The Second Chance Plan Read online

  She turned to me, her eyes shining with happiness. “Is my jaw on the floor right now?”

  “Something like that.” I grinned big and wide.

  “Did you do this?”

  My answer was a sheepish shrug.

  “But how? I knew you’d been out to visit the store and check on things. You told me you were helping my parents figure out some new inventory plans. But this?”

  Pride suffused me. I’d done this. I wanted to, but I had to. I had to show her how much she meant to me. I knew this was the way. “That’s what I was up to. It was a surprise. For you.”

  “You did all this?”

  I nodded.

  “They let you? My parents are stoic about taking help from me,” she whispered. “I couldn’t imagine they’d accept it from you, even if you’re their daughter’s boyfriend.”

  Another smile. “They did.”

  “But how did you convince them?”

  “I told them I wanted to do it as a gift to you.”

  “And that was all it took?” She eyed me skeptically.

  “Sort of,” I said.

  There was a lull in the action at the counter and her parents came over, giving a round of quick hugs. Her dad clapped me on the back.

  “The floor is yours,” Kat’s father said, and took a step back, putting his arm around Kat’s mom, giving me space.

  “What is it?” Kat asked.

  It was everything I’d ever wanted. She was everything to me, and I didn’t want to ever be without her.

  I was ready, and I hoped she’d say yes.

  “It’s really daunting being in love with a jewelry designer,” I said. “You can’t really get her a necklace or earrings or even a ring to show your love, because chances are, she has her own ideas in those areas and might be a little particular. So this”—I spread out my arms to indicate the revitalization of the store—“is my gift to you. But it’s more like a promise. It’s a promise that I don’t want to be your favorite mistake. That I want to be your forever mistake, if you’ll have me.”

  Kat

  * * *

  My heart stopped for a moment, and I couldn’t move or form words.

  “What I’m really trying to say is I don’t ever want to lose you again. Now that I have you, I want to be with you always. Will you be mine?”

  He bent down on one knee, and my heart nearly stopped. But then he reached for his wallet. I raised an eyebrow curiously as I watched. He removed a tiny white bag that looked familiar.

  “You might remember the day I bought this. Back at a little shop in the Village with you. I’ve kept it since then. In my wallet, in this bag, for more than five years. I got it for you then and planned to give it to you as a promise. It’s just a little thing, but you’d said you always loved Paris.”

  He reached into the bag and handed me a ring I did remember looking at in the little shop. A little fleur-de-lis in tiny purple stones, and it looked like it had been carried in a wallet for five years. Which is to say, it looked beautiful.

  “You kept this all that time?” I wondered.

  “With me every single day. Kat, it’s always been you for me. Always.”

  I grabbed his hand and pulled him to me, wrapping my arms around him.

  “I’ll buy you a real ring,” he said. “But I want you to design it, okay?”

  I nodded.

  “So, that’s a yes?”

  Rays of happiness burst from my chest. “I’m yours. I always have been. I always will be.”

  Then I kissed him, and of all our wonderful kisses, this kiss was the very best of all. Because it was a new beginning. Here in my home away from home, in the town where I grew up, we’d come back to each other. We had each other to hold tight and never let go.

  * * *

  THE END

  Ready for Jill’s romance? Dive into the sexy forbidden romance THE PRIVATE REHEARSAL, available everywhere!

  Are you curious about Elise’s story? Dive into the sinfully sexy romance PART-TIME LOVER. It’s a no-strings-attached arrangement meets a marriage-of-convenience storyline, and it’s available everywhere!

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks to Rosemary!

  Also by Lauren Blakely

  Big Rock Series

  Big Rock

  Mister O

  Well Hung

  Full Package

  Joy Ride

  Hard Wood

  * * *

  The Gift Series

  The Engagement Gift

  The Virgin Gift

  The Decadent Gift (coming soon)

  * * *

  The Heartbreakers Series

  Once Upon a Real Good Time

  Once Upon a Sure Thing

  Once Upon a Wild Fling

  * * *

  Boyfriend Material

  Asking For a Friend

  Sex and Other Shiny Objects

  One Night Stand-In

  * * *

  Lucky In Love Series

  Best Laid Plans

  The Feel Good Factor

  Nobody Does It Better

  Unzipped

  * * *

  Always Satisfied Series

  Satisfaction Guaranteed

  Instant Gratification

  Overnight Service

  Never Have I Ever

  Special Delivery

  * * *

  The Sexy Suit Series

  Lucky Suit

  Birthday Suit

  * * *

  From Paris With Love

  Wanderlust

  Part-Time Lover

  * * *

  One Love Series

  The Sexy One

  The Only One

  The Hot One

  The Knocked Up Plan

  Come As You Are

  * * *

  Sports Romance

  Most Valuable Playboy

  Most Likely to Score

  * * *

  Standalones

  Stud Finder

  The V Card

  The Real Deal

  Unbreak My Heart

  The Break-Up Album

  21 Stolen Kisses

  Out of Bounds

  * * *

  The Caught Up in Love Series:

  The Swoony New Reboot of the Contemporary Romance Series

  The Pretending Plot (previously called Pretending He’s Mine)

  The Dating Proposal

  The Second Chance Plan (previously called Caught Up In Us)

  The Private Rehearsal (previously called Playing With Her Heart)

  * * *

  Stars In Their Eyes Duet

  My Charming Rival

  My Sexy Rival

  * * *

  The No Regrets Series

  The Thrill of It

  The Start of Us

  Every Second With You

  * * *

  The Seductive Nights Series

  First Night (Julia and Clay, prequel novella)

  Night After Night (Julia and Clay, book one)

  After This Night (Julia and Clay, book two)

  One More Night (Julia and Clay, book three)

  A Wildly Seductive Night (Julia and Clay novella, book 3.5)

  * * *

  The Joy Delivered Duet

  Nights With Him (A standalone novel about Michelle and Jack)

  Forbidden Nights (A standalone novel about Nate and Casey)

  * * *

  The Sinful Nights Series

  Sweet Sinful Nights

  Sinful Desire

  Sinful Longing

  Sinful Love

  * * *

  The Fighting Fire Series

  Burn For Me (Smith and Jamie)

  Melt for Him (Megan and Becker)

  Consumed By You (Travis and Cara)

  * * *

  The Jewel Series

  A two-book sexy contemporary romance series

  The Sapphire Affair

  The Sapphire Heist

  Contact

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