Sunday Snippet: Second Chance at Forever by Heather Lire

Ok I wasn’t going to post this here, but after several of my author friends – authors who have come on here, and know I own and run this site – told me it would be okay to feature my book on the Sunday Snippet so long as no one here reviewed it I went okay I can do that. So here is a snippet of my debut book Second Chance at Forever. Just as a side note this will be the only time this book is featured on here.

Ryan rounded the Jeep and climbed in. For the first time in a long time he was excited about something new that wasn’t work-related.

Morgan pulled her hair away from her face and turned to look at Ryan. He was a sneaky one. She had a feeling if she didn’t watch him closely he would sneak past her defenses. That kiss had caused a tingle to go throughout her body and settle low in her belly.

She’d never experienced that kind of sexual heat and tension.

“What part of Texas are you from?” she asked. The reaction she had to him baffled her. Maybe if she knew more about him she’d be able to figure it out.

“How’d you guess Texas?” he responded. Ryan gave her a shocked look.

“I have a thing for accents, plus one of my best friends is from Dallas.”

“I’m from a town about a hundred miles east of Dallas near the Louisiana border.” Ryan pulled into a parking lot and parked. He got out and went around the Jeep to help her get down.

He graciously extended his hand, which Morgan grasped hold of, as she climbed out of the Jeep. He kept hold of her hand as they strolled down the sidewalk.

She loved small towns and the interactions between the locals, especially this one. Ryan had chosen a town about ten minutes from her grandparents’ house, and one she was very familiar with. She could hear the shrieks and yells from the town square and park where the kids played. She nodded to the people she knew as they passed them.

“What’s an East Texas boy doing in New England?” She stopped to glance in the window of a popular art gallery, the painting in the window catching her eye. It was a painting depicting her favorite part of the Cape hanging on the wall inside the shop. The image was of a lighthouse in the distance, the waves crashing against the reef, and a sandy stretch of beach almost hidden from view.

Ryan leaned his shoulder against the window, shoving his hands into the pockets of his shorts. The move stretched the material of his shirt across his chest. The sight caused all the moisture in her mouth to disappear. She concentrated on the window display, praying he didn’t notice her elevated breathing and how her body was reacting to his.

“Yale. It’s a tradition in our family, we all go there. No matter what we are studying or whether or not we want to stay in Texas or Louisiana, everyone goes to Yale.” He laughed softly, “My sister Cami did not want to go to Yale.”

“How come?” Morgan asked.

“Her high school boyfriend was going to play football at Texas A&M so she applied there without anyone knowing. When her acceptance letter came, you could hear the yelling all over the ranch.”

Morgan stood transfixed, as she watched him share the memory. His eyes were hidden behind his sunglasses, but the grin he wore spoke volumes to her about how he felt about his sister.

Morgan turned and headed into the store, deciding she really did want the painting. “Where did she end up?”

“Yale, of course. She did her undergrad work there in three years and went straight to Texas A&M where her boyfriend was still playing football to begin work on her graduate degree. They were married a month after he graduated. She just had her first baby.” Affection and joy for his sister and her new baby evident in his voice.

“She sounds like someone who knows what she wants, and isn’t going to let anyone stop her.”

Ryan laughed, “You have that right.”

Morgan headed straight to the counter to make her purchase. Out of the corner of her eye she tracked Ryan as he wandered the gallery. He’d stopped in front of a painting, completely transfixed.

While the store clerk was wrapping her purchase in brown paper, Morgan turned to see what had caught his eye and could only stare. He’d stopped in front of a painting showing a woman lying on a picnic blanket with the movement of the grass showing a slight breeze. What transfixed them both, however, was the way the man in the painting was looking at the woman as she nursed the baby in her arms. The love and awe he had for them was visible on his face, and in his body language.

Morgan looked at Ryan to gauge his reaction. The naked longing on his face came as a shock to her. Most men she knew never showed their emotions, and Ryan’s were on his face. He wanted what was in the painting. She moved up to him and slid her hand into his, the move so casual it was the most natural thing for her to do.

He looked down at her, and Morgan stopped breathing. The hunger in his eyes became a pulse beating between them. Oh, how she wanted to act on the sexual heat coming off him, but that wasn’t her. But she needed to give him something — not what he wanted — but what she could give, so she leaned up and brushed her lips against his. She slipped her arms around him and snuggled in.

She held her breath, waiting to see how he would react. When his arms slid around her, she let out a sigh of contentment. The moment was perfection. It didn’t matter how long they’d known each other, it could have been six hours or six months, the intense feelings coming from both of them would still be there. She closed her eyes and let herself be.

 

 

When Morgan Sanderson left her grandparents’ anniversary party, she had no idea how much the previous week would impact her life. Four years later she’s living a content life, teaching literature and being the best mom she can be, even if she knows something is missing. That thing being the one person she can’t forgive and yet can’t get over.

The week Ryan Cartwright spent with Morgan was the best week of his life until tragedy struck, one that changed his life completely. Four years later he discovers he has three year old twins with Morgan, the one woman he’s never been able to forget and let go. Can he forgive her from keeping the knowledge of his sons from him?

As they uncover the truth behind their separation, they discover the love they’ve always felt for each other is still there, but can they ever trust each other again?