Free Second Chance at Forever (Forever Book 2) by Mary Wasowski Page A

card. It has all my numbers on it. Finish up with what you need to do, and we will talk soon. I’m on my way to Maryland. I have been offered a position at Johns Hopkins. Maybe once I get settled, you can visit. We can take all the time in the world to get to know one another. I want to, Reese, believe me. There is something about you that makes me want to know you better. I’m probably the most predictable man you will ever meet, but with you, I’m willing to change that. I would be a fool if I didn’t try to court you and show you all that we can be. This is me taking a chance. Will you, Reese? I promise you won’t regret it.”
    “I’ll think about it.”

…where past and present collide

    WE HAD SOME time before we were to meet Riley and her mother for dinner. I did some work in my study while Jackson settled into his room. The minute our plane touched down in New York, his phone was ringing off the hook. He tweeted to his friends where to meet up later in the evening. Jackson was very excited for his friends to meet Riley. He wanted to go into the Village tonight and show Riley around the city. I didn’t have any objections, but I didn’t know her mother and how strict she was with her only daughter. Jackson was always accompanied by our driver who doubled as his personal bodyguard. I rarely worried when he was under the watchful eye of Richard, who was never too far behind.
    I closed the lid to my laptop and looked around my office. This apartment held the best memories of my time spent here with Reese, and the most painful ones. I never would have predicted after leaving her asleep in our bed that it would be the last time I would lay my eyes on her. And the last time my mouth would ever kiss her lips. I kissed her goodbye, and added to memory her beautiful scent. It was a scent that I craved on a daily basis, I could never get enough of her. My family owned this building, and this was my private home that I shared my time with Reese in. After she left me, I could never bring myself to completely abandon it. After leaving New York for California to begin what I believed would be my new life, I packed up my personal things and said goodbye to not only New York, but to Reese.
    Over the years, I used this penthouse when I was in town for work. It never brought me joy after Reese, or Elizabeth, for that matter. After Elizabeth died, I had the entire penthouse redecorated, all except my bedroom.
    My bedroom was the last place I shared with Reese, and I wasn’t ready to let it go, maybe not ever. Walking over to the safe, I opened it and looked at its contents. I had stowed away some of her pictures, along with her first professional magazine cover. She looked absolutely breathtaking. This lovely girl who I was to share my life with was smiling back at me, and then she was gone. I traced her face with my fingers, trying to remember what she felt like under the warmth of my hands against her skin. She completely submitted to me when we were making love or fucking hard up against a door or a wall. She was mine. Reese was my woman.
    Damn me for not trying harder to find her. But then Elizabeth telling me that she was pregnant with my child was the game changer for me. Reese was gone, and Elizabeth was with me and pregnant with Jackson. In that moment, I put away all of my hurt and pain, and I knew I needed to step up and try to be the man Elizabeth deserved. I owed her that much.
    I was about to close the safe when my eyes found the old, tattered ring box. I couldn’t handle opening it, so I shut the safe door and closed the painting over it. Why was I torturing myself with the painful reminders of my past? That damn ring! Her grandmother repeatedly returned it to me. I lost count of how many times I attempted to send it to her. That Lila Mitchell was almost as stubborn as her granddaughter. God, I miss that woman. It was years since I even allowed myself to remember her. I wasn’t sure if Nana was even alive.
    I