Page 10 of Final Chance At Love (Chance At Love Duet 2)

I raised my eyebrow curiously and eyed him. “What promise?”

“That you’ll be faithful to me,” he answered in a strong voice, but there was so much vulnerability in his eyes. We both remained silent, watching each other, and I couldn’t help but notice how tense he was. I lifted my hand and gently put my palm against his warm cheek.

“I promise,” I whispered and gently kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll always be faithful.”

I felt his tension evaporate at my words. My heart bled for this strong and powerful man. I knew I should be worried more about myself but I didn’t like seeing this strong man so vulnerable. My hands roamed over his back, feeling his hard muscles underneath his shirt. God, he felt like home and comfort to me and his smile warmed up my heart like sunshine on a hot day.

Kristoff had a hurtful past, just like me. We were both dealing with our own ghosts in our own way. He had shown me he was sorry, didn’t he? And he apologized. What more could I possibly want?

Everything,the little voice in my head whispered and warned of hurt that would surely follow if I opened up too much.

It would be so much easier to just keep it physical, give him my body and keep feelings out of the equation. My heart and my soul wanted it to go all in with him. But I was scared of rejection and hurt. The sensible and reasonable side of me understood that if I wasn’t giving him all of me, I couldn’t expect him to give me everything. I would have to learn to trust him, just as much as he would have to learn to trust me.

Chapter Four

Icalled Laura and my girls to get an update on their plans. They were enjoying the pool and were completely disinterested in hanging out on the phone with me so the call ended up being short. Glad that my girls were having a blast, I packed up a weekend bag and Kristoff was waiting for me ready on the front porch.

“Ready?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. “Is that all you are bringing?”

“Do you think it’s too much?” I asked nervously. I felt like I was having a sleepover with a boyfriend and was a total nervous wreck.

“No,” he answered. “I can’t believe how light you pack. But that’s ok, whatever we need, we can have it delivered or pick it up.”

“Maybe I should…” Kristoff stopped my question with the kiss on my mouth.

“Lock the house and let’s go. I’ve got everything you need,” he murmured against my lips.

“Okay,” I smiled happily against his lips and kissed him back.

After I hurriedly locked the house, he opened the passenger door for me.

We both buckled in and he sped down my drive onto the street towards the highway. The drive was relaxing and I noticed he was driving in the general direction of his mother’s place.

“Do you live close to your mother?” I asked curiously.

“Not too close,” he answered and took my hand tangling his fingers with mine; his eyes never wavered from the road. “But close enough where I don’t have to drive an hour to get to her place in a hurry.”

“That makes sense,” I answered. “When I was looking for a house, I kept my mind on the distance to my mother-in-law’s house. But I also didn’t want to be next door,” I added chuckling. He raised my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles. I got goosebumps from the gesture, feeling all tingly. Every time he got like this with me, sweet and simple, my heart melted a little.

We talked about his mother who was visiting Croatia with her band of friends, about my mother-in-law, everything and nothing.

An hour later, we were approaching a large gate that Kristoff opened with the push of a button. His car sped past the gate that closed right behind us. I kept looking for a house to pop up, but we kept driving and driving through the massive estate of land and woods. Fifteen minutes after we drove through another gate, a huge mansion came into sight, bathed in soft light.

“You live here?” I asked.

“Yes, when I don’t stay at the condo in the city,” he answered.

“By yourself?”

He looked at me. “Yes, there is a bit of staff, but I mainly live here by myself.”

“This place is huge!” I said incredulously. “And you gave me a hard time about my place.”

His lips curved into a smile. “I didn’t give you a hard time about your place. I said it is a beautiful home.”

“Along with other hints, but we won’t go there,” I replied sarcastically, looking curiously around me. “It must be creepy at night when you are all by yourself.”

His laugh filled the car. “I’m glad you like it.”

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