Fail To Fight: A Second Chance At Forever Romance (Unrequited Love Series Book 1) Read online

  Maci Dillon

  FAIL TO FIGHT

  Unrequited Love Series Book 1

  Maci Dillon

  Copyright 2021 Maci Dillon

  All Rights Reserved

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to real events, real people, and real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, organizations, or places is entirely coincidental.

  All rights are reserved. This book is intended for the purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the express written permission of the author. All songs, song titles, and lyrics contained in this book are the property of the respective songwriters and copyright holders.

  Disclaimer: The material in this book contains graphic language and sexual content and is intended for mature audiences, ages 18 and older.

  All efforts have been made to ensure the use of correct grammar and punctuation in the book. If you find any errors, please email Maci Dillon at [email protected]

  Thank you.

  Editing by Trish Bacher at Editor in Heels

  Proofreading by Swish Design & Editing

  Book Design by Swish Design & Editing

  Cover Design by Opium House Creatives

  Cover Image Copyright 2021

  All Rights Reserved

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  Blurb

  Two hearts collide after ten long years. She wants closure. He seeks redemption.

  Could one night together change everything they thought they knew?

  A powerful story of unrequited love.

  Chloe

  Don’t condemn the man I love. His actions were inexcusable, but I forgave him a lifetime ago. What I need to know is why he left me scared and broken without a fight. With no goodbye. No closure.

  Will

  I’m the weak bastard who walked away. The one who spent the last decade looking back, filled with regret. With my life at a crossroad, I must redeem myself before I can move on. One thing I never expected was to want a second chance. And this time, I won’t leave her without a fight.

  Their first love ended in betrayal, plagued by secrets and lies. In this steamy, second-chance romance, is it possible for Chloe and Will to find their forever?

  Dedication

  For M and J

  To an epic love, too great for this world. May this story bring the closure you both desire.

  Table of Contents

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  Blurb

  Dedication

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Connect With Me Online

  Author Note

  About the Author

  Prologue

  “From every wound, there is a scar, and every scar tells a story.” ~ Unknown

  CHLOE

  Ten Years Ago

  I fought against the fogginess in my head as consciousness began to stir. The energy it took to pry my eyes open threatened to send me back into a world of darkness. The blinding light glared through my closed lids, the only confirmation I wasn’t dead.

  Is this what it was like to be trapped between life and death, heaven and hell? A few moments pass before I became aware of sounds trickling in, invading my mind. People murmured in the distance, so many voices, but I couldn’t make out a single word or recognize anybody.

  Where the fuck am I?

  I continued to force my eyes open despite the pain. Slowly, I became aware of more than the throbbing behind my eyelids. My head threatened to split open in multiple places, there was screaming all around, and my face pounded in agony.

  Hands swarmed across me, and bodies came into view as my own body thrashed around the bed. Fear welled up inside me, my heart ached, but I couldn’t register why.

  “Jamie, Jamie!” The screams grew louder, and whoever Jamie is, he was nowhere to be seen or heard. My body felt like splintered wood, broken beneath the many hands that now touched it.

  My bleary vision blurred their faces as people tried to speak to me and soothe me. Yet all I made out were urgent cries for Jamie. Eventually, I recognized those screams belonged to me. I was crying out for Jamie, the last person I remembered seeing before I was knocked unconscious by the man I loved.

  Will.

  I needed him so badly, but he never came.

  But he had come for me until he was made to leave. All I knew at the time was he was gone, and I never had a chance to say goodbye.

  Without a goodbye, I had no closure.

  And without closure, there was no moving on.

  This is my story.

  Chapter One

  Longing

  “Saudade ~ a nostalgic longing for something or someone that was loved and then lost, with the knowledge that it or they might never return; ‘the love that remains.’”

  WILL

  Present Day

  I sat rigid with nerves, unsure if making the call was the right thing to do. With each second the ringer sounded, half of me hoped for her to pick up, the other half secretly willed the call to continue unanswered.

  For the third time in as many days, the message bank fielded my attempt to make contact. Desperate to hear her voice, I waited. My finger ready over the end call button.

  “Hi, you’ve reached Chloe Lee. Please leave a message, and if you’re lucky, I’ll call you right back.”

  Lightning-fast reflexes terminated the call before the beep, beep, beep.

  A grin spread across my face at the playfulness in her voice. If I left a message, would she phone me back? It was the ultimate question. One I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer to.

  I was clueless about what I might say if she answered. Leaving a message was out of the question. How does one begin a conversation with an ex they haven’t spoken to or laid eyes on for ten years?

  Few days had passed over the years where I hadn’t considered this—imagined an exchange of words and how it would feel to be in her presence again. I craved a single glance in her direction.

  My heart ached to reunite with her.

  It hurt to imagine an encounter I might never experience.

  Waking each morning without her was fucking torture. Knowing it was my fault she wasn’t wrapped in my arms made it worse. I had promised her the world and meant every fucking word.

  My promises meant everything to me. But I failed us.

  I failed Chloe.

  Mindlessly, I rubbed at my naked ring finger, evaluated my need to contact her again, and thought of the first time we met. She blew me away with her smile the moment she wal
ked in.

  The memory always brought a smile to my face.

  Chloe knew how to light up a room.

  I was working my way up the corporate ladder at a local real estate agency in Australia’s largest regional town in the southeast. It was the company Christmas party, and being a family-owned business, all family was expected to attend.

  I normally would have taken a date or invited a friend, but instead, I showed up alone.

  Best decision I ever made.

  Chloe’s father was the newest member of our sales team and was kicking ass all over town. I applauded Graham’s success, extensive knowledge, and experience within the industry. My colleagues teased me daily about my office crush, but I didn’t care. Career progression was important to me, and if it meant I had to deal with office jokes, I would.

  Everything changed for me the night Graham walked in with his wife, Nicole, and daughter, Chloe.

  His eighteen-year-old daughter.

  Bordering twenty-nine, Chloe Lee should not have appealed to me the way she did. I was not a believer of love at first sight, but the attraction was instant between us.

  Lust consumed me instantly.

  We were introduced early in the night, and I spent the rest of the evening exploring every topic, learning as much as possible about her.

  I would never forget the way her eyes held me captive and mesmerized me.

  It was the night of our Christmas party the following year when I told Chloe’s father I was in love with her. I was given a stern warning and a stiff fist to the jaw for my honesty.

  It was a small price to pay.

  Chloe and I had been dating for twelve months, but we kept it low-key due to my relationship with Graham. Of course, he was aware we saw each other, but he was naïve and believed it was nothing more than casual.

  But I knew what I wanted.

  I wanted Chloe.

  Longing for her kept me awake at night.

  A knock sounded at the door and pulled me from my thoughts.

  I glanced up and summoned Martha, my office manager, into my office with a casual flick of the hand.

  “Sir, I’m sorry to interrupt,” Martha apologized, her shoulders taut and fingers fidgeting wildly at her sides.

  After all these years, she still referred to me as sir.

  “What is it, Martha? Please, take a seat,” I offered and rounded my desk to pull out a chair. A simple action, an attempt to relieve the awkwardness of whatever brought her here.

  Martha nodded, accepted my offer, and took a seat on the edge of the chair, in flight position, her eyes were marking out a quick escape route.

  “Relax, Martha. Whatever you need, I don’t bite.” I grinned at her, and she sank further into the chair.

  As I leaned against the edge of my desk, my hands relaxed in my pockets, and I waited patiently for her to speak.

  “Sir, Christmas is only a month away. It’s a busy time of the year as you are aware, and the phone is ringing off the hook.”

  My brows pulled together, confused at her statement.

  Every property owner raced the clock to finalize sales and transfers before the holidays. It was always hectic up until the week before Christmas.

  “Okay,” I answered hesitantly, unsure where she was going with this.

  Martha was in her mid-fifties, a brilliant office manager, and had been with me since I moved to the Hinterlands and started my own property development company. She is my go-to person for all administrative requests and my sounding board for all our new business acquisitions.

  Martha’s late husband was a guru in Australia’s property market, and she knew the ins and outs of this industry as much as I did.

  Awkward conversation is not something we were accustomed to.

  “What do you need from me, Martha? Should we hire a temp to get us through the next few weeks?”

  Our receptionist was on maternity leave, and Martha convinced me she was capable of handling the workload. Her management position was a casual ten hours a week, but she always made herself fully available to me.

  When our contract clerk left suddenly last week because her husband took an interstate transfer, I considered outsourcing to a remote work-from-home agency. Moving away from the brick-and-mortar business model had been a goal of mine for some time now, to enable me to conduct business from anywhere.

  “No, sir. A temp won’t be necessary.”

  I wait, unsure what she needs from me.

  Managing the accounts, contracts, and reception was a full-time job for Martha. I was apprehensive at first to have her take over the reception duties, but now she’s doing it all.

  Martha hesitated a moment more, her glance directed at the floor in front of her. “I need you to have your wife, err… your estranged wife…” she corrected, “… contact you directly and stop calling the office.”

  Shit. Not what I need right now.

  Amanda wouldn’t usually call the office unless it was urgent. Personal matters were to be addressed at home. Admittedly, separate houses in different locations made it more difficult. I had

  avoided her calls over the past few weeks, which had done little to help the situation.

  “Or perhaps if you answered any one of her many calls, she might stop interrupting me at work. With it only being the two of us now, I don’t have time for unnecessary interruptions.”

  I couldn’t agree more.

  “Martha, I’m sorry. I had no idea.” I raked my hands through my coarse hair in frustration.

  “Repeatedly,” she added with an eye roll.

  All I had to offer was an apology. I attempted to smooth things over with Martha and promised there would be no more calls. Now I’d have to call Amanda.

  “She’s frustrated you won’t answer or return her calls. Please, will you contact her?” Martha stood and moved toward the door before she turned. “I’ve no idea what happened, but this break of yours has gone on too long. It’s been almost a year.” Martha exited the office and left me to dwell on my current circumstances.

  Fuck it all to hell.

  I sat and stared at the door long after she walked out and closed the door behind her. I was at a loss for words.

  I loved my wife, but my heart craved another. I had always been in love with Chloe. Amanda sensed it too. It had been a popular topic of discussion over the years. She often complained of my lack of emotional presence in our relationship. As the years wore on, my secret yearning for a love I once had never lessened.

  It was inevitable Amanda would tire of the charade.

  Of course, I wanted to be a better husband. But how?

  My heart was elsewhere. And I’d never lied about my past with Chloe.

  I wish I could let it go, God knows I’ve attempted to, but Chloe changed my life. She imprinted herself into my soul. Maybe if we’d had closure, things would have been different.

  Who knows? Maybe they wouldn’t.

  Ten months ago, Amanda moved out, and we hadn’t been intimate for months before then. I had come home to a handwritten note, and half the belongings within the house were gone. I’d been so distracted, I never expected it.

  Her note was simple and to the point.

  Will,

  Until you put to bed what keeps you awake at night, I’m done. Find her, do what you need, and if you decide I’m still the one for you, I’ll be at my mother’s holiday house.

  Amanda xx

  The note fucking gutted me and highlighted what an ass I had been, but I couldn’t bring myself to make any attempt to fix it. Not until I came face to face with what my heart desired the most.

  Chloe.

  I laid awake at night longing to speak with her.

  If only she would answer my calls.

  Chapter Two

  A Forever Kind of Love

  “The best love is the kind that awakens the soul; that makes us reach for more; that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds.” ~ Unknown

  CHLOE
/>   Ten Years Ago

  Will was somewhat of a local celebrity in certain circles—people either wanted to be him or feared him. Others simply admired him. He was the town’s football star, known for his on-field strength and aggression. If a fight broke out in a game, Will would always be at the center of it. Yet Monday through Friday, he rocked his business suits and screamed success.

  Will navigated his tough-guy reputation incredibly well, although God help anyone who messed with his loved ones.

  Today was the Annual Race Day sponsored by the company he and my father worked for, Expansion Realty. The crowd was filled with people from all circles of our lives—family, friends, work colleagues, football friends, and clients. Today was a semi-professional day for both of us. Tonight, we would let loose and celebrate a successful day with our friends at home.

  We made our way from the bar area across the grassy hill, closer to trackside.

  Dressed in dark denim jeans and his signature long sleeve, pin-striped, button-up dress shirt, Will was cover model material. With his cuffs folded back and the fabric molded perfectly around his broad frame, women swooned at the sight of him.

  But he belonged to me. At his side, I felt invincible.

  The buzzer sounded, gates opened, and the familiar melody of hooves galloping up the hard dirt track filled the air. The adrenaline pumped through the crowd, the sun shone high, and the wind swirled beneath the skirt of my dress and expanded it to dangerously high levels.

  Cheering and drunken curses from those who had likely wagered more than they made in a week, drifted across the track, which added to the excitement of the race. Fists pumped the air, and words of encouragement were shouted as onlookers pushed their favorite horse across the finish line. I watched in amusement as I stood, beer in hand, wrapped in the arms of a man I was born to love.