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At her nod, I continue. “But what if she had met him six months or a year ago? Would she have been in the proper place for an attraction or relationship to flourish?”
Emotions war across her face as she internally debates her answer. “No,” she finally admits. “A year ago, I wouldn’t have been in the right place to appreciate the man Jake is.”
Nodding, my smile spreads wider. “Everything in your life in the past year has shaped the person you are today and made it so you don’t miss out on this chance encounter. So, you see, it really wasn’t a chance encounter at all.”
Savannah gasps, and it’s easy to see she gets what I’m saying.
Blaire is a harder sell. “So, you’re saying Vanna was too selfish a year ago?”
Savannah throws her elbow into Blaire’s side.
Blaire’s head whips toward her friend, sending her long, red hair flying. “What? I’m not the one who said it!”
“He’s not saying I was selfish. Just that I’m not the same person I was then, and the person now is mature enough to see this as the opportunity it is.”
Turning, Savannah looks me dead in the eye. “Sometimes, people need a new perspective to see what’s been right in front of their face all along and to use that newfound knowledge to go after what they want.”
She pats Blaire’s arm but aims her words at me. “Opportunities don’t hang around forever, and we all know about missed ones for people who don’t take the chances they’re given.”
My brows jump, the smile dropping from my lips as her words painfully hit home. It takes effort to force out, “Very true. Fate or not, life is indeed what you make of it, and the chances you take.” Carefully, I push off of the desk, my knuckles popping as I grip the handles of the arm crutches. “Ladies, I’m sure you have calls to make.”
I feel their stares on my back as I make my way back into my small, cramped office. Once the door is shut, I sag against it for a long moment. What the hell was I thinking opening my mouth like that?
And judging from her parting shot, Savannah is fully aware of the little crush I have on Blaire.
Little? I snort, making my way over to the large and comfortably plush leather office chair I personally purchased and sink into it with a weary groan as my hips and knees twinge with pain.
Rooting around in the top desk drawer, I pull out an ever-present bright orange container of pain meds and dry swallow two of the pills before staring up at the ceiling.
There’s nothing little about my feelings for Blaire, and I’m an absolute fool.
There’s no escaping that fact.
You don’t fall for coworkers or employees.
And you definitely don’t fall for a woman who, even when you were a healthy and whole man, was way out of your league, let alone one whose father owns half the real estate in this state.
Closing my eyes, I lean my head back against the headrest and try to forget the aching in my lower body and how much I want a woman that I can’t have.
Or can I?
Opening my eyes, I spin the chair around to face the window and take in the outside world with its splashes of vibrant green and blue, everything alive and cheerful.
Years ago, before the accident, I would have asked Blaire out in a heartbeat. I wouldn’t have let our different social statuses, age difference, or even who her father was get in the way. Especially not if there was a hint that she was interested as well. And going by some of the things she’s said about me to Savannah, I’m definitely on her radar as a man.
I’m not the same bold and brash young man I once was, and that goes far deeper than my damaged body. I’ve changed, not always for the best, but I’ve grown as a person and what I told Savannah earlier holds true for me as well.
‘Everything in your life in the past year has shaped the person you are today and made it so you don’t miss out on this chance encounter. So, you see, it really wasn’t a chance encounter at all.’
The accident and the aftermath shaped the current Leland Matthews. Without it, I never would have met Blaire. This chance encounter wasn’t chance at all. The moment that my harness snapped, and I fell off that roof, things were put in motion leading up to this.
How I want to handle it lies squarely on me.
Do I play it safe and continue to overhear about Blaire’s dates and one-night stands with a miserable sick feeling in my gut?
Or do I take the chance and try to win the heart of the woman I want so fiercely that I ache?
I’ve spent the past ten years since the accident physically hurting, but this current heartache is one I don’t want to live with. I may not be young and brash any longer with a devil-may-care attitude, but I ‘m still determined.
