Meant for Me

2. Claire

Chapter 2

Claire

Four Months Later

“How are things going with Cooper?” Melissa asked, lifting a curious brow when I peered over at her through the vines.

Her wavy, auburn hair was pulled back off her face showing off the glow to her cheeks. She rubbed her swollen belly soothingly, which in a couple of months would be a set of twin boys. She had on her favorite yellow maternity sundress which only added to her motherly glow.

Every day, first thing in the morning, we walked together through the main vineyard to inspect the grapes. It was always so peaceful to hear the birds sing and smell the richness of the land. When I needed to think or get away from life, this was where I retreated to. I always had, even when I was a little girl.

Melissa used to be the wife of my older brother, Daniel, and also a high school biology teacher. Now she was my business partner and friend. Even though mine and Daniel’s family were in California, he moved to North Carolina to go to college and decided he wanted to stay there, pursuing his career as a financial advisor to the elite of Charlotte. They were married for two years until Melissa caught him cheating on her. Soon after that they got divorced, and then things went completely downhill.

When my mother died about a year and a half ago, she left the whole estate and the vineyards to me, but also left Melissa the little Tuscan villa we had on the other side of our land along with the vineyards on that property. Needless to say, my brother didn’t like that and thought he deserved the inheritance, especially, since Melissa wasn’t family. He failed to realize that she was more family to us than him. Long story short, he made some bad business decisions and tried to steal the vineyards out from under me. When he got caught, he went off the deep end and kidn*pped Melissa in a desperate attempt to get her back. He almost had her over the border to Canada when her cousin Mason, who happened to be a Detective Chief Inspector and also an ex-lover of mine, had tracked them down.

Mason ...

Just thinking about him made me angry all over again. I honestly thought he would come to his senses and show up on my doorstep one day, but he never did. Not that I was God’s gift to men or anything, but after the night we shared I felt a connection to him and I knew he did, too. What I didn’t expect was for him to completely disappear out of my life. In fact, I haven’t spoken to him since I dropped him off at the airport. The closest I had come to hearing his voice was when he called Melissa a couple of months ago to tell her Daniel was out of prison, and a free man.

He had hardly spent any time behind bars for what he did to Melissa and to the clients he stole money from. I guess that was the way the world worked these days. It seemed like anyone could get away with anything and not have to be punished for it. My brother tried to contact me soon after I found out he was out of prison, but I told him I no longer had a brother. It was harsh, but I honestly doubted he even cared. Melissa was my family now, not him.

“Claire?” Melissa asked, waving a hand in front of my face. “Are you all right? You blanked out on me there for a second.”

Rubbing my eyes with the palm of my hands, I shook my head and sighed. “Yeah, of course I am. I was just thinking about some things. So much has happened in the past year. It’s hard to believe that so many bad and terrible things could happen in so short a time.”

“You got that right,” Melissa agreed with a smile. “However, you never answered my question. How are you and Cooper doing? You seem to be doing well.”

Cooper Davis was an old friend of mine from high school who had just moved back to California after being traded from the Dallas Cowboys to be a running back for the Oakland Raiders. He was two years older than me and also the guy I gave my virginity to. I missed him when he went off to college, but I never regretted the time we spent together.

We had a couple of flings over the years when he would come home to visit his family, and when he showed up at my door three months ago telling me he was moving back I knew he was just what I needed to get over Mason. We’d been seeing each other ever since and we’d even talked about moving in together, except I wasn’t so sure on that just yet. I loved Cooper, and the s*x was amazing with him, but in my heart I knew something was missing. I just hoped I figured out what it was before things got too serious, which I had a feeling they were about to.

Melissa narrowed her gaze, picking up on my hesitation by the concerned look in her eyes, but I smiled over at her and quickly answered, “Actually, Cooper and I are doing really well as a matter of fact. He wanted me to go with him to Texas to watch him play against his old team, but I told him I didn’t want to leave you here to manage everything on your own. I’ll watch the game on TV tomorrow night.”

Melissa scoffed and rolled her eyes. “What am I … fragile? I know how to take care of the vineyards, Claire, and besides, Brett is always here with me. I think you’re making up excuses. What’s the real reason you didn’t want to go?”

We’d finally arrived back to the main house and I took a seat on the wooden bench inside the gazebo, gazing out at the mountains and the long rows of grapes in the distance. Melissa sat down beside me and waved her hand impatiently in front of my face, waiting on my answer. I blew out a shaky breath and blurted out, “I think Cooper is going to propose to me.”

Melissa beamed and clapped her hands excitedly. “Oh, Claire, that’s great news. Cooper is a wonderful man and we all love him, especially Brett. I think he’s Cooper’s biggest fan. You two will make a great match. Not to mention he’s hot as hell.”

Nodding quickly, I bit my lip and averted my gaze. I didn’t want her to see my hesitation. Cooper was all I could ever want. He was tall with dark brown hair and the most majestic blue eyes I’d ever seen on anyone. With him being an athlete, his body was well chiseled and basically a haven of perfection. However, there was a part of me that couldn’t let go of the past I shared with someone else.

“Claire? That is great news, right?” Melissa asked uncertainly.

When my gaze lifted to hers, her smile vanished completely and was replaced with understanding and sympathy. She knew what was holding me back. Sighing deeply, she wrapped her arms around my neck and held me as close as humanly possible with her protruding belly in the middle of us.

She murmured softly in my ear, “I thought you were over him, Claire. As much as I think you and Mason would’ve been perfect for each other, I can’t help but think that maybe Cooper came into your life at the right moment. Mason has a stubborn head on his shoulders, but if it’s meant to be he will come back for you. Just don’t miss out on life because he was too stupid to realize what he had in front of him.”

After hearing Melissa’s words of encouragement, it finally became clear. I had been holding back and letting happiness slip by me. Not anymore.

“You know what, Mel, you’re right,” I claimed wholeheartedly. I pulled back out of her arms so I could look at her. I was not the type of girl to wallow in despair over a man, and I couldn’t let Mason hold me back anymore. It was time I started living my life.

With a renewed sense of determination, I looked at Melissa and smiled one last time before rushing out of the gazebo. “Where are you going in such a hurry?” she called, getting slowly to her feet.

Laughing, I looked over my shoulder and shouted, “I’m going to Texas, baby. There’s a sexy football player there who needs me. Besides, I think a little spontaneity will do me some good.”

It was way past time to move on.