Book 10.5 Chance for Love, Novella
Billionaire Jared James has everything a man could ever want except for the one thing money can’t buy…
After forty days holed up in his house on Gansett Island, nursing a broken heart, Jared James decides enough is enough.
Determined to snap out of the funk he slipped into after his girlfriend refused his marriage proposal, Jared organizes a party for the friends who’ve seen him through the worst of his heartache.
Now if only he could stop thinking about the love of his life and how he will survive the rest of his days without her…
She was Elisabeth all her life until Jared made her his Lizzie…
Elisabeth “Lizzie” Sutter knows she has no business chasing Jared after she turned down his lovely, heartfelt marriage proposal in a moment of sheer panic.
It didn’t take long for her to realize how foolish she’d been.
Now all she can do is hope it’s not too late to set things right with the one man she can’t live without…
Main Characters:
*Jared James, Wall Street billionaire, landlord of David Lawrence, friend and former classmate of Jenny Wilks.
*Elisabeth “Lizzie” Sutter, runs homeless shelter in NYC, ex-girlfriend of Jared James.
*Indicates recurring throughout the series
Supporting Characters:
*Dr. David Lawrence, living with Daisy Babson in TIME FOR LOVE.
*Daisy Babson, living with Dr. David Lawrence in TIME FOR LOVE.
*Jenny Wilks, engaged to Alex Martinez in MEANT FOR LOVE.
*Alex Martinez, engaged to Jenny Wilks in MEANT FOR LOVE.
*Toby Barton, deceased fiancé of Jenny Wilks.
*Doro Chase, realtor.
Marcy, personal assistant to Jared James.
*Ned Saunders, engaged to Francine Chester in FALLING FOR LOVE.
*Hope Russell, nurse hired to care for Marion Martinez in MEANT FOR LOVE, mother of Ethan Russell.
*Marion Martinez, owner of Martinez Lawn & Garden, mother of Alex and Paul, widow of George Martinez.
*Paul Martinez, co-owner of Martinez Lawn & Garden, member of Gansett Town Council.
*Victoria Stevens, involved with Shannon O’Grady in TIME FOR LOVE.
*Shannon O’Grady, involved with Victoria Stevens in TIME FOR LOVE.
*Sydney Donovan, married to Luke Harris in SEASON FOR LOVE.
Melanie, sister of Elisabeth Sutter.
*Judge Frank McCarthy, grandfather of Holden Newsome in SEASON FOR LOVE.
Forty days after Lizzie turned down his proposal, Jared James woke up ready to return to the land of the living.
He takes a run on the beach and decides it’s time to host a cookout with friends at his oceanfront home.
He invites Dr. David Lawrence, his friend and tenant, and David’s live-in girlfriend, Daisy Babson.
He tells David to invite others, and David asks Jenny Wilks and her fiancé, Alex Martinez.
On his way to the grocery store, Jared stops at an open house at the Chesterfield Estate.
As he walks through the grounds, he thinks it would make a great location for Jenny and Alex’s wedding.
They’ve been having trouble securing a venue for their wedding.
Maybe it’s outrageous to spend so much money on friends, but Jared sees it as a good business opportunity.
Elisabeth Sutter feels foolish as she travels by ferry to Gansett.
She made a big mistake by seeming to hesitate when Jared proposed.
She hates that she hurt him and caused them both pain.
It had taken six weeks of daily visits to Jared’s office before his personal assistant had finally told her where he was.
Elisabeth hadn’t known about his house on Gansett.
There were many things she didn’t know about him after a year together, but the one thing she knew for certain was that she loved him.
After the final disastrous evening they’d spent together, she’d tried to talk herself out of loving him. Not loving him was easier, cleaner, simpler. Their lifestyles are as diametrically different as two lives could be. She’s low-budget, low-key, low-maintenance. He’s all cash, dash and flash.
And she loves him.
By now, he probably hates her and has forgotten all the reasons why he once wanted to marry her.
She runs a homeless shelter, and he’s a Wall Street tycoon.
How could they make this work? Her only goal is to make sure he knows she regrets the negative headshake at his proposal.
She can’t let him think she doesn’t love him.
Elisabeth takes a cab from the ferry landing and tells the driver that she’s come to see a friend. She hopes the friend will be happy to see her. Then she shares the whole story, and the man says, “Well, now, I can see why ya think he might not be happy ta see ya after all that.”
His words deflate the tiny bit of optimism she’s carried with her on this fool’s errand. But she’s determined to at least try to make things right with Jared. The kindly driver, Ned Saunders, gives her his card with a number to call if she needs another ride.
When she arrives at Jared’s, she follows the sound of music and voices to the backyard to find Jared in the pool with two beautiful, blonde women in bikinis. He doesn’t seem to be as devastated as she is. She leaves before he sees her and calls Ned for a ride back to town.
David and Alex are arriving at Jared’s after David checked on Alex’s mom, Marion, who’s had a tough day with her dementia.
They sent Daisy and Jenny ahead to help Jared set up.
As they pull up to the house, David notices a woman waiting by the mailbox.
As he opens the window, he sees that she’s crying.
She looks familiar to David, who recognizes her from photos as Jared’s Lizzie.
David tells her the blonde women are his girlfriend and Alex’s fiancée and says Jared would love to see her, that he’s been very sad without her.
He talks Lizzie into canceling her cab and coming up to the house with them.
“Hey!” Jared says from the pool when he sees them coming. “You made it. Don’t you own a bathing suit, Doctor David?”
“In fact, I do, but I found a friend of yours on the way in.” Jared’s gaze shifts from David to Lizzie, who stands between him and Alex. Along with the shock that registers on Jared’s face, David also sees love and longing and knows he’s done the right thing by persuading her to come talk to Jared.
“Lizzie…” Jared says when he recovers the ability to speak.
“Hello, Jared.”
Surprised to see Lizzie here, Jared stumbles through introductions.
He invites Lizzie to stay for dinner with them.
They have a fun evening, especially after Victoria, Shannon and Paul join them.
As everyone prepares to leave, Jared tells Alex and Jenny that he may have found a place for their wedding.
They’ve considered the Chesterfield Estate, but they’ve heard it’s being sold to a new owner.
The new owner is Jared, and it’s all theirs for the wedding.
They’re shocked and overwhelmed by his generosity.
When they’re finally alone, Lizzie tells Jared how much she missed him and how she never meant to hurt him or turn down his proposal. She never actually said no.
“You didn’t mean to turn me down? Then why’d you say no?”
“I didn’t intend to. I shook my head because it was happening too fast, and I couldn’t process it. But I never actually said no.”
“Lizzie… Yes, you did.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“So, what you’re saying is you didn’t actually turn down my proposal?”
“I didn’t turn down your proposal.”
He tilts his head like he’s trying to get a read on her, the gesture so familiar and so totally him that she can’t stop herself from placing her hands on his face.
His eyes close as he releases another deep breath that shudders through his big body. “Don’t do this to me, Lizzie. I can’t handle it. You broke me. You have no idea…”
“I think I do. You broke me when you wouldn’t take my calls or respond to my texts. I couldn’t sleep or eat. I couldn’t find you. No one would tell me where you were. I didn’t even know you owned a place out here.”
“You couldn’t eat?” he asks softly, his gaze filled with concern.
He’s asking whether she’s suffered a setback in her recovery and appreciates that he remembers and cares so much. “Because I was upset, not because of the anorexia. I swear.”
“Thank goodness.” He curls his hands around her wrists and presses his lips into one of her palms. Elisabeth feels the charge of that small connection throughout her entire body.
“How did you find me?”
“I finally wore down Marcy, but you have to promise not to fire her.”
“What do you mean by ‘finally’?”
“I’ve been to your office every day since that night.”
Jared convinces Lizzie to spend the night at his house, although he’s not ready to go back to being together like they once were.
The next morning, Jared tells Lizzie he’s not returning to Wall Street and is staying put on Gansett.
She’s concerned she caused him to make that seismic decision, but he’s tired of it all.
He wants to slow down and not be about work all the time.
Knowing how independent she is, he decides to show her the Chesterfield Estate and discuss his plans.
He wonders if she wants to use her degree in event planning to make The Chesterfield a premier wedding destination.
Jared shows her around the island, including the Oar Bar and McCarthy’s Marina. Lizzie loves everything she sees.
They spend the rest of the day in Jared’s bed making love.
Jared proposes again, and this time, he receives a definitive yes to his question.
The next morning, Jared receives word that his offer to buy the Chesterfield Estate has been accepted.
He tells the agent he needs the purchase completed within two weeks because he doesn’t want to wait any longer than that to marry Lizzie.
Jared moves heaven and earth to have his wedding to Lizzie two weeks later at the Chesterfield with his new Gansett Island friends in attendance.
He’ll never forget the way Lizzie gazes at him with so much love as he carries her up two flights of stairs to the honeymoon suite Sydney put together for them in record time.
“Happy?” she asks him after a long silence.
“I’ve never been happier in my entire life.”
“Neither have I.”
“I’m going to make you happy every day, Lizzie. I promise.”
“I promise the same thing.”