Mr. (Almost) Right

By Rowena Dawn

The clock is ticking. She’s on the hunt. He doesn’t want to be caught. 
Finding the right guy isn't easy for anyone and Ella is no exception. After three years wasted in a loveless relationship, Ella decides to take control of her life again, so she cleans house and starts hunting for Mr. Right or Mr. Almost Right. Ell

• Language: English
• Publisher: Scarlet Leaf
• Release date: Nov 27, 2017
• ISBN: 9781988397498

Rowena Dawn

Rowena Dawn enjoys writing romance and mysteries. Born in Europe, she defines herself as a child of the world. She loves traveling and discovering new places and new people. Most of her spare time is spent with her pug - the most obnoxious dog ever seen, as everybody labels him. She  will have a new romance series published soon!

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MR. (ALMOST) RIGHT

A NOVEL

ROWENA DAWN

SCARLET LEAF

2016

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.

Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

SCARLET LEAF

TORONTO ONTARIO CANADA

COPYRIGHT BY ROWENA DAWN

ISBN: 9781988397498

All rights reserved.

No part of this book can be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

For information address Scarlet Leaf

[e-mail]

DEDICATION:

TO SIMONA AND ANDREI

Table of Contents

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER ONE

UGH, SHE GROANED AND threw a plate in Colin’s general direction.

Ella wasn’t a good shot, even though she practiced quite often. It wasn’t like she hadn’t broken enough plates, throwing them to him. One of these days, she hoped she wouldn’t miss. He wasn’t such a small target, after all.

Come on, baby! You have to understand! Colin pleaded with his puppy eyes and an imploring gesture; he was a master at that.

Ella rolled her eyes, although she felt like skinning him. He’d always do that. He’d leave her waiting there like that, and taking off to be with one of his friends. She wanted to scream in frustration. In her book, the definition of a boyfriend was eons away from what he offered to her.

Her sister was right. She had to lose him and fast, before it was too late. She had to find something better or she’d be left with no more dishes in her cupboard.

Last week she’d finished off that beautiful dish set with those little flowers painted on the rim. And she loved that set. She’d bought it in one of her exhausting trips through several antique shops. She’d worked hard to get her little hands on them. Then, like a stupid cow – harsh, but that was the reality - she’d broken them all in one evening.

Huh! Enough was enough. Colin could hang! She had better things to do than wait for him and practice her non-existent target skills.

You know what? Ella put her fists on her hips and confronted him. I’ve had enough! Go play with the boys, Colin, and forget you’ve known me, jerk! By the end of her tirade, she was shouting at the top of her lungs.

He cringed when her voice reached the highest note – yep, she could yell just fine. There wasn’t anything wrong with her lungs.

Eh, she could yell, so what? She was sick of him and his lame excuses. She wanted to kick herself because she hadn’t woken up earlier. She’d fallen for those excuses too often in the past. Now she regretted her temporary weakness and loss of judgment.

At least, that was what she preferred to think. It was a temporary blindness, and she’d be smarter in the future. Otherwise, she could put a bag over her head. She didn’t deserve anything else.

Anyway, she decided it was time to clear her head. That day she’d reclaim her future and her love life back. She needed just to get out of that sick routine and grow a back bone.

It wasn’t like she’d get any younger. Past her prime! That was what her grandma said when she saw her last month.

She was reaching the big forty soon. It was just a few years away down the road and she had to look at the larger picture there. That larger picture was her life, which, right that moment, was there, stuck in that old-news so-called relationship.

That didn’t bring her any kind of satisfaction. She wasn’t happy. She wasn’t even mildly content. Definitely, she had to let it go and look for greener pastures. She couldn’t do worse than Colin.

You can’t be serious, baby, come on! You don’t really want me to leave. You love me! Colin smiled at her with that lopsided smile, which, once upon the time, made her shiver.

Well, that didn’t happen anymore, she realized. When she looked at him, she felt nothing, and that shocked her.

Suddenly, awareness dawned in—a cold shower for her pride. She didn’t have any feelings for Colin any longer, if she’d ever had any. Just one more mistake to count.

She felt just anger. Anger didn’t qualify as a feeling. It suffices to say it wasn’t a healthy way to live.

After a year of missed dates and lonely evenings spent by herself in her apartment, waiting for Prince Charming to come on his white horse, she had nothing left for him.

Yep, Prince Charming was tarnished. Maybe she needed a regular guy, to play house with him, and build the nuclear family...

Nah... That wasn’t for her. She needed sparks and excitement... But not with Colin. With him she had colic and migraines and tears... Buckets of tears... and that wouldn’t do any longer.

Last Christmas was still very vivid in her memory. She spent both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day alone because he couldn’t make it and she felt too embarrassed to call a friend or visit with family... She knew what they’d say and the tons of advice she’d get.

And Colin... He’d gone ice fishing... Or, at least, he’d told her so, she frowned remembering.

She had her doubts, though. He wasn’t the type of guy to go ice fishing. A slave to comfort, he wouldn’t have spent his time at under zero temperature, the wind howling through every crack of a shabby hut...

She could see him sitting somewhere in a cozy cabin, fitted with a fireplace and a bar. He’d spend time with his friends and a few bottles of wine anytime, if the conditions were right.

Yet, she couldn’t see him in a rough shed, fishing in a hole dug in the ice. So, that was fishy enough to raise questions, and she didn’t see it at the time, damn it. She just went along with his lies and God knows how many others he’d fed her along the time. Clearly, she’d crossed a period when she lost judgement completely.

Calm, very calm, as nothing mattered anymore, Ella replied to him, Yes, I’m serious, Colin. I want you to leave now, and I don’t want you to come back. Ever again. If you do, I’ll accuse you of stalking, and you won’t like the consequences.

She knew what she was talking about. She worked as a paralegal and she knew the laws well. She wasn’t joking around any longer.

If Ella made a decision, no one could change her mind. She was stubborn like a mule – her father’s favorite saying. She didn’t agree with him openly, but deep down she knew he was right. She was taking after him after all. A mule would know a mule when they saw one.

Colin’s eyes grew wide, as understanding dawned. Ella noticed his deep shock, and thought about giving him a firmer nudge to make him move. She went to the front door with measured steps and opened it: Adios, muchacho!

He stared at her with disbelief. He was still stuck in the same spot, unable to move. Ella’s right eyebrow went up and she pointed toward the hall to encourage him to move.

You know you’ll regret this, baby. You will. But I’ll wait for your call when you get back to your senses, because you will, Colin said resignedly.

He went out, his shoulders hunched, as if the entire had world weighed on him.

Don’t glue yourself to the phone, Colin, Ella shouted after him. I won’t call. When I close this door behind you, I’ll forget you existed in this world. ‘You weasel!’

Your loss, he shrugged with indifference, although he still couldn’t believe she’d throw him out of the door.

He’d been sure he didn’t have to worry about the future of their relationship. he’d thought he’d already bagged it. Her reaction had come as a surprise.

He didn’t recognize that new Ella. He knew the old one very well. Yes, she would throw dishes at him, and she would shout – she had the lungs for that, he admitted it.

However, none of that made him feel he had anything to worry about in their relationship or that he had to work on that. She was a sure deal or, at least, he’d believed so. It was disconcerting to see that new woman, cutting her ties to him.

Maybe, she conceded shrugging with indifference. But definitely yours, baby! she continued snapping her fingers.

After that parting shot, Ella locked the door and, for good measure, she also latched the chain.

She didn’t fear he’d come back, but she needed a final gesture, something symbolic, something like the final burial of their relationship. She was big on signs and symbols.

CHAPTER TWO

SHE TAPPED HER FOOT not entirely satisfied with herself. She didn’t like the way she’d handled the break up with Colin. The thought she should have been less emotional was nagging at her.

Anyway, it was already done. She shrugged and started picking up the shards scattered all over her living-room carpet.

Oh, God, how many times she’d done that! Stupid, stupid cow! It had taken her too much time to learn her lesson.

She shook her head. She couldn’t believe she’d been so blind and for so long. A week is one thing. All right maybe even a month or two, but not so many months. That wasn’t acceptable.

She could feel something in her throat, a sort of constriction. She feared if she’d tried to clear it she would start crying.

They’d been together for over three years, the two of them. Three years went down the drain that evening and only because she’d had her mind in a cloud.

She didn’t regret she’d shown him to the door, but she regretted she’d wasted three years of her life with that selfish jackass.

He just took her for granted. And why wouldn’t he? She was always there when he came back to her. She was always faithfully waiting.

She’d express her feelings and quite strongly sometime, that was true. But then, it was like he didn’t care she was screaming like a banshee or was throwing dishes, aiming at his head.

And the clock was still ticking. Here she was - almost thirty-seven, childless, husbandless... Ugh.

Ella threw the slivers in the garbage bin and stood there, her fists on her hips, looking out the kitchen window. She didn’t see anything. Just staring into space.

Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. She hesitated for a moment and then, anxiously ran towards the phone and started dialing Joan’s number.

They’d known each other for ages even though they