“No, it’s not every day you get your heart back.” She pulled on her winter jacket. “We’ve got some catching up to do. But we have plenty of time for it—I have the next eight weeks off.”

“What?”

“I’m changing jobs.”

“But I saw the announcement that you made partner.”

“Yes, but then I was offered a job as Associate General Counsel at Popflicks, and I can build my own team—well, my own team of two reports. Most importantly, it should be a better lifestyle. So, I took it.”

“Are you sure? You’ve worked so hard for partner. Even though I was opposed to the hours and the demands, I want you to be happy.” He turned and held both her hands. “Truly. I’ve had some good talks with my mom and the rest of my family about this, although they were completely on your side.”

She laced her fingers through his. “You weren’t being unreasonable. They didn’t see me when I looked like shit, as you so eloquently put it. You made me question my choices, and that’s a good thing. And you made me think about what I really want. It gave me the courage to accept this job offer.” She smiled.

He opened the front door and then asked, “And Tim? Did you and he try to make a go of it?”

“No. There was a problem I hadn’t foreseen.”

“Which was?”

“He’s not you.”

Jake kissed her again hard on the lips. They held hands and raced down the building stairs.

As Jake opened the foyer door, Audrey was surprised to see an Amazon package on the table in the foyer. She started to tell him that she’d hated seeing the ubiquitous Amazon packages after they’d broken up because they reminded her of him when she saw her name handwritten on the box. She looked at him quizzically.

She pulled the tape off the package and opened it. A pink and white book was nestled inside. She looked at the title—Second Chances—and then read the packing slip:

Dear Audrey,

The last two weeks have been HELL without you. I made a HUGE mistake. I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me. Can you forgive me? Can I have a second chance?

And here’s a Mark Twain quote for us: “When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain.” But I’m hooked, heart and brain.

Jake

He burst into an explanation: “I wasn’t sure if you’d take me back. After I had breakfast with my mom, I ran over to Barnes & Noble to buy it. I decided I’d better put Plan B into action in the meantime, in case you didn’t take me back on my first approach.”

“What was Plan B?”