Well, hopefully that warning was obvious enough!

I wanted to share a little outtake from “A Second Chance”. For those of you who have read my contemporary romance know how it ends. But…that wasn’t the first ending! Below is the original ending I wrote for the story.

I ultimately decided to take out the epilogue for two reasons. One, not everyone’s happy ending involves marriage and kids. I wanted this to be a story all could enjoy! Second, I was actually thinking of making this a little “series”, one book for each brother. I’m still on the fence about it, so if you have an opinion one way or another, let me know!

Anyway, as a special thank you to all of you for your support and encouragement during this chaotic year and during publication, I wanted to share this little epilogue that wasn’t in the book. I hope you enjoy it!

Just please note it is unedited! XD

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“A Second Chance” Alternate Epilogue

Five years on and the one gift only rule was still in play. Both of them agreed it made for the best Christmases.

Their second Christmas, Lucian’s gift to Raina had been an engagement ring. As she’d opened the box, he’d gotten down on one knee, asking her to be his wife.

To date, it was Raina’s favorite gift. Just like this year was going to be Lucian’s favorite; Raina was certain of it. She sat on the couch as she heard him thump down the stairs. To draw it out, she had sent him on a scavenger hunt. He ran from room to room, searching for the clues. They were little pieces of paper that would fit together like a jigsaw puzzle for a final clue that would lead him to the gift.

In hindsight, she should’ve made it less complicated, but the game seemed to be going well.

“No more scavenger hunts!” he called out, making her laugh.

“Oh, come on, Luce! I promise it’ll be worth your while!” she shouted back to him encouragingly. He only had a couple more clues left; he could do it. Just a few more hints, and she would be able to see his reaction.

Not to toot her own horn, but…toot toot!

At that thought, Lucian came in and gave a deep sigh. “I’m never going to figure this out.” He pouted. “Come on, babe.”

Giggling, she asked, “Which clue are you on?”.

“The one that was on the back of all the others.”

Raina thought for a moment before she got up and read the clue. “Come on, Luce. This is easy. The final clue is hidden in the place you hate to go…”

He mumbled something about the laundry room.

“There ya go!” She gave his butt a playful slap as he moved towards the laundry room.

When he was out of the room, she made sure that his gift was still in her back pocket. Yep, best gift ever.

“Raina? This doesn’t make sense,” he whined as he returned to her, holding a small piece of paper. “Is this another clue?”

Raina nodded.

Sighing, Lucian pulled her close. “You are so infuriating, woman, you know that?”

“You know you love me for it,” she said lovingly as she leaned up to kiss him. “So how about you figure out that last clue so you can get your gift, and if you want…I can give you another type of gift?” She gave him a playful wink.

He turned his attention to the paper. “All right, it says, ‘If your present you want to see, you must first get down on one knee. With hands cradled, just like so, you will find it. You’ll just know.’” Lucian paused for a second. “I don’t get it.”

Raina rolled her eyes. “Let’s take this one line at a time. What’s the first line?”

“‘If your present you want to see.’”

“So…if you want your present, you have to follow the directions.” She giggled, giving him a playful shove.

He then read the next line. “‘You must first get down on one knee.’” He knelt in front of her.

Raina’s heart started to pound.

“‘With hands cradled, just like so…’”

Raina reached down and moved his hands into a cradling position up in the air.

Confused, he read over the last line. “‘You will find it. You’ll just know.’” Lucian stayed still for a moment, his hands still held up, down on one knee. He looked around for a second and then frowned. “I still don’t get it.”

“Lucian!” she groaned and hung her head. “The headlines are going to read, ‘Lucian Pereli mocked to death by his wife because he couldn’t take a hint!’” She then let out a lighthearted laugh and took his hands, guiding them to her abdomen. She gave his hands a little squeeze as Lucian’s annoyance melted away into shock.

He glanced up at Raina for a second and then back to her stomach. “Raina…are you?”

Raina reached in her back pocket. “Merry Christmas,” she murmured as she pulled the positive pregnancy test out of her back pocket.

Lucian’s face lit up as he jumped to his feet and wrapped his arms around Raina, going in for a kiss. Unfortunately, the speed with which he stood caught Raina off-guard, making her tumble to the floor. “Luce!” she shouted in surprise as she fell.

“Oh, god! Raina, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, baby,” he said as he pushed the hair from her face, giving her a deep kiss. After a moment, he pulled away with a huge grin on his face and looked down at her stomach. “I’m sorry to you too, baby.” He lifted up Raina’s shirt and laid a soft kiss on her belly. Tears filled Lucian’s eyes. “I can’t believe I’m going to be a dad. Raina, you’re going to be a mom! I love you, Raina. I love you, so much. And I will love our baby with everything I have.”

“I know you will, Lucian. I know.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close as they both cried tears of joy.

Their relationship had ups and downs, days of pure joy and pure frustration, but they worked for their little slice of happiness. And now this was just another piece of that sweet pie.