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AS FAR AS VIVIAN WAS concerned, declarations of love were great—wonderful and amazing even—but they didn't solve all the problems. She straightened her suit, using her reflection in the full-length mirror, on the back of her closet. Her gaze kept drifting back to the view of Damon's sleeping form. The simple reminder of the night before sent a new rush of heat through her.
Since he'd never been a fan of mornings, and he didn't have a schedule today, she let him sleep as long as possible. She’d wanted to wake up slowly. Spend the day lounging in bed. Finish the conversations that kept them up past midnight last night. Luxuriating wasn’t something she could afford today, though; she slept too late as it was. However, there was one conversation that was best started now.
She fiddled with the key in her hand, looking between it and Damon. How could something so small feel weightless and as heavy as the universe at the same time?
As the time neared critical, she perched on the edge of the bed, careful not to wrinkle her work clothes. Her heart hammered in her chest so loudly, she was surprised he didn’t stir. She reached for his shoulder, to nudge him awake, and he grabbed her wrist.
She grinned when he lazily opened his eyes. “You big faker,” she said with a light laugh.
“Never with you.” He sat and brushed a quick kiss over her lips. “Do you need me to leave, so you can get to work?”
Leave. She hated the sound of the word. She set the key on the nightstand, its imprint marring her palm where she'd gripped it. “Take your time. If you’re still here when I get home—or here again—I won’t complain.”
He raised his brows. “I hate to say this, but I need you to define what you mean. Tell me what you're expecting.” He met her gaze. “So I don't assume and overstay my welcome.”
“I don't know.” There was what she wanted, and then there were the obstacles reality placed in the way. She scooted closer, so her knee rested against his. “I keep thinking I don’t want you to go, now that you're finally here. On the other hand, even if you don’t currently have a job, you have a career and a life on the other side of the country.”
“I've spent so much time on the road over the last few years, I don't know I'd call what I have in Seattle a life.”
She slid her fingers under his. “Be that as it may, right now the key is an open invitation to come and go as you please.” She hesitated on the next words. She rehearsed them infinite times in the shower, and if he were anyone else, she'd say what was on her mind without pause. But this thing between them, so old and new at the same time, scared her. Not for what it was, but because it was fresh enough, it might be a fluke. There was no foundation for her fear, other than she’d already lost out on this once, and she didn’t want to again.
There was more to them than a handful of fleeting tumbles, but she worried anyway. She dragged the words past her doubt. “I don't know if you've got any irons in the fire, work-wise, but there are a lot of good firms here.”
He searched her face. “Actually”—he dragged the word out—“the more I think about it, I know exactly where I want to be practicing, and the job is a pretty sure thing. I have an in with the decision makers.”
Her heart paused, and even when it restarted, it limped at a tentative pace. It wasn't only his vague words; it was the hesitation in his delivery. Noticeable uncertainty wasn't supposed to be in Damon's wheelhouse, and she didn't know how to interpret it. He hadn't had time to interview here, unless he'd been thinking about it before he quit yesterday. “Where are you going?" she finally asked.
“The foundation's been looking for someone to bring on, full time. A person with actual legal experience, to always be available to consult, so people don’t have to wait this long for us to find them an attorney. It’s a remote position that can be done from anywhere, but we haven’t been able to fill it because it doesn’t pay what a lot of experienced lawyers are used to making.”
He sucked in a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, as if cementing his next words before speaking. “How do you feel about dating a guy who's not even making half what you are?”
That was his hesitation? Relief flooded her. And he’d said dating. She liked the sound of this a lot. “As long as it's you, I don't care if you're flipping burgers. Though, I'll be honest. I think stripping would be a better use of your talents than working a grill.”
He shook his head. “I'm going to leave that to you, but I do think I’ll hook myself up with the foundation job.”
“Do you have to run it by the other board members?” Her question was a teasing jab, since his brother, Ethan, and Ethan’s girlfriend, Jaycie, had some serious pull when it came to decisions there.
“I may have to grovel a little, but I’ll swallow my pride on this one.”
Happiness danced inside her, twirling and pirouetting. “Does that mean you'll be coming and going regularly?”
“I hope to be coming a lot more than going, but if you're asking, my answer is yes.” He pressed his mouth to hers, drawing out the kiss until she was breathless.
She was reluctant to stand. She had to be in the office on time but didn't want to go. “I'll see you after work, then.”
He rose, tugged her to her feet, and slapped her ass. “I'll be here.” He promised.
****
FOUR MONTHS LATER
Damon pulled the car into Tate’s driveway, and Vivian held up her hand, so the garage light hit her fingers. The solitaire diamond against titanium sparkled in the fading evening. Damon slid his hand under hers, palm up, and intertwined their fingers. “You’re staring at that ring more than you’re paying attention to me.”
She squeezed his hand. “Jealous?”
“Not for a second.” He kissed the back of her hand. “But you’re hesitating. Are you embarrassed of me?”
She glanced at Tate’s front door and shook her head. “Absolutely not. Just still amazed this is real.”
“Vividly and intensely.” He stepped from the car and hurried to her side, to open the door. It only took him a few weeks after things settled down, to realize at least one evening a week, she and her friends hung out at someone’s house. They’d quickly accepted him as part of the ritual, despite the occasional jabs about his poor taste in previous jobs. He’d never been part of such a close-knit group before.
He took her hand again, and they strode to the front door. The last few months had been hectic. Selling his place on the west coast. Finding a week Vivian was free to fly to Seattle with him, grab his things, and take their time driving home. Getting used to a new job. The time with her was worth it though, and the way she’d looked when he proposed was priceless. Next step was telling her friends.
They walked into the house without knocking. He’d had to get used to this custom on get-together nights as well. In his world, coworkers were people you said goodnight to and were happy to not see unless it was required. It was nice to be a part of something friendlier.
They were the last to arrive. Jared and Mikki sat on the sofa. Alyssia was on Tate’s lap, in one of the easy chairs. Pretty standard sight.
Damon headed toward the baby in her playpen and picked her up. “Hey, genius.”
Holly cooed and wriggled her fingers. Tate insisted each time she did that, she was waving. Alyssia argued four months wasn’t old enough for that.
“Shiny,” Mikki said. “Is that...?”
“Yeah.” Vivian ’s grin sounded in her voice. “Absolutely is.”
“Let me see.” Mikki insisted.
Damon set Holly back in her pen, as the adult version of oohs and ahhs filled the room. Hugs, handshakes, and congratulations squished Damon and Vivian together. He couldn’t take his gaze off her, though—the way her face lit up as she leaned into him, the flush on her cheeks, the happy sparkle in eyes far more beautiful than the diamond she wore.
He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. It might have taken them almost two decades to get here, but it was worth it, to have this now, with her. He didn’t regret anything he’d surrendered to be by her side. He finally made the right choices.
~*~
THANK YOU FOR FINDING a second chance at love with Damon and Vivian.
If you’re looking for another sexy, heart wrenching second chance romance, check out THE SECOND CHANCE AND THE AUCTIONEER. Loss and grief bring Jonathan back to the small town where he spent his childhood summers. Baily, his best friend from back in the day, isn’t happy to see him. When a hurricane strands them together, they have no choice but to confront their pasts.
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