fancy dinner.”

  “Only if that’s what you really want. I just want to spend time with you.”

  He squeezed my hand and we drove towards home. Will and I had been through many things in our short time together, but one thing I knew for sure was that we both loved each other very much and always would. He was more than just my Mr. Sexy, he was my Mr. Everything.

  Thank you for reading No Regrets! I hope you enjoyed it.

  No Regrets is book 2 of the Canyon Cove series of standalone billionaire romance novels, each with a different couple and a Happily Ever After.

  Book 3—Second Chance, Tara & Mason’s story is currently available,

  or pick up all five books at a discount with

  Canyon Cove Billionaires Boxed Set.

  Continue reading for an excerpt from Second Chance.

  Canyon Cove Novels

  Playing Games (Cassie & Gabriel)

  No Regrets (Deborah & Will)

  Second Chance (Tara & Mason)

  Hearts Collide (Jackie & Brent)

  Perfect Together (Becca & Gideon)

  To read more about Canyon Cove, check out Ashley & Xander's and Samantha & Drake's stories in

  The Billionaire’s Whim.

  Sign up for my newsletter to get an email when the next books are available.

  About Second Chance

  Fifteen years ago billionaire rancher Mason Abernathy made a promise—he said he would come back for her, instead he broke her heart.

  Tara Murphy never forgot the man she calls the love of her life. Left with her memories, strong-willed Tara moved away from the reminders of her past to Canyon Cove. But when fate steps in and brings Mason back into her life, she’s torn between the love she still has and the agony he caused her.

  Mason will do whatever it takes to have her back in his life, but can Tara move past the pain of their past and give him a Second Chance?

  Prologue

  Six Months Ago

  Tara

  As Ashley Boone and I walked along the carpeted hall of Jefferson Manor, I couldn’t help but think about home. Not the house I grew up in, but the elegance and mystery of the South. In some ways I felt all I had were my memories. But whenever I saw Ashley with her husband, billionaire Xander Boone, it reminded me of what I lost a long time ago.

  But more than just being my boss’s wife, Ashley was a good friend. She was pregnant with their first child and was excited to show me the baby’s room. As she walked into the room, I noticed the faintest pregnant waddle as her dark wavy hair swung around her shoulders.

  “This is a nice color,” I said, admiring the paint. “What is it? Taupe?”

  The room was jungle themed. Hanging on the wall was a quilt with a fuzzy baby monkey, elephant, and lion on it. In the corner was a brown microfiber rocking chair. Long blue curtains hung from the wide windows. The room was painted a nice taupe, just dark enough to be interesting.

  Ashley shrugged. “I don’t know the name of it. I brought them the quilt and asked them to make it the color of the monkey’s butt.” She patted the monkey on the wall hanging.

  “Well, that's the best looking monkey butt I've ever seen. And trust me, I've dated a few monkey butts in my time,” I said with a laugh.

  “Is that why you never married?”

  “It’s complicated,” I whispered, barely able to speak for a moment as I thought about Mason Abernathy. “There was one man. Ooh boy, was he ever a man!” I fanned myself dramatically and forced a smile onto my face. “The love of my life.”

  “What happened to him?”

  “I wish I knew...” I said wistfully and slowly ran my hand over the fuzzy material of the wall hanging. Although he was never far from my thoughts, it had been a very long time since I spoke about Mason. “I didn't grow up rich, but my parents knew horses were all I cared about. For my eighteenth birthday, they scrimped and saved to buy me an old horse, my beloved Ladyfinger. She was a beauty. We didn't have land for her so she had to be kept at a ranch where I could rent a stall. I started working there to pay for her boarding. Ended up making it a career. Everything I do here to take care of the horses, I learned at Abernathy Ranch.”

  A lock of my sandy blonde hair fell into my eyes. I pushed it back and tightened my ponytail. Talking about Mason after all this time was bittersweet.

  “Did your boyfriend work there, too? Is that how you met him?”

  “Yes, he did. Mason's family owned the stables and the entire town. His family wanted him to learn the family horse business from the bottom up. Shovelin' shit and all. Chances are if you've got a horse, the Abernathy family has lineage in it.”

  “So what happened?” Ashley asked quietly.

  I turned away and crossed my arms over my chest, hugging myself and rubbing the soft fabric of my long sleeved t-shirt as the heartache came back stronger.

  “He left,” I said with a shrug. “He went away. He left for a business opportunity in Germany and never came back.” I felt my throat tighten, and I cleared it as my eyes misted over. I hated feeling so vulnerable and hurt after all this time, especially in front of someone else, no matter how close I felt to her. I let out a long sigh and pursed my lips. “Well, that’s not entirely true. He came back eventually, just not to me. Not a day passes that I don't think about him though.”

  I was lucky that Ashley knew me well enough that she didn’t ask anything else. Talking about Mason’s leaving was the last thing I wanted to do.

  A few days later, I was prepping a horse stall for a colt that was arriving in the morning. Entering the stable with an arm full of hay, my feet froze as I heard a trio of voices. Two of them I knew as Ashley and Xander, but the third I hadn’t heard in fifteen years.

  It can’t be him.

  His voice was deep and with his Southern drawl, I knew it could only be one person. I forced my eyes to focus on the man with Ashley and Xander, but the darkness of the stable made my eyes slow to adjust. Wishing my arms were empty, I rubbed my eyes into my shoulder as best as I could until my vision cleared.

  Mason was taller than I remembered, but he still cut a striking figure in his grey suit and black cowboy boots. His hair was turning grey, but still had enough of the brown I remembered running my fingers through. I blinked quickly, trying to clear my vision of Mason and see who was really standing there, but nothing changed. It was him.

  He patted a colt on the neck and my thoughts rushed. Was it an Abernathy colt we were getting? No, I would’ve remembered if it was. So why is he here?

  As he stepped out of the colt’s stall, he squinted at the sun behind me as he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his hands.

  “Am I seeing an angel?” he whispered.

  “I knew I recognized your voice,” Tara said. “How funny that after all this time I didn’t need to see you to know it was you.”

  My feet had a mind of their own and moved me closer to him. I tried to act normal, but I didn’t know what normal was anymore. I never thought I would see him again.

  Mason met me halfway. I looked up into his eyes and the years vanished. All the feelings I had locked away for so long had returned. I felt like the twenty-two year old I was when we dated and not the woman in her thirties seeing the man she had dreamed about for fifteen years.

  As I soaked Mason in, he smiled, but his dimples were hidden by his short beard that was grey where it covered his chin. I was happy to see his face looked a little weathered from the sun. It meant he wasn’t sitting behind a desk like I remembered his father did.

  “Your hair. It’s lighter,”
Mason said, his voice a mix of awe and confusion.

  “And your face is older,” I said as I laughed. “It's been a long time, Mason.”

  “Too long.”

  His husky voice pierced my heart and reminded me of the pain he caused.

  “And whose fault is that?” I blurted out.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Never mind,” I mumbled, shaking my head and looking down at my boots. “It's not something I care to relive right now.”

  “Let me take you to dinner. Let’s catch up and talk about old times. Or not. Whatever you want. Just give me a little of your time,” he said.

  “I think I can manage that. Come get me in an hour. I'm a busy woman, you know,” I said with a grin.

  I dropped the hay into the colt’s stall and looked the horse over as my mind spun. An hour? What was I thinking? I didn’t have enough time to get ready in an hour.

  As they walked out of the barn, I busied myself with the young horse, but my eyes kept darting over to Mason. After a few minutes, Maya, my niece, entered the stable and rushed over.

  Maya’s dark blonde hair was the same color as mine at her age before I started coloring it. She wore it pulled back from her face, and it fell down her back in long springy curls. Maya had inherited all of her looks from my sister Brooke, even the Murphy family curves and our short stature. The only thing that made her different were her bright green eyes.

  “He’s early! Oh, he’s beautiful,” she said as she filled a bucket of water.

  “Can you keep an eye on him? I have some things I need to take care of,” I said, hoping she wouldn’t ask any questions.

  “No problem. I told you, while I’m here, I’m here to help. I had nowhere else to go and you took me in.”

  “You’re being dramatic,” I said as I patted her shoulder. “You’re just going through a rough patch. Happens to us all.”