Melonie Johnson | My HEA Was a Second Chance Romance

The third book in my Sometimes in Love series, ONCE UPON A BAD BOY, is a second chance romance. Bo and Sadie, the hero and heroine, are childhood sweethearts who break apart as teens, but fate brings them together again eleven years later. I dedicated this story to my husband. It’s an appropriate choice, since our marriage is the result of a second chance romance. Well, since we broke up twice, it’s technically a third chance romance. But what’s that saying about the third time being the charm? When I met my husband when we were teenagers, like Bo, he was kind of a bad boy himself. A bit of a rebel who had long hair down to his waist and drove a brazen bright yellow car that he would park at wild angles in the back of the mall where we both worked. That lot was always almost empty, he wasn’t a jerk, he just liked to push the envelope on the rules, see what he could get away with. A trait (thank you, karma) our youngest daughter has inherited.

Our oldest daughter is sixteen, the same age I was when I began dating my husband. I admit,
the thought she could meet the man she might one day marry this summer freaks me out. But
it also makes me remember how my story started, and all the plot twists and turns that
happened on the way to my HEA. After all, you can’t have a second chance romance without
something going wrong the first time.

As I mentioned, this was a third chance romance, so things went wrong more than once. The
first time was during the winter holidays the first year we were dating. I had gotten close to a
fellow cast member while performing in a play (the love interest of my character, of course).
Our friendship continued after the show ended, and I began to have feelings for him.
Obviously, this did not go over well with the guy I was dating. I can still remember Christmas
Eve, when they both showed up at the store where I was working. My boyfriend was furious
and demanded that I choose. This, in turn, made me furious. I didn’t want to be forced into
making a decision, so I broke up with him. Right then and there. Yes, it was as full of teenage
angst and drama and as uncomfortable as it sounds.

But over the next few days, while I spent time with the “other guy” I realized he wasn’t the one
I wanted to be with. As Cinderella (the rock band, not the princess) says, you don’t know what
you’ve got until it’s gone. About a week or so after Christmas, I drove to my boyfriend’s (ex-
boyfriend’s) house and told him how I felt. He could have refused to see me, but he didn’t. He
had, however, burned every photo he owned of me…ouch. After a long talk, we decided to give
it a second chance.

Things rolled along pretty smoothly for the next few years until the summer I was nineteen,
and about to make the switch from our local community college to a university in the city. I had
been working hard the last few years and was ready to take the next step. I had a plan and
knew what I wanted out of life. Meanwhile, my boyfriend was stuck in neutral. He went to
college but spent most of his time in the campus arcade room. He had a job as a manager at a
video game store too, but it wasn’t a career with much of a future. I knew he had more
potential and was frustrated by his lack of motivation. We were at a crossroads—and it felt like
we were heading in different directions. I decided the best thing for me to do was to start this
next chapter of my life on my own. If you’ve been keeping track, yes, I broke up with him
twice.

That second break-up might have been the end. But a few months later, out of the blue, I
received a letter from him. An actual handwritten letter. In it, he described how the end of our
relationship had been a wake-up call for him. He decided he didn’t like the way his life was
headed and knew he had to make some changes. At the time of the letter, he had already
enrolled in a university and was majoring in computer science. He said he hoped I was doing
well (this was the mid-90s, before you could check in on your ex via social media) and asked if
I was willing, he’d like to meet up sometime, just to talk.

I agreed, and while we talked, feelings stirred, one thing led to another and—not to give you TMI—before you knew it, we were doing more than talking. Similarly, in ONCE UPON A BAD BOY, the physical connection between Bo and Sadie rekindles first. Sometimes our bodies figure things out before our brains do, and it takes a little time for the mind to catch up with the heart. But catch up it does, and though we took things slowly at first, agreeing to be “just friends” (cough, with benefits), it wasn’t long until we were officially dating again. And we’ve been together ever since.

I don’t regret the twists our story took. I wouldn’t say I’m happy about the break-ups, but I’m
thankful they happened. The time we spent apart helped us both grow. When we came back
together, we were stronger as individuals, which made us stronger as a couple. The same is
very true for Bo and Sadie’s story. While apart, they both find their own path, discovering who
they are and what they want out of life in ways that never could have happened if they’d
always stayed together. At the time, neither could see it, but the steps they take away from
each other lay the groundwork for the road that brings them back together. And when their
paths cross again, the people they’d become are right for each other in ways they hadn’t been
before.

The topic of fate comes up often in this story, and the characters debate the idea that the universe has a plan, grapple with the possibility that things happen because they were meant to be. Personally, I think of fate as a puzzle, the pieces scattered across our lives so that we can’t see the picture until eventually, enough pieces connect for it to become clear. From where I am now, I can see how the various moments of my life fit together…but at the time, it definitely wasn’t clear. Looking back, if someone had told me one day, that long-haired guy from the mall would be my husband and the father of my children, I’m not sure I would have believed them. But, as Sadie, the heroine in ONCE UPON A BAD BOY learns, when it comes to love—never say never.