My Second Chance Book 1
Author
Summer Mathewson
Reads
18.3K
Chapters
62
"I'll be out in a minute!" Not the welcome Daisy expected from the naked, tattooed stranger in HER new shower. 🚿
She's just fled an engagement that came with a side of forced pregnancy and a mother-in-law from hell, and she's starting over in Montana with a residency offer and a U-Haul's worth of trust issues. Then there's Axle: gorgeous, growly, bossy, and looking at her like she's already his.
Daisy just escaped one man who thought he owned her. She is not falling for another. But Axle isn't like Carter. He actually pays attention. And when her ex walks into the same diner, Axle just watches. Waiting.
Chapter 1: The Best News
DAISY
I glanced at the clock before striking the match to light the gold candlesticks on the dining room table. Carter should be home within the next ten minutes. I was bursting with excitement to tell him my news!
I just knew he was going to be as excited as I was! I had called him earlier and told him I was planning a special dinner to share some really exciting news tonight, and he had promised to be home on time.
As I was basting the roast, I heard his tires pulling into our gravel driveway. I pulled the roast from the oven and placed it in the center of the table, arranging the carrots and potatoes so it was absolutely perfect. I repositioned the rolls and green beans out of jittery nervousness, praying that he liked it.
I heard the front door open, and I smoothed the front of my black dress, the only dress I owned, before clasping my hands tightly in front of me. The megawatt smile hadn’t left my face since I found out, and my cheeks were beginning to burn, but I couldn’t bring myself to care.
His keys jingled in the lock as he pulled them from the front door, swinging it wide. “Daisy? Something smells incredible!” Carter shouted as he slipped off his shoes and tossed his keys in the bowl by the door. I could hear his footsteps as he padded down the hallway to where I was anxiously awaiting him in the dining room.
His eyes grew wide as he took in the spread that I had laid out for him before his gaze found me. He raked his eyes down my body hungrily, which never failed to make me blush. He came over and wrapped his arms around my waist before pressing his lips to mine tenderly.
“This looks incredible. What’s all this for?” he finally asked as he pulled away to take his seat at the head of the table.
I picked up his plate and began to fill it with copious amounts of food before placing it back in front of him and filling his wine glass. I sat next to him, unable to focus on my own plate.
I had to get the news out or I would positively combust. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. “I have some good news! Great news, actually. The best news,” I gushed. “Well, I think it’s great news, and I have been just so excited to tell you. I haven’t even called my mom yet—”
“Daisy, wait, wait, wait. Slow down,” he told me with a chuckle. “You know I can’t understand you when you get all hyper like that.”
My cheeks and neck heated with embarrassment as I mumbled a quiet apology before taking a deep breath to slow my racing heart. “I finally got word today that I’ve been accepted into the residency in Montana! I can start as early as next month!”
I clasped my hands together to try and contain my excitement, but my smile grew impossibly wider as I leaned toward him. “Isn’t that fantastic?” I asked breathlessly.
The smile was frozen on his face as he stared at me in shock. “So, wait…you’re not pregnant?” he asked after an awkwardly long pause.
“Pregnant?!” I screeched in horror and shrank back from him. “What? No! Of course I’m not pregnant!” I exclaimed with a shudder. Having a baby right before I started residency would be as close to my worst nightmare as I could get.
It wasn’t that I was against the idea of babies, just not now. I had been an only child growing up, and I had always wanted a sibling. I knew one day I’d have at least two kids, maybe more. I wanted to be married and established in my practice first.
“I just don’t understand. It should’ve worked by now,” he mumbled to himself as he hung his head. Was that frustration I saw in his eyes? I was so confused by his reaction that my smile melted off my face.
What the hell was happening right now? “Why would you think I would be pregnant, Carter?” I asked him quietly. A sinking feeling was growing in the pit of my stomach. “You know I’m on birth control.”
His eyes darted to mine and quickly away again. The pit opened up in my stomach and swallowed it whole. His face flashed with guilt before he masked it with his usual stoic expression. It was brief, but I couldn’t have missed it if I wanted to.
“What have you done?” I whispered, unable to find my full voice. I leaned away from him, everything in me telling me to run the other way.
“Don’t be dramatic,” he scoffed, refusing to meet my eyes.
“Look at me, Carter,” I demanded. My eyebrows furrowed as I watched him carefully. His whole body was stiff as a board, but his eyes gave nothing away. His face was a mask of indifference. “What are you talking about? What have you done?”
“Of course, I know you’re on birth control,” he scoffed. “I was just hoping that maybe you’d finally changed your mind about the whole baby thing. When you said you had exciting news, I just figured…” He trailed off with a shrug.
I could smell the lie a mile away. “What have you done?” I questioned more forcefully this time. His eyes flashed gold, telling me his wolf was near the surface and didn’t appreciate my tone.
Fear skated down my spine, and I froze like a deer in headlights. I’d seen that look directed at other people often enough. After all, Carter was the strongest enforcer for his pack and built like a tank. One warning glare as his wolf flashed in his eyes was usually all it took for whoever was on the receiving end to fix themselves before Carter did it for them.
But he’d only ever looked at me with love and affection. Until now.
I heard the sound of the front door opening followed by the clack of high heels on the wood floors. My stomach sank impossibly further. That could only mean one thing. His mother, Jennifer.
“Sorry, I’m sorry, Carter, but I just couldn’t wait a second longer. I’m too excited! Tell me, is it a boy or a girl?!” she shrieked as she rounded the corner, clapping her hands excitedly.
I gaped at her as Carter spun in his seat, growling at her to be quiet. She halted in the doorway, staring between us with obvious confusion. Unable to remain so close to him any longer, I leapt out of my chair and backed to the far side of the room.
“Would someone like to explain to me what in the hell is happening right now?” I shouted as I glared at them.
