Only For Now: Second Chances (12 page)

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the vibration of his phone on the desk. The screen showed a picture of Cara. What was she doing calling him when she was just back from her honeymoon?

He tapped the screen to answer the call. "Hey, how's married life treating you?"

She cut straight to the chase. "We need to talk about Alexa."

* * *

The nerves in Will's stomach lurched as he made his way through security at the JFK International Airport. Was this a mistake? What would she do when she saw him? He pushed the thoughts aside, and pulled himself together as he walked through the metal detector and collected his backpack on the other side.

After getting off the phone with Cara last week, he'd gone immediately to Alexa's blog, which she had just made live only hours before. He'd devoured it over the course of the day, reading late into the night. Learning all the things about her that she'd kept private all these years only confirmed that he was head over heels for this woman. And regardless of how she felt, he was going to let her know.

According to Cara she cared for him too, but until he saw it for himself, he'd be a bundle of nerves. She may think he was crazy showing up at the airport like this. She'd written a post earlier in the week saying that she was leaving her life in New York and living the dream she'd always wanted to, starting with a tour of Europe. She planned on selling her writing and photography to pay the bills along the way. It was wild and crazy, and totally her, and he loved everything about it.

He'd been planning to head to Europe later this month anyway, so all it took was a few adjustments to his itinerary, and he'd booked a seat on the same flight.

He hung back as he approached the gate, already forming his plan, but he didn't see her anywhere. Either she had chickened out, or was already on the plane. His money was on the latter. Passing through the gate, he ignored the flirtatious smile of the attendant—from now on he had eyes only for Alexa—and moved down the jet bridge to board the plane. He stood in the aisle between first class and economy and looked for her dark hair, not seeing her at first. Then she sat up from where she'd been stowing her bag under the seat and turned to stare out the window. The sight of her took his breath away. He lowered his head and smiled. Perfect.

* * *

Alexa closed her eyes. She had hardly slept the night before, her anticipation was so high. She couldn't believe she was doing this. Will would be so proud. She felt a momentary sadness at the thought of him, but pushed it away. There would be plenty of time to think of him later, but for now she wanted to enjoy embarking on her new life.

She was startled by a man clearing his throat. "Excuse me, but I think you're in my seat."

She knew damn well that she wasn't, and sat up to tell him so, but when she turned, the words died on her lips.

Will stared down at her, eyebrow cocked, giving her that sexy half-smile. "I'd make you move, but maybe there's room for two."

She shook her head, certain she must be dreaming, but no, she was very much awake. "What are you doing here?"

He slid into the seat next to her to keep from blocking the aisle and produced a ticket stub. "This is my seat," he said, as if it should be obvious.

"I don't understand," she whispered. She thought she may never see him again, yet here he was, on a plane to Europe of all places.

His face became serious and he leaned in close, trying to find privacy on a crowed airplane. He took her hand, and her body sparked to life at the contact. He smiled as he felt her pulse kick up. "Alexa, I've spent the past four weeks—scratch that, the last four years--unable to get you off my mind. I should have told you sooner, but I didn’t know how you’d react. One thing I do know for sure, though, is exactly how I feel about you."

Her breathing became labored as she looked into those chocolate eyes and saw a tenderness there that melted her heart. She'd seen it before. If she was honest with herself, it had always been there, but she had tried to ignore it, tried to keep herself safe, never believing she could be the one to tame Will Townsend. Now she hoped against hope that she wasn't imagining it and held her breath for what he'd say next.

"Run away with me, Alexa. My life is empty without you. I want to be with you every day to experience these adventures together, and with you every night to have adventures of our own. I used to think I didn't want to settle down because it would tie me down. But now I know that being tied to you would set me free. What do you say? Can we take on this big wide world together?"

Alexa couldn't speak through the lump in her throat, so instead she nodded vigorously, taking his face in her hands and tilting her head toward his. He brought his lips to hers in a kiss so tender, she thought she'd dissolve into tears. Then he kissed the tip of her nose and pulled back only far enough to look into her eyes. "I love you, Alexa. I don't care how crazy that is, it's true."

Soul mates. She'd thought the notion was crazy, but now she knew that they were truly connected by something bigger than themselves. And she wasn't ever going to let go.

"It may or may not be crazy, but I don't care, because I love you, too."

"Then hang on tight, baby, because you're in for a wild ride."

"Just the way I like it." She smiled up at him and he lowered his lips to hers again, this time in a kiss full of promise.

Alana Hart

Alana Hart is an American romance writer who decided that writing with friends is better than writing alone.
Hartfelt Books brings together a huge group of sweet and steamy romance authors, collaborating on a new line of books that will have your heart pounding.

When she’s not skyping and sharing her latest collaboration on googledocs
, she’s typing away in her local coffee shop with a hot chocolate, complete with marshmallows and extra whipped cream, on hand. She claims it makes her happy ever
afters that much sweeter!

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Romance collaborations from the Hart

Alien Seeking Bride: First Love by Calista Skye -
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015AF3V8M/

Saving Her Bear by Michaela Wright -
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01513ZIOS

Back Where We Belong by Caia Fox -
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015AKY8S4

Back Where We Belong

Keep reading for an exciting excerpt from “Back Where We Belong” by Caia Fox and Alana Hart in the SECOND CHANCES series

A love destroyed. A life in ruins.

How can there ever be a second chance for us?

I wonder what a walk along the beach entails. It's midnight. We're not going to be building sandcastles.

“Are you cold?”

“No.”

“You're shivering a bit. This car has a heater. It might even work.”

He adjusts the controls and warm air blasts out. “Polar to tropical at the touch of a button.”

I laugh. “Every modern convenience.”

“And even air conditioning,” he says, and winks, winding down his window and then winding it back up.

We're almost there. I wish the drive was longer. I feel safe with Luke in a moving car, but we're at the beach in no time at all and getting out. He puts his arm around me and draws me to him. He kisses me gently, just a touch of his lips on mine, twice, butterfly-light kisses.

“You look like you're worried I'm about to eat you up,” he says. “I can just take you home if you like.”

I don't want him to take me home. “Let's walk on the beach. It's a nice night.”

A nice night? Is that all I can say? Crap.

He holds my hand and we walk along the sand. I feel the cool grains between my toes where my sandals kick up the sand. The waves are slow, lapping the beach then receding in an endless rhythm.

“Do you like living here?” I ask.

“I like living by the sea. But there are four kids between five and seventeen, plus me and Mom and Dad at home. We're living on top of each other all the time. In summer there’s not even any school. It's like a zoo at times.”

“It does sound like chaos. But it's better than when there's just you.”

“You're an only child then?”

“Yes, I'm not sure if they only wanted one or couldn't have any more children. I think I put them off having any more. I expect I got in the way of Dad's work and Mom's social life.”

“You're looking sad again. We can't have that. I like it better when you laugh.” He squeezes my hand.

“Race you to that rock” He points to a dark jagged mass jutting out from the sea onto the beach about three hundred yards away. “Ready? One...two...three.”

He takes off, and I run after him. We tumble onto the cold sand when we reach the rock, out of breath and laughing.

“That's better.” He looks at me in that intense way he has and he kisses me, his lips soft at first and then more insistent, his hands holding me, pressing me so close to him that I'm sure he'll feel my heart thud against his chest through our clothes. I can't help responding to the feeling of his lips on mine, the gentle probing of his tongue, his hard body, and I open my mouth to him and kiss him right back, the sound of the waves in the soft night air providing the perfect backdrop for that kiss.

“Much better,” he says gently, kissing my nose when we finally part, a little breathless.

We lean against the rock. There's no one on the beach. It's like our own private space. The sky is pitch black. A few stars are out, but there's no moon.

Buy
“Back Where We Belong”
now at
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015AKY8S4

The next series from HARTFELT BOOKS is
Hallowed Love

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