A Chance at Love: A Second Chance Romance Read online

  A Chance at Love

  A Second Chance Romance

  Kate Hunt

  Copyright © 2019 by Kate Hunt

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  Contents

  1. Whitney

  2. Leo

  3. Whitney

  4. Leo

  5. Whitney

  6. Leo

  7. Whitney

  8. Leo

  9. Whitney

  10. Leo

  Chapter One

  Whitney

  “Just think,” says Jess, turning from the car window. “Ten weeks from now, one of us could be fifty thousand dollars richer.”

  “Yeah, or heartbroken on top of still being broke,” I say dryly. Ever since my best friend Jess and I both got accepted to be on the latest season of Love Mansion, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the inevitable tears and heartbreak that happens on these kinds of shows.

  “Oh, Whitney.” Jess rolls her eyes. “You should be more optimistic, girl.”

  “Okay, fine,” I say. I straighten up and push my shoulders back. “I’m going to win it all. Ten weeks from now, I’m going to be running to the bank with a big, fat, juicy check.”

  “That’s better.” Jess grins. “Although…I bet they do direct deposit.”

  I shrug. “Doesn’t mean I can’t still do a ceremonious sprint to the bank.”

  “True. If I win, though…I think I’ll be sprinting to Barneys.”

  The Uber we’re in takes a sharp turn and we both sway to the side in the back seat.

  “Please don’t tell me you’d blow all the money on clothes, Jess,” I say. I mean, to be honest, I’d probably do a little shopping, too. But first I’d pay off my student loans and treat my parents to a vacation or something.

  “Not all of it,” says Jess. “Just…like…ten percent or so.”

  “Okay. Good.”

  “Maybe fifteen. Or twenty.”

  “Jess.”

  She laughs. Then her eyes drift away from me and widen as she looks through the windshield of the car.

  “Holy shit,” she says. “Is that it?”

  I follow her gaze and feel my eyes widen, too, when I see the mansion we’re driving up to. I don’t know why we’re both so surprised—we’ve watched every episode of all six seasons of the show, and all of the seasons have been filmed here.

  In person, though, the mansion is so much freakin’ grander.

  Imagine a mansion. Then double it. Then double it again. Add a bunch of pristine rose bushes and exotic looking flowers all around the property. And gorgeous huge trees that look like they’ve been there for hundreds of years. And a huge marble water fountain. And warm, glowy uplighting that makes everything look even more fancy than it already is.

  “I feel underdressed,” murmurs Jess.

  “You’re not alone,” I say.

  “Yeah, but you’re always underdressed, silly.”

  I peel my eyes away from the mega mansion to shoot my best friend a look. It’s true, though. If I could, I’d be in yoga pants and a boxy oversized tee right now. Instead, I have on one of Jess’s dresses, which is sexier than anything I own. I was seriously shocked when I saw myself in the mirror earlier today—this little purple dress shows off all of my curves. Seriously, it’s like I have curves I didn’t even know about. And my boobs…in this dress, they look damn incredible. And I never say stuff like that.

  Now, though, pulling up to the mansion, it feels like we should be wearing full-length sparkly ball gowns.

  Soon, Jess and I find out that we’re dressed just fine. As soon as our Uber drops us off, a TV producer welcomes us and points us to the big front doors of the house, and when Jess and I walk inside, we enter into a room full of other girls who are dressed in short, tight dresses just like us.

  “Hey, girls!” says Jess. They all smile at us, but at least half of the smiles barely conceal their true feelings: they’re sizing us up, trying to figure out how much of a threat we are.

  Well, I guess I can’t lie. I’m doing the same to them.

  The premise of this show is simple: there’s a bunch of single girls, a bunch of single guys, and a hundred thousand dollars on the line. We’ll be expected to pair up with a contestant of the opposite sex, and couples will be voted off each week. The last couple standing will split the hundred thousand.

  Easy, right?

  Except you just know there’s going to be a twist. And drama. Oh, so much drama.

  Jess and I stick close together as we drift around the room. It doesn’t seem like anyone else is here with a friend, which definitely seems like it’s going to be an advantage for us.

  “How many fake boobs do you think are in this room right now?” Jess whispers into my ear.

  “At least…fifteen,” I say.

  Jess laughs loudly. A girl with extremely glossy lips looks at Jess like she just screamed out something offensive.

  “Good morning, ladies!” A voice booms out from across the room. We all quiet down, our attention immediately focused on our host.

  “I’m Warren Turner,” he says, although we all know who he is. Of course he’s Warren Turner. Anyone who watches reality TV knows he’s Warren Turner. “And I’m very, very pleased to welcome you to the Love Mansion. Are you ladies ready to meet the men of your dreams?”

  Around me, a sea of girls erupts in cheering and hooting. My eardrums throb. But I join in, too, of course.

  Up front, Warren laughs and gestures for us to settle down.

  “All right, ladies,” he says, flashing his TV-perfect smile and glimmering his eyes, “here they are!”

  As soon as he says it, two huge wooden doors open up behind him, and hot man after hot man begins to stream out. They’re each so tall and handsome—and radiating vibes of sex—that my whole body instantly flushes with heat.

  “Holy shit,” says Jess.

  “I know,” I murmur.

  Around us, the other girls are equally stunned into silence.

  But as the guys continue to enter the room, I force myself to get over my initial shock. I do my best to ignore their physical hotness for the time being and focus on the things that will get me the greatest chances of winning this competition. Does the guy look trustworthy? Does he look like he’s good at strategy? Does he look like he’s not a total douche?

  Of course it’s all the really hot ones that look untrustworthy, bad at strategy, and douchey.

  I do see a handful who have potential, though. I mentally catalog their faces so I can remember who I want to talk to as soon as we’re set free. As the guys continue to file in, I turn to Jess and say, “See anyone you like?”

  “Um, yes,” says Jess. “A see a whooole lot I like.”

  But then her expression changes. Surprise takes over her face.

  “Um, Whitney?” she says.

  “What?”

  “Look.”

  I turn to look at the front of the room again. At first, I’m just blinded by all the muscles and handsome grins and good hair.

  But then I see him. He’s the last guy to walk in.

  My high school boyfriend.

  Chapter Two

  Leo

  I see Whitney the moment I walk in. In a room full of beautiful girls, that’s how much she stands out. And the moment I see her, I feel the impulse to rush across the room and carry her out of here. It would be completely ridiculous,
I know. But the thought of her being on a show like this, with a bunch of other dudes and catty girls…well, it’s enough to make me have crazy impulses like that.

  I’ve thought about Whitney since high school, of course. You don’t have a girlfriend like that and not ever think about her again. But as much as I missed her, I never once tried getting in touch with her. Our breakup at the end of high school hurt like a motherfucker and I knew I couldn’t handle getting in touch with her only to lose her again. Besides, as the years went on, I figured she’d probably gotten married, maybe even had a kid.

  But here she is. Standing in the same room as me. As single as they come.

  “Introduce yourself, Leo,” says Warren, leaning toward me.

  I force my attention to the rest of the crowd. “Hey, ladies. I’m Leo.”

  “Luscious Leo!” someone yells out.

  I laugh. This whole thing is fucking ridiculous, but I’ve already made up my mind to embrace it. Not that I have much of a choice. My sister-in-law, Sara, is one of the producers on the show, and after talking me into being one of the contestants, she made me swear that I’d stick it out for as long as I can.

  I’m not allowed to actually win, though, since someone could easily make the argument that Sara could benefit from me winning the prize money. Not that I even need the money. Thanks to the success of the tech company I co-own, I have far more than fifty thousand in the bank. What I don’t have is much of a social life. Or a love life, for that matter. My sister-in-law is convinced that coming on the show will remedy that, but honestly, I just agreed to it to get her to stop bugging me about it.

  “Okay, ladies and gents,” says Warren, raising his voice to get everyone’s attention. “You have the next four hours to mingle and get to know each other. Have fun. Let loose. Just try to keep your clothes on, okay?”

  More hooting and laughter ripples through the room.

  “And remember,” continues Warren, “anyone not in a couple by the end of the night will be automatically eliminated.”

  And with that, the game is on.

  Most of the guys start chatting up the girl closest to wherever they’re standing. I set my sights on getting across the room, though. There’s no way I’m not going to talk to Whitney first. Hell, if she’s the only girl I talk to tonight, I’ll be as happy as…well, as happy as a guy reunited with the girl he’s never gotten over.

  Making my way through the crowd is harder than I expect, though. Girls keep trying to stop me. It feels like trying to swim upstream.

  “Where you running off to?” they say. “Luscious Leo…we want to talk to you. Leeeeo. Stay.”

  “In a minute,” I grunt.

  “Aww,” they pout.

  Finally, I make it to the other side of the room. Whitney’s in the exact same spot she was when I first spotted her, and she’s so stunning that I almost can’t breathe. For a second, I feel like I’m that eighteen-year-old kid again, head-over-heels in love with her.

  As I approach Whitney, she stays focused on the conversation she’s in with another girl. Wait. That’s not just any other girl. That’s Jess, her best friend from high school.

  “Just go over there and talk to him,” Jess is saying. “Seriously, Whitney. If you don’t do it now—”

  “Hey, girls,” I say.

  They both turn and see me. Whitney looks nervous. Jess shoots me a smile.

  “Leo!” Jess says. “It’s so crazy to see you here.”

  “It’s good to see you.” I slide my gaze over. “Hey, Whitney.”

  “Hi,” she says, so quietly that I almost can’t hear her.

  “Will you two excuse me?” says Jess, glancing over my shoulder.

  “Wait, Jess—” says Whitney.

  “You’re fine, girl,” Jess says, then runs off with a smile. Whitney swallows and moves her eyes back to me.

  “I can’t believe you’re here, Leo,” she says. Slowly—finally—she gives me a smile. “Sorry. It’s good to see you. I’m just surprised.”

  Behind me, somebody bumps into me. I use the opportunity as an excuse to take a half-step closer to Whitney. I can see her chest rise as she draws in a breath. She’s close enough now that I could kiss her. And, fuck, do I want to. But I’m not going to kiss her. Not yet. Not like this.

  “How have you been?” I ask.

  “Good,” she says. She smiles again, more wryly this time. That smile. It makes my cock twitch. “I mean, obviously, I’m not rich or married, since I’m here. But life’s not bad.”

  “That’s your life goal, huh?” I say. “To be rich and married? I never knew that about you.”

  She laughs. “Yep. If I’m not a billionaire with three husbands by the time I’m thirty, I’m going to consider myself a failure.”

  I tsk my tongue and shake my head. “You’ve changed, kid.”

  She bites down on the inside of her lips, keeping a grin under control.

  Then, a slight blush rising in her cheeks, she says, “You’ve changed, too, Leo.”

  It’s true. I’m not the scrawny kid I was in high school. And she’s not the thin, slightly-awkward-in-her-own-body girl she was. I mean, I thought she was gorgeous back then. Every single inch of her. But now she’s a bombshell.

  “So what do you think, Whit? Should we team up and win this thing?”

  She smiles at me. “You really think we could win?”

  The fact that I technically can’t win the show flits through my mind. Fuck. How am I supposed to give up this opportunity to be with Whitney again, though?

  “How bad do you want the money?” I ask.

  Whitney looks at me like I’m nuts. “Um, fifty thousand? Pretty fucking bad.” She studies me. “Don’t you?”

  I want you more.

  “Of course,” I say, clearing my throat. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get it.”

  Maybe I can talk my sister-in-law into some kind of compromise. Maybe Whitney can take home the whole hundred thousand. Maybe…

  “Let’s do it,” says Whitney.

  It takes every goddamn cell in my body not to kiss her right then.

  Chapter Three

  Whitney

  “I can’t believe you and Leo are back together,” says Jess. The two of us are unpacking our suitcases in one of the rooms upstairs. We’ve just gotten through filming the first elimination ceremony, and while most of the other contestants immediately started drinking and celebrating, Jess and I exchanged one look and snuck away for some decompressing time.

  “We aren’t ‘back together,’ Jess,” I say. Okay, maybe it was a bad idea to pair up with Leo. But I agreed to it because he’s right—we do make a good team—and I’d much rather deal with being paired up with my high school ex than a douchey stranger. “It’s just for the show. But yeah. It’s crazy he’s here. I honestly never thought I’d see him again.”

  “You think he’s hot, though, right?”

  “Jess. Don’t.”

  “Answer the question, Whitney. Hot or not?”

  I sigh. “Of course he’s hot. You saw him, didn’t you?”

  Jess grins. She pulls another pair of shoes out of her suitcase. “Just making sure.”

  “It doesn’t matter, though. I’m here to win the money. Remember?”

  “Shh! Don’t say that. There could be a camera guy around.”

  “Pretty sure they’re all downstairs filming the interesting stuff,” I say.

  “Anyway,” says Jess. “So if you think he’s hot—”

  ”Stop.” I roll my eyes. “I know what you’re about to ask. And the answer is no. I’m not going to sleep with Leo.”

  “Why not?”

  I unroll a dress and frown at the wrinkles in it. “Um, for all sorts of reasons? Because we have a past? Because it would open up an old wound? Because we’re on a national TV show?”

  “So you want to,” says Jess, grinning. “You’re just making up excuses not to.”

  “No. Drop it.”

  “Why? It’s so much
fun. What if you two fall in love? What if you get married and have babies and—”

  “Jess!”

  Suddenly I realize there’s another girl standing in the room.

  “Sorry,” she says, smiling sheepishly. “Am I interrupting?”

  “No,” I say, eager for any excuse to get Jess off my case. I love the girl, but I really could do without the pestering about Leo. As hot as he is, it’s not going to happen. “Come in! We’re just hanging out.”

  “Cool,” says the other girl. “Thanks. It’s so nuts downstairs.”

  “God, I know,” I say.

  “I’m Samira, by the way,” she says.

  “I’m Whitney,” I say.

  “Jess,” says Jess. She squints at Samira. “You look familiar. Have you been on any other shows?”

  Samira laughs. “Just one. I was on this Halloween bake-off show.”

  “I knew I recognized you!” says Jess. “Wait, did you win?”

  “Nope. This girl named Elizabeth did. She totally deserved to win, though. She got a husband out of the deal, too.”

  “No shit,” says Jess, and not subtly at all, she raises her eyebrows at me. “So true love can happen on TV, huh?”

  “Oh, definitely,” says Samira, hopping onto one of the beds. “Honestly, I think that’s kind of why I keep applying to these shows. It’s not exactly the most effective way to meet guys, but...you never know.”

  “Aw,” says Jess. “I hope you meet someone, Samira.”

  “Thanks,” she says, and laughs. “I can tell the dude I paired up with today isn’t my Prince Charming. But maybe he’ll grow on me. Who’d you two end up with? Sorry I can’t remember. There’s so many people here!”

  “I’m with Noah,” says Jess. “The hot redhead.”