Only One Chance (Only One 2)

“I want to go change,” he says, pulling me with him into his bedroom. He puts the bag in the closet, and I walk over and toss my purse on the chair. Looking around, I see scraps of paper on his side table. Upon closer inspection, they are the notes I left him each time I left. I sit on the bed and open the first one.

“You kept them?” I look at him when he walks out of his closet, wearing jeans and a shirt.

“It was my last lifeline to you,” he says, sitting down on the bed next to me and wrapping his arms around me. “I would read them at night.”

I wipe the tear away from my eye and look at him. “I love you,” I say softly, and he leans in and kisses my lips softly.

“Knock, knock, knock,” his father says, sticking his head in the room.

“The food is on the table,” he says, looking at us. “Nancy just put her special brownies in the oven.”

I jump up at the same time that Miller jumps up. “Um,” I start to say.

“They smell very earthy,” he says, and I run out of the room to the kitchen.

Sara and Nancy stand there, laughing at something. “Oh, good, you guys are finally ready,” Grandma says. “I just put the brownies in.”

“Oh, no, no, no, no, no,” I say, shaking my head and walking to the oven. “Grandma,” I say to her. “How could you bring this here?”

“Why wouldn’t I bring them here? I took an Uber,” she says. “Plus, it’s to help you relax.”

“I am not eating these,” I say, pointing at the oven and then turn to see Sara just looking at me while Miller and his father join us.

“Um, Miller.” I say his name to get his attention. “Would you perhaps, I don’t know, Uber eats us some cupcakes or something?” I look at him wide-eyed, and he just nods.

“Wait,” Sara says. “Why can’t we eat the brownies?”

I look at Miller. “I told you this was going to be bad,” I tell him, and I blink away tears. He rushes over to me and puts his arm around me. “This is.”

“I don’t see what the fuss is all about,” Grandma says.

“Those are her special space cakes,” Sara says. “And I, for one, was excited for that.”

“I love your son,” I say. “Like a lot.” She just smiles at me, and Grandma Nancy puts her hands together in front of her mouth. “But I’ve been divorced, and I know it’s like I’m tainted. But I really do love him, and if I could go back …” I wipe away the lone tear that’s escaped from my eye.

It’s Sara’s turn now to throw her head back and laugh. “Honey, you aren’t tainted just because you got divorced.” She comes to me now. “No one is tainted. It just means they have to search a bit harder to find their missing lid.” I arch an eyebrow. “Every pot has a lid. Some are too big, and some are too small, but then you find the right one.” She pulls me in and whispers, “Thank you for loving him as you do.” I look at Miller. “And for giving love one more chance.”Epilogue OneMillerSix months later

“I can’t believe it’s almost time for the season to start,” I say from the middle of the sunbed. The soft white curtains dance around us from the warm breeze. I’m lying in the middle, wearing my shorts as Layla lies beside me in her bikini. Her legs are intertwined with mine, and she has her arm lying across my stomach.

“I don’t know if I want to go back,” she groans as we watch the soft waves hit the white sand. We’ve been in Turks and Caicos for over three weeks, just the two of us. I rented us a private villa right on the beach away from everyone else. “Are you excited about the new season?” she asks as her finger draws figure eights on my chest.

“I think if we get better, we might even make a play for the cup next year,” I tell her. We finished fifth in our division and were knocked out in the second round by St. Louis, who went on to win the cup.

“I think so, too,” she says, looking up at me now. Her face looks sun-kissed. “Want to go into the water with me?” she asks me, sitting up, and I just shake my head. She gets off the bed and walks down to the water. My hand reaches behind me under the pillow, grabbing the red box that was placed there by our butler after lunch.

Rising, I walk to the shore, admiring the sunset on the horizon. She turns around and smiles at me as she walks out of the ocean. “Was the water nice?” I ask, holding a towel open for her.