Second Chance Love Read online

  Second Chance Love

  A Grand Bay Series: Book One

  By Kelsey MacBride

  Contents

  Book Description

  AVAILABLE TITLES BY KELSEY MACBRIDE

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Book Description

  If you would like to be notified about sales and new book releases, be sure to sign up for my free newsletter at the following link: http://kelseymacbride.com/newsletter-signup

  Second Chance Love is Book #1 of 2 Christian Romance books and offers a Preview of the Grand Bay Story. The story begins with Tracy Moore’s dilemma of how to survive her sister’s wedding while maintaining her distance from her ex-fiancé Paul Myers. To complicate matters further, she has been chosen as the maid of honor and Paul is the best man. Toss the two reluctant ex’s together on a private jetliner, a small tropical island, and see how a tragic accident puts their past love for each other to the test. This story highlights Tracy’s journey to resolve her fears of commitment, her ability to share her deepest feelings with her ex-fiancé, her life and death accident, and her ability to trust God with her deepest fears of failure.

  *This is a Preview and not a stand-alone novel*

  In this first book, Tracy Moore comes to grip with the dreadful news that she must face her ex-fiancé Paul at her sister Crystal’s wedding. But going through the motions of her sister’s wedding puts her willpower to the test as awkward feelings from her disastrous wedding ceremony four years prior come back to haunt her. Stuck with Paul for several days on a beautiful tropical island 1200 miles from the southeast coast of the African continent, Tracy struggles to come to terms with her old feelings for her ex-fiancé while doubts about her current relationship with her boyfriend Joseph creep to the surface. But fate puts her current relationship to the test when she and Paul are injured in a disastrous car accident and Paul must abandon Tracy with her critical injuries and find help.

  Paul Myers is the best man for his brother Kenneth’s wedding. And even though he parted ways with Tracy four years ago, he still suffers from the sting of rejection after Tracy walked from their wedding ceremony. But when he discovers he must interact with his ex-fiancé in an intimate tropical trip, he’s not sure he can suppress his strong feelings of love for her. When an unfortunate accident causes them to become stranded on a deserted part of the island, Paul’s love for Tracy is put to the test. Can he find life-saving help for Tracy in time so they can have a second chance at love? Can he convince Tracy to set aside her fears of commitment? Or will Paul fail to find a rescue team and lose the love of his life? Find out what happens in this exciting story of extreme courage and commitment.

  AVAILABLE TITLES BY KELSEY MACBRIDE

  The Colorado Springs Series

  Dreams of Gold – Book 1

  Heart of a Champion – Book 2

  The Hawaii Love Series

  Courageous Love

  Perfect Love

  Inspiration Point Series

  Free to Love

  Unforgettable Love

  Glen Ellen Series

  Fall From Grace

  Saving Grace

  Bradley Sister Series

  Choices of the Heart: Lauren’s story (Free)

  Desires of the Heart: Megan’s story

  Passions of the Heart: Tiffany’s story

  Redemption of the Heart: Katie’s story

  Please visit www.KelseyMacBride.com for release dates of future books and to find out how to join my community of followers.

  Copyright © 2016 by Kelsey MacBride

  All rights reserved.

  Cover design by Jimmy Gibbs.

  Book design by Kelsey MacBride

  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 permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Kelsey MacBride

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Printing: April 2016

  New Prosperity Publishing, Inc.

  ASIN-

  Chapter 1

  She knew it was a curse. What else could it be? A punishment from God for what happened in the past? A sick joke designed to teach her an important lesson about commitment? Tracy shook her head as she tried to clear the negative thoughts from her mind. She knew it was Satan trying to mess with her head. But no matter how much Tracy tried, she couldn’t block thoughts of the impending wedding as they raced around in her mind. It was as if someone had switched on a video player in her head and left it on to loop continuously.

  While the novel idea of a wedding in a tropical paradise sounded like every woman’s dream, she knew it was going to torture her for the rest of her unwed days. As much as Tracy dreaded going through the motions of her older sister’s wedding, she had no choice but to swallow her pride and put on a happy face for Courtney’s sake. It wasn’t because she wasn’t truly happy that Courtney had found Kenneth, the man of her dreams. It was because of him.

  Tracy Moore tried to ignore her girlfriend’s babbling as they navigated down the busy Newport Beach sidewalk, passing boutiques designed to cater to those with a lavish lifestyle. She had more important things to think about, like how she was going to navigate the wedding without confronting him.

  As soon as they passed the locally owned upscale jewelry store, they saw the wedding boutique down to the right. Tracy’s thoughts were interrupted by her longtime friend Julie, who rattled on about the island paradise wedding and how she couldn’t wait to escape the busy city and enjoy some tropical island air.

  “Are you even listening to me?” Julie asked, shoving her elbow gently in Tracy’s arm.

  “What? Of course,” Tracy drew her attention back to their discussion. “You were talking about the island air and how you can’t wait to get away from the city.

  “That’s right. Even this wedding is going to top Mark and Sharon’s in San Diego. Who knew you could get married in an animal sanctuary?”

  The memory brought a smile to Tracy’s lips. Her friend was right. Hearing the occasional roar of a lion during their friend’s ceremony definitely ranked at the top of the most unusual weddings she had attended. But there was no doubt in her mind that her sister Courtney’s upcoming wedding was going to be epic. How could you top a wedding where the bridal party received an all-expense paid trip to Mauritius, a remote island in Africa with sapphire waters and powder white beaches?

  Julie continued babbling as Tracy lost herself in thought. The wedding was only weeks away, and even though Mauritius sounded like the perfect paradise, a part of her wished her sister had never gotten together with Kenneth. It wasn’t because she wasn’t sentimental or fantasized about fairy tale weddings like other women. She used to love weddings. But after the disaster four years before, it had taken a long time to heal before she could start enjoying them and be happy for the bride and groom.

  But her sister’s wedding was different. And not in a goo
d way.

  “Oh, here it is,” Julie said, grabbing Tracy by the arm and pulling her into the store.

  Fairytales was located on the trendy side of Newport Beach on the north end of Avocado Avenue. Nestled between a gourmet coffee shop and a luxury handbag store, the specialty bridal boutique attracted high- end customers from Long Beach to Laguna. Cristall, the owner, prided herself in two things: Making dreams come true for the little girl inside every woman, and, the fact that her name was the same as a very expensive champagne.

  “Cristall with two L’s,” she instructed as she placed two fingers to her lip. She shooed the vendor in front of her away and turned her attention back to the bride-to-be. Cristall cocked her head to one side and frowned. “Nope, I don’t like. Turn.”

  Cristall watched as a young woman stood ramrod straight on a raised round pedestal. Her white beaded dress flowed loosely to the ground as the pedestal turned.

  “She looks like a cheap cake topper,” said Cristall as she snapped her fingers in a wave of dismissed annoyance. She turned to go get another dress and almost ran into Tracy.

  “Oh, excuse me, dear.” Cristall couldn’t count the number of times she used that term of endearment for her rich customers. She didn’t know if the woman standing in front of her had money. But she knew the wedding party the young woman was in was paying top dollar for some very expensive dresses. In her line of business, pandering was a necessity.

  “No, excuse me,” said Tracy as she watched all four feet, six inches of Cristall disappear into the back room. Julie came up beside Tracy, mouth open wide as she took it all in.

  The dresses hanging in the storefront window were on display for the elite of Newport Beach to see. And although they were quite magnificent, they were nothing compared to the masterpieces inside the store. Julie had never been to Fairytale’s before and was in awe of the glamour and glitz. The walls were covered in white taffeta and the ceiling was strung with white iridescent pearls. The white rug looked deep enough to swim in and white overstuffed chairs and settees were positioned in various corners of the store. The entire venue was literally dripping white.

  “Wow,” Julie said, looking around at the opulence. “I feel like I died and went to marshmallow heaven.”

  Tracy rolled her eyes and laughed. “Yeah, I know. That’s how I felt the first time ...” She let her voice trail off, trying not to allow her mind to wander back to that beautiful and painful moment. She stopped short as the lump found its way to her throat and turned to see if Julie noticed, but she had continued walking, like a child drawn to an ice cream truck.

  “I mean really,” Julie said. “Have you ever seen anything like this before? This is the most amazing place. I can’t believe Courtney and Kenneth can afford this place. I mean, I’ve heard of Fairytales, and fairytales of course, but I’ve never actually been in one.” Julie laughed at her own joke.

  “Get it?” she turned and smiled her starry smile. “I’ve never actually been in a fairytale before! That’s funny. They should use that as their tagline.” Before Tracy could respond, Julie took off again, rifling through the decadent dresses and accessories lining the walls of the boutique.

  Tracy laughed at Julie’s clever wit, even though her nerves were rattled. She was glad to have her company. It had been four years since Tracy had been in Fairytales, and the memories were too overwhelming for her to handle on her own. Julie was a good distraction.

  The early afternoon sun illuminated the taffeta in just the right way that it appeared to billow, even though there wasn’t a breeze in the shop. Tracy walked slowly through the shop and toward a sitting area designed for guests. She knew better than to look for a sales counter or staff member. In Fairytales, they came to you. All you had to do was sit down, put your feet up and wait for an employee to pamper you. The lump in her throat got larger as Tracy neared the sitting area. Four years had changed Tracy a lot. But it had done little to dim the beauty of Fairytales.

  Tracy eyed a spot on a plush white armchair and made a beeline toward it, hoping to escape the staff’s attention. But that’s when she heard the dreaded words over the intercom.

  “Moore-Myers party.”

  The words sent a chill down Tracy’s spine, and she felt like someone had punched her in the gut. The lump that had been lodged in her throat disappeared and all the air came rushing out of her. Her knees began to buckle, and she made her way quickly to the chair, hoping no one in the store noticed her reaction.

  Cristall appeared out of nowhere holding an emerald green dress across her arms in front of Tracy. “Moore-Myers party, right?”

  Hearing the name out loud was worse than Tracy had feared. She had tried to prepare herself for it, but even with months of preparation, the reality was still hard.

  “Dear? You are with the Moore-Myers party, right?” Cristall furrowed her brows. “You were the one the bride called about last week, right? You are the maid of honor, yes? I never forget a face and especially never forget such a pretty one.”

  Tracy smiled weakly, hoping that was all Cristall remembered. Courtney was getting married in a week and had chosen Fairytales for her gown and all the bridesmaids’ dresses. Tracy had done her best to avoid accompanying Courtney to any of the fittings but had finally been forced to make an appearance last week for the final fitting. The bridesmaids’ dresses had been ordered and now they needed to be adjusted. The dresses had to be ready in four days, in time for the entire party to fly from California to Mauritius.

  Courtney had always been close to Tracy, and under ordinary circumstances, Tracy would have been more involved in the wedding. But Courtney was marrying Kenneth Myers.

  “Wait,” Cristall hung the dress on a rolling rack she had brought with her. “Wait a moment.” Her finger pressed against her lip.

  Tracy’s heart sank. She knew the melodramatic owner had finally made the connection. The names, the grooms, the family resemblance. It was only a matter of time before she figured it out.

  “Moore-Myers ...” Cristall said slowly. “You are a Moore too. You were here three, no wait, four, yes four years ago.” Cristall’s eyes wandered above Tracy’s head as she tried to recall the details. Then it happened. All the pieces fell into place, and her eyes flew wide open.

  “Oh my! You were marrying a Myers, too! And now ... Wait.” Cristall could hardly contain herself. Tracy wasn’t sure if she was in shock or awe of the situation. “Your sister is marrying a Myers! Oh, it can’t be, it isn’t ... please tell me it’s not the same man?”

  Chapter 2

  Cristall had forgotten all about the dress and found herself sitting in the chair across from Tracy, mouth open, waiting for a response.

  “I had prayed this would be easier,” Tracy said to herself. “But now that it’s happening ... it is way harder than I thought. And the wedding hasn’t even happened yet.”

  She took a deep breath and prayed that God would help her choose kind words to explain the situation to this weird, caddy little woman.

  “Yes, I’m the same Moore. I’m Tracy, Courtney’s little sister.” Tracy watched as Cristall snapped her fingers as if to say, yes, I knew it!

  “And I was here four years ago, along with my fiancé, Paul Myers.” Saying his name was still difficult. But saying it in Fairytales was almost impossible.

  “That was it!” Cristall smiled broadly as if she had won some sort of great memory award.

  “And now my sister is marrying Paul’s brother, Kenneth,” Tracy said, hopeful that would satisfy this woman’s curiosity and end the conversation.

  “Yeah, but hopefully Courtney will actually follow through with the wedding.” Julie came over just in time to add her own little tidbit of information.

  Tracy rolled her eyes and sunk deeper into her chair. The memories of that awful moment came flooding back. She had loved Paul so much and had known from the moment she met him that he was the one. When he asked her to marry him, she was certain that they would live happily ever after. And Fai
rytales was the perfect place to begin that journey.

  But as the day got closer and the details of the wedding were coming together, Tracy began to experience cold feet. She thought it was just nerves. She talked to her friend Michelle about it and prayed to God to help her get over her anxiety. She even turned to her father for support. Randall Moore had succeeded at everything in life. He had built several businesses up and sold them for millions. He had bought and trained prize-winning race horses. But marriage was something he was not good at. After being married to Tracy and Courtney’s mother for fifteen years, Randall decided that once was enough.

  “But that was me. You are different and Paul is different. Just because me and your mom couldn’t make it work doesn’t mean you won’t.” Randall had tried to comfort away Tracy’s worries. But they persisted.

  Even her mother tried to calm her jangled nerves as the big day approached. However, having been married and divorced three times, Tracy’s mother was the last person that should have been advising Tracy.

  As the day drew near, Tracy began to worry about all the expenses. She was happy living a simple life as a kindergarten teacher, much to her family’s disappointment. They liked living the high life. Against her wishes, Tracy’s family had already spent thousands upon thousands of dollars on the venue, the dresses, the reception and Paul’s family had booked them a lavish honeymoon in Hawaii. The guilt of throwing all of that away was too much to bear. Despite the fact that Tracy was deathly afraid to fail at marriage, she was more fearful of upsetting everyone else. So she plunged forward.

  Until it came time to say the words. It was at that moment, the moment the minister asked her if she took Paul to be her husband; it was at that very moment, in a $15,000 wedding dress in front of two hundred of their closest friends and family members that Tracy’s heart was convicted. It was at that very moment, with the love of her life standing in front of her and his hand in hers that she succumbed to the fear.