One More Try_A Second Chance Romance Read online

  One More Try

  Love Me Again

  Book 2

  by

  Ted Evans

  © 2018 Ted Evans

  All Rights Reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locations is purely coincidental. The characters are all productions of the author's imagination.

  Please note that this work is intended only for adults over the age of 18 and all characters represented as 18 or over.

  About One More Try

  Sexy. Funny. Rich.

  The only man who has ever captured my heart.

  He’s back in town and sees me with a baby.

  I tell him that I’m taken.

  I tell him that it’s too late.

  But actions speak louder than words as he asks me to give him one more try.

  I know he'll feel different about us if he learned the secret that I've been keeping for too long.

  Author's Note:

  This is a standalone novel, with no cheating and a happy ever after romance story.

  Chapter One

  Alessandra

  I sighed, tucking back a lock of hair that blew into my face. It was the weekend, but the park had quite a few people around. Every time she passed by someone, they smiled at her and wanted to stop and coo at the stroller I was pushing.

  “We’re only here to have a nice, relaxing walk, isn’t that right?”

  My six months old baby, just stared up at me. He was lying back, swaddled in warm, soft blankets, covered up to his chest. He was sucking on one closed fist, and he wiggled the other at me on hearing my voice. I smiled at him and removed one hand from the stroller handle to reach a finger out and poke his cheek.

  He waved his hand, pulling the other from his mouth to make some aggrieved noises.

  I giggled. “Sorry, baby. I won’t bother you again. You like this better than staying cooped up at home, though, right?”

  I didn’t get as much time to spend with Danny as I would have loved. Since my life had come to a standstill when I realized I was carrying him, things had changed. Now that he was surviving outside of me, I knew it was time to get my life back together. That had been fifteen months ago, and within that time, I’d thought of a lot of things.

  One of those things was my baby’s father. I had thought of him quite a lot. Still, it was a surprise to look out and see him, out of the blue, just a few feet in front of me. What I saw was enough to make me pause. Danny made noises, wondering why we’d stopped again, but I couldn’t move.

  Joshua…

  We weren’t together anymore, but we still lived in the same town. I had known I would run into him eventually, but the last place I ever expected to meet him was at a park. We never went to one when we were together, and we’d been a couple since high school.

  The last thing I would have expected to see at that moment, though, was Joshua also moving a stroller, and holding a baby in the other arm, smiling down at them.

  My heartfelt funny, like I’d been stabbed by something cold. The breath blew out of my lungs, and I felt like I was choking on the air for a moment. I wanted to turn around and leave, but then he also looked up and saw me. The warm smile he’d just directed to that child froze on his face, as did his entire body, then the smile disappeared.

  Is Danny his?

  It had been my idea to leave him, though it hadn't been an easy one to make. But once my mind was made, I turned away with no intention of looking back to the past. I didn’t take into account how badly it would hurt.

  Maybe it was because, fifteen months later, it was all still too fresh?

  Then, Joshua slowly resumed walking, his eyes trained on me.

  My breath caught in my throat. My body was so tense. I wanted to turn around and run away immediately. If he had moved on, then I didn’t want to face it, not yet. Maybe in another year, or two, or even more, I’d be able to come to terms with it. But if he just looked at me with indifference and told me he had found someone else so quickly when I was still thinking about him, it would break me.

  A noise from Danny in his stroller made me look down, and remember that I wasn’t alone. I had my baby with me. The son of the man coming to me with another baby cradled in his arm.

  “Alessandra. I’m surprised to see you here.”

  Hearing him call my name brought me back to myself. He sounded so casual like nothing had happened, and it made me think that it wouldn’t be fair if I were the only one affected by our meeting. So, I took a last, long look at my son for courage, and lifted my head. Joshua’s mouth was curved a little in what could pass as a smile, but the look in his eyes was too intense for that.

  I faked a smile. “Joshua. I’m surprised to see you here, too. And with a baby with you. Is it yours?”

  Damn.

  The question slipped without my permission. Wouldn’t asking outright just let him know that it was bothering me? Then, he arched an eyebrow, and his eyes dropped to my stroller.

  “I’m not the only one walking around with a baby, Alessandra. And no, he’s not mine. Do you remember my cousin, Wendy?”

  “Ah,” I said, nodding.

  Of course, I remembered his cousin. He and I had been close throughout high school and further. While I hadn't seen her in a while, Wendy and I knew each other, and we’d been close, thanks to my relationship with Joshua. Though it had been long since I last seen her, compared to Joshua.

  Outwardly, I didn’t let it show, but I was releasing a sigh of relief internally. Then, I was a little annoyed at myself for feeling that way.

  The truth was that I never wanted to split-up with Joshua, let alone forget him. I had been prepared for it because I no longer thought a relationship between us would be possible.

  “I did know she was seeing someone, though I didn’t realize they were this serious. Congratulate her for me when you see her next, okay?”

  “Sure,” he said with a smile. “Though I am surprised you took the nanny route, Alessandra. I didn’t think you got along well with children.”

  Ah, I realized. It was the natural conclusion for him to come to, that I was a nanny and not Danny’s mother. I understood it, and I was hesitant to tell him Danny’s exact origin, but it did annoy me a little. Couldn’t he have assumed the same as I did? That I had moved on without him and was starting a family with someone else?

  It could have been that I knew he had someone ready to marry him, while he was all of my first, relationship-wise.

  “Yeah, it…was a job that just chose me?” I said, quickly coming up with an excuse. “I never thought I’d be good with children either, but it’s not like I never envisioned having any. In the future.”

  With you, I didn’t add out loud.

  I thought I saw something changes in his expression, but then the smile on his face grew.

  “I heard that you failed your final exam, so I was wondering how you were. But you look just fine.”

  This time, I couldn’t hold back my surprise. “How did you know that?”

  He let out a chuckle and scratched his neck with his free hand.

  “Ah, well. I kept tabs on you,” he admitted. “Sorry, it’s probably really creepy that your old flame is keeping an eye on you, huh? Don’t worry; I didn’t encroach about your private life. I didn’t hire someone or anything, I just asked a mutual friend, and they told me about the exam.”

  “Oh,” I murmured, feeling my heart calm down.

  I’d told my friends about t
he exam but only told a few about the pregnancy. After all, we didn’t have all our friends in common, Joshua even had friends I’d never heard of or met before. I had kept the secret of the pregnancy from the people that I thought would tell Joshua about it.

  Not that I intended to keep it from him for forever, that wouldn’t be fair. I didn’t know when would be the right time to tell him, or what he would do.

  “Why become a nanny?” he asked, tilting his head slightly. “It’s still a bit of a shock that you went that route. Are you giving up on being a lawyer?”

  “Of course not,” I said immediately. “You know how important it is to me.”

  Studying law wasn’t easy. Passing the bar exam would be the hardest of it, but there was nothing natural about it. No one would try it out as a joke, and I didn’t get as far as I did to give up. There just hadn't been much of choice. I was too stressed out to study thoroughly for my finals, so I failed. In the end, I decided to wait for Danny to be born before I got my affairs in order and went back.

  “I’m just doing this to fill the gap right now,” I confessed. “I thought I needed some time away from my studies, if I just threw myself right back in, I might fail again, and it doesn’t hurt to raise a bit of cash. I intend to go back and finish law school eventually. You know it’s been my dream for the longest time.”

  Joshua chuckled. “Yeah, I still remember. You didn’t even pick until our senior year of high school, you wanted to try all sorts of careers before, and then out of nowhere, law was your passion.”

  I bit down on my lip. I could feel my heart waver, but I forced myself to be strong. Joshua and I shared too many memories together. We had been friends for so many years before becoming lovers, and it wasn’t something so easy to erase. I had been so busy with school and heartbreak, then with Danny. I hadn't had time to prepare myself, so being this close to him was dangerous.

  Danny made a sound of discontent, coming to my rescue and making me look down. His face was scrunching up, his fists waving in the air, legs shifting under his blanket. He was unhappy we had stopped for so long already, and I smiled at him.

  “Sorry, baby boy,” I cooed. “You’re getting a little impatient, huh? Don’t worry; we’re going now.”

  Would he recognize his son?

  I was both worried and curious about this. Joshua was tall, blond and blue-eyed, like both his parents. I was a little on the short and slightly curvy side, with brown hair, and green eyes. Joshua family genes were active, and our son had come out with blond hair and blue eyes, just like his father, though my parents did say some of his features resembled mine.

  If Joshua moved close enough and saw him, would he be filled with recognition? This was another issue that I didn’t know where I stood. I wanted to keep it a secret, because...

  You can't have it both ways, Alessandra.

  “I’m sorry,” I said with an apologetic smile. “Danny gets fussy, so I brought him out for a walk hoping to calm him down. I don’t have long; I’m not supposed to keep him out for so long.”

  “Oh,” he said, and I thought he looked a little disappointed. “I guess you have to go, then. But there is one thing.”

  He smiled again, and I felt apprehension in my chest. He looked entirely too happy.

  “I’m glad to know you haven’t given up on your studies yet,” he started. “But it’s also good for me that you’re a nanny right now because Wendy is desperate for a nanny.”

  Oh, no.

  “Would you mind helping out?” He ran a hand through his hair as he chuckled. “I brought the little tyke out because she was busy and didn’t have anyone to leave him with. He’s her precious baby so that she won’t leave him with just anyone, you know? I can't keep doing this, and she already knows you so that you would be perfect!”

  “Sure,” I said. “I would love to!”

  What the hell am I saying!

  “Could you give me your number, then? I tried out your old one only to find it was disconnected.”

  “Ah, that’s because I lost my phone sometime last year. I got it replaced. Let me give you my new number.”

  “Okay.”

  Joshua pulled out his phone, and she read the digits out for him. He saved the number, then called to make sure it was the right one. She pulled her ringing phone from her purse, and he finally looked satisfied.

  “Thanks, Alessandra,” he said with a grin. “I’ll tell Wendy to give you a call when she can. I’ll see you later!”

  I watched him turn and walk away after his parting shot, knowing that there was a chance that I really would be seeing him later.

  Crap!

  Why couldn’t I have just said I was too busy?

  Chapter Two

  Joshua

  I drove past the gates and into the compound, my hands tight on the wheel. It had been an hour ago already, but my heart was still beating fast in my chest.

  A sound from the back seat had me looking at Danny, who I’d strapped carefully into his car seat.

  “Are you comfortable back there, little guy? Don’t worry; we’ll be seeing your mom soon, okay?”

  We would have arrived a lot sooner, but I was a little paranoid with Danny in the back seat, so I was driving slowly and carefully.

  I parked the car, then jumped out. I moved to the back seat, and pulled both Danny and the car seat out of my car, then closed the doors. It locked itself automatically as I walked up to the house. Wendy was already there, opening the door to meet us.

  “Oh, you’re back,” she chirped, hands outstretched. “Give me back my baby!”

  I rolled my eyes as I let her take Danny, then followed her into the house, closing the door behind us.

  “You sound like I wanted to run away with him. You told me to take him out because you had things to do.”

  “It wasn’t a lot of stuff, though! I was done ages ago, and I’ve been waiting for you to bring him back to me.”

  She shot a glare over her shoulder at me, and I could only roll my eyes. It was just Wendy being her usual self. She had been in such a hurry earlier that she’d disturbed me on the one day I had off in the week and demanded I come and spend some time with Danny. I knew nothing about being around children, but the little tyke was adorable, so I didn’t mind it, but it was still my day off.

  “You could at least be grateful, you know,” I muttered. “I could have ignored you when you called and gone back to sleep.”

  “Don’t listen to your uncle, baby,” she cooed, ignoring me. “He’s a total grump, but he’s a nice guy under that grump, okay? He loved spending time with you today.”

  I frowned, feeling a little irritated. But I couldn’t say it was a lie. Wendy’s son was well behaved, and there hadn't been any accidents along the way. I was never sure of how I felt about babies. Before, when Alessandra and I were still together, I had thought we would have children someday after we got finished college and got married. Things ended between us in a way I hadn't expected.

  Meeting her today at the part, with a baby in tow no less, had been the best thing to have happened.

  I had been worried about how I would get in touch with her. It had been more than a year since she walked out of my life, and of course, there was no way I could forget her that easily.

  “So?” Wendy said, glancing at him once more. “You look excited. Did something happen at the park? Did you finally meet someone?”

  I touched my face, confused. Did I look excited? I thought I was hiding it well, but then again, Wendy and I had always been close, and she was good at reading me.

  “I’m glad I don’t have you working with me in the company. You’d be insufferable.”

  “Oh, please. The only reason I’m not working for you is that you couldn’t afford me,” she teased. “But anyway, what happened?”

  I hesitated, but in the end, decided there was nothing wrong with telling her. There was no one else close to me than her, aside from Alessandra, but that had changed in the past year for a reaso
n. I planned on improving it.

  “You’ll never guess who I met up with today.”

  Wendy hummed. “You’re right; I’ll never guess because it’s annoying. Just tell me?”

  I rolled my eyes.

  Wendy led us through the kitchen and to the back patio of the house. We sat at one of the patio tables underneath the shade, and she set Danny in his carrier on top of the table in front of her.

  “I saw Alessandra.”

  Up until then, she hadn't shown much interest in me, but when I mentioned that name, she looked up, just as surprised as I have been to see her.

  “Did you say, you saw Alessandra? As in, the Alessandra that walked out on you last year after that crap that went down with Auntie?”

  I grimaced. “She did, but it hurts to hear it, you know?”

  She waved a dismissive hand at me, and I frowned at her. At least care a little bit about my feelings, cousin dearest.

  “Where did you go? I asked you to take my son for a walk; I hope you didn’t go anywhere too far.”

  “Seriously, what do you take me for? If you distrust me this much, why did you call me to come and look after him in the first place?”

  “Because I was desperate and you were the last person I thought of,” she said bluntly.

  I stared at her for a long moment. “Tell me again exactly why we’re close? I feel like I should leave now before you insult me further.”

  “No, no,” she said quickly. “I’m really sorry, okay? I do trust you; it’s just… I haven’t heard much about her since what we heard about her exam. I didn’t have the time to look for her, but she wasn’t keeping in touch, and I wondered if she didn’t move out of town.”

  “She told me she lost her phone when I ran into her in the park. She was pushing a baby with her, Wendy.”

  Her mouth went round in a soundless “Oh.”

  She understood the implication of what I was saying.

  I had kept it in when I saw Alessandra. At least, I hoped she hadn't been able to read me as quickly as Wendy seemed to be, but I had not been okay to see her pushing a stroller, like the one I was. I hadn't tried to look, because I didn’t want to come off as overly curious, but I had wanted to see Danny that was in it. At first, I’d wanted to lie to myself that it might be a doll or a dog in there. But I heard Danny cry.