Second Chance Mess (Bad News Billionaires #1) - Lucia Jordan Page 0,33

to listen to you now. Trust me, I’ve heard everything she’s said to Kate tonight, and she thinks you lied to her.”

“I didn’t lie; I just didn’t tell her everything because I knew how much it would upset her.”

“Yeah, man, I get it. But to women, it’s the same thing. Not telling them stuff is the same as lying. Brooke thinks you guys are right back to square one now.”

“Ugh!” I said as I ran my fingers through my hair and paced back and forth in front of Kate’s apartment. “What am I supposed to do then?”

“I’m not expert on this kind of thing,” Nick said. “But my guess would be to just give her some time before trying to talk about it.”

I thanked Nick for coming out and gave him my number. I asked him to text me if anything happened to Brooke that she might need me for.

Brooke was refusing to see me or talk to me and was ignoring all of my messages again. And this time, it didn’t make me angry; it scared me.

As I got into my car and drove away, the first snowfall of the season started. I drove all the way to my mountainside house tonight because I needed the time there to think and get my head straight. I realized now that I loved her.

I loved Brooke and wasn’t going to let her go.

I had to come up with something that would get her back, and this time, for good.

When I got home, I lit another bonfire and sat outside beneath the light snowfall. I listened to the tiny sizzle that some of the snowflakes made as they hit the flames. I thought about the night that Brooke and I spent out here that started with us looking at the stars and ended with us feeling like we were a part of them. That’s when I got the idea.

I walked into my bedroom and looked up at the curved glass skylight that Max had come up with. This was it. This was what I would do to prove to Brook how much I loved her and listened to her and wanted to be with her more than anything else. I immediately called Max to enlist his help to execute my plan.

“Max,” I said as soon as he picked up the phone. “I have the most amazing idea to win Brooke back, and I need your help.”

“She’s gone again?” Max asked sleepily; I must have woken him from a nap.

“Yeah, she saw the pictures from the photo shoot. The photographer had emailed me all the proofs, and Brooke must have been using my computer and saw them when they came through.”

“Oh damn,” Max replied. “I told you that you should have—”

“Yeah, I know,” I said as I cut him off. “You were right again. But it’s already done. She’s not talking to me again, and Kate won’t let me in to see her. But Max, I know that I love her.”

Something about saying the words aloud to him over the phone made it feel a million times more real to me.

“I love her, Max. I love Brooke, and I need to get her back for good this time.”

“All right, dude, I’m ready for it. What do you need me to do?”

“Thanks, Max,” I said. “Can you come over now? I think I need to show you my idea in person. Oh, and can you bring your doodles from our meeting the other day?”

“On my way.”

When Max got here, I had already laid out some sketches with what I envisioned in my mind. I pulled out the notes I had taken from the day that Max, Brooke, and I were all brainstorming about the Spokane project. Max added his doodles to the pile, and I stepped back and motioned my hand toward the collection of concepts that sprawled out on the papers in front of us.

“This is what I want to do,” I said with a wide grin. “This is my idea.”

“I’m not sure I’m following you this time,” Max said. “You want to win Brooke back with all of our meeting notes?”

“No,” I laughed. “I want to build a house for her.”

“You’re serious?” Matt smiled. “A whole house?”

“Yep. But not just a house; I want it to be the house of her dreams. A single converted container tiny home that incorporates all of the things that she told us she loves—a little utopia built just for her so that she knows I hear