One Last Shot (Frozen Hearts, #3)

by Julia Connors

“When my father gave yours the money for your boarding school, that wasn’t an agreement for an exchange of funds. That was a marriage contract.”

Behind those blue irises, a Petra-level storm is brewing, and I’m almost looking forward to watching it break.

You’ve legally been living and working in New York for . . . how many years now?” “Eight.” I see a momentary flash of realization in her eyes. Eight years. When she lived in New York I was here too, which she didn’t know then, but I did. And I never contacted her.

Why does she have to be so fucking beautiful? She should come with a warning: Nearness may cause distractibility and lapses in judgment. Proceed with Caution.

Stella has already stolen my cold, frozen heart.

I turn to the second piece of paperwork we signed. MARRIAGE CONTRACT. My eyes meet my father’s. “Explain this.” It’s not a request. “I bought her for you. Or rather, you bought her, since the money is coming from your trust.” My eyes narrow. “What do you mean you bought her for me?”

You don’t buy a girl like Petra, you earn her.

Two thoughts war with each other in my head: Someone needs to be here to protect Stella, to help her become strong and resilient. And I don’t even like children.

“If you’re not going to meet my needs, then I’ll find someone who will. I’ll be back in the morning.” I’m practically on top of her before she can even get her first arm into her jacket, backing her into the wall. I plant my hands on either side of her head. “Like hell you will. You’re a married woman.”

I will never be happy until we’re together. It’s the inevitable ending of our story.

“Are you planning on making this an actual marriage, rather than a marriage on paper only?” The question makes my heart speed up. Is that what I want?

But this reality is different. This feeling is different. I want her to stay for good. To see if we can make this marriage more than just a slip of paper. I can envision us here, together, with Stella and with more kids if Petra’s willing, and with a happiness I never dared hope for. Until now.

If someone had asked me a few months ago what “having it all” meant to me, I’d have described my life: a wonderful group of best friends, a successful business I’d built myself, and a contract to host a show that was about to begin filming. Now, standing in this sitting room, I feel like “having it all” could look very different: married to Sasha, adopting Stella, building a new group of friends here, moving my business back to New York.

“But Raina will only be my nanny. I wanted Petra to stay and be my mom.”

“So, are you not in love with Petra, then?” “I don’t know, sweetheart. It’s a really complicated situation.” “No, it’s not,” she insists. “We love Petra, and we want her to be part of our family.” “I wish it were that simple.” “It is, you just have to ask her to stay.”

“You’re about to start your next round of playoff games. You’ll be so busy you won’t even have time to miss me.” I try to laugh to pass that statement off as a joke, but it falls flat. “I’ve missed you for fourteen years,” he says. “I hardly think I’m going to stop now.”

“I’ve never felt this way about anyone else. It’s always been you, love. Always, only you.”

“Petra, we’re legally married. If we choose to honor that, we’re committing ourselves to each other and to Stella. That’s as close to a guarantee as you can get.” My heartbeat is pounding in my throat, making it hard to swallow. “Sasha, what are you saying?” “Why not try to make this marriage work?”

I’m hoping she can’t see how close to home that scenario hit, as I sit here in LA while the people I love are in New York. Holy shit. The people I love are in New York. What am I even doing here?

You have to tell her, I tell myself. There is no path forward if it’s built on a lie.

I can smell the third act breakup