The Good Girl's Second Chance (The Bravos Of Justice Creek 2) by Christine Rimmer

have to stop being such a coward. All day long, in the back of her mind, she rehearsed the things she would say when she called back that night.
    I’ve been seeing Quinn Bravo. I care for him, Mom. Deeply. He’s asked me to marry him and I am seriously considering telling him yes
.
    It all sounded so simple. It was...what people did. They found each other and they fell for each other and realized they didn’t want to be apart. So they got married and raised a family.
    Why shouldn’t she have that—and with the right man this time? With a good man, a strong man. A man who cared about more than money and power and
things
. A man who considered her a whole person, with a heart and mind of her own, not just his most prized possession who looked good on his arm and had great taste and could work a room with the best of them.
    Short answer: she absolutely
should
have that. And she
would
have it. With Quinn.
    By the time she locked up the showroom and went home, she was all fired up to get it over with. To call her mother and tell her simply and proudly that she and Quinn were together.
    But as it turned out, no call was necessary. When she pulled into her driveway, her mother’s Mercedes SUV was parked in the side space next to the garage.
    Chloe’s stomach lurched at the sight, which was so pitiful it made her want to throw her head back and scream. But she didn’t scream. She drew in a slow breath and told herself to man up. It was her life and she was going to live it for herself, not her mother. She would tell her mom the simple truth about her and Quinn and that would be that.
    But then, as she left the garage by the breezeway door and caught sight of her mother waiting on the front step, it became crystal clear from the tight, furious expression on Linda Winchester’s face that she already knew about Quinn.
    Chloe’s steps faltered. Only for a second, though. She quickly caught herself, straightened her shoulders and kept right on walking. “Mom. I don’t remember you mentioning that you would be dropping by.”
    “Oh, please.” Her mother gave her a truly withering glance. “Let me in. I have a few things to say to you and I’m not going to say them on your front step.”
    Chloe froze with her key raised to unlock the door. “Look, Mother. I don’t want to—”
    “Open the door. Now, please.”
    The temptation was so powerful to tell her mother right then and there that this was
her
house and
she
would decide who did or didn’t enter it.
    But then again, well, Linda Winchester wasn’t the only one who had a few things to say. And she wasn’t the only one who preferred to have this out in private.
    So she unlocked the door. Her mother brushed past her as she disarmed the alarm.
    Carefully, quietly, Chloe shut the door. Her mother stood beside the formal dining table, her blond head high, bright spots of color flaming on her cheeks, her lips bloodless with tension.
    Chloe almost felt sorry for her. “Look, Mom. Why don’t you sit down?”
    Linda whipped out the chair at the end of the table and sat in it. She put her hand to her mouth and shut her eyes.
    Chloe took the nearest chair. She waited until her mother dropped her hand away from her mouth and opened her eyes again before she said gently, “You’re obviously very upset. Please tell me why.”
    Her mother sucked in a gasp and snapped, “Don’t you play coy with me, Chloe.”
    “I’m not playing coy,” Chloe said with a calm that surprised her. “What I’m doing is trying my best not to jump to conclusions.”
    “All right.” With two sharp tugs, Linda straightened the sides of the linen jacket she wore. “Agnes Oldfield dropped by to see me an hour ago. She says it’s all over town that you’ve been seeing Quinn Bravo. She says you went to the Sylvan Inn with him last Friday night, where you told Monique Hightower right to her face that you were...
attracted
to that man ever since high school. Agnes also says that you’ve been seen