Description:
On the surface, Lynsey Reznor seems to have it all. She is
beautiful, brilliant, and a successful true-crime writer who has
been living the past decade in Miami. But what Lynsey lacks is
what she needs the most—a family.
After the death of her mother, and yet another failed
relationship, Lynsey makes an impulsive decision to return
to her hometown of Unity. But Unity will present its own
bittersweet memories, most notably, her first love, Nick
Lincoln.
Twenty years ago, Nick broke teenager Lynsey’s heart when he
decided to marry another. He had his own private reasons—reasons
he never explained to Lynsey. Now she is back, along with a chance to reclaim her love. But Lynsey wants answers from him that he may never be able to give out of duty and guilt.
On the surface, Lynsey Reznor seems to have it all. She is
beautiful, brilliant, and a successful true-crime writer who has
been living the past decade in Miami. But what Lynsey lacks is
what she needs the most—a family.
After the death of her mother, and yet another failed
relationship, Lynsey makes an impulsive decision to return
to her hometown of Unity. But Unity will present its own
bittersweet memories, most notably, her first love, Nick
Lincoln.
Twenty years ago, Nick broke teenager Lynsey’s heart when he
decided to marry another. He had his own private reasons—reasons
he never explained to Lynsey. Now she is back, along with a chance to reclaim her love. But Lynsey wants answers from him that he may never be able to give out of duty and guilt.
Excerpt:
When he heard her, he came to her, took her into his
arms, and kissed her. It was a comfort that he wasn’t regretting their
lovemaking. She didn’t think she could handle being rejected by him twice in
her lifetime.
“Do you have
to leave soon?” she asked.
“I’m sorry. I
don’t want to, but I have to.” He went to the stove and prepared her a cup of
coffee. “I think we should start planning our wedding. We could be married at
Christmas.”
She was taken
aback. Is this his proposal ? This was
supposed to be so romantic and memorable, not talk about planning a Christmas
wedding while he stirred a cup of coffee.
“Do you even
want to get married?” She took the coffee mug he offered. “I mean, it wasn’t
that long ago that you told me you weren’t sure you ever wanted to be married
again. You said you didn’t see fatherhood in your future, and Nick, I want a
baby…more than one. I grew up as an only child and I was so alone. I don’t want
my child to have to experience that.”
“Well, I
didn’t use a condom last night. You could be pregnant right now,” was his reply.
Heaviness
descended upon her heart. This was so not how she wanted this morning to be,
and certainly not the marriage proposal she had dreamed of. “I’m on the Pill—I
won’t get pregnant if that’s all you’re worried about.”
“I’m sorry,
that’s not the only reason we should get married.”
“Then why?”
she asked suspiciously.
He let out an
exaggerated sigh. “Lynsey, I don’t have time to get into this with you right
now. What do you want me to say in the five minutes I have before I leave for
work?”
She couldn’t
believe his glib attitude. “How about
saying something to me like…‘I love you, Lynsey, and I made a tremendous
mistake by not marrying you twenty years ago?’ That would take you less than
thirty seconds to say, and you could have easily gotten to your precious job on
time.”
Suddenly his
jaw set and his eyes narrowed. “I didn’t make a mistake by not marrying you
twenty years ago! I let you go to become a success in life—and you did. I can’t
regret that!”
“So, what I
thought all these years was correct. I was nothing to you but a quick and easy
way to shed your virginity.” Just saying the words was devastating.
“That’s not
it at all,” he vehemently insisted. “You were always so intelligent. I mean,
you were a sixteen-year-old senior in high school! Just how many grades did you
skip over, anyway?”
“Two,” she
answered in a low voice.
“Do you know
what would have happened if I hadn’t married Kelly?” He didn’t wait for her
reply. “I’ll tell you what. You and I would have been ostracized by everyone in
this town! We would have had to be married right away, and we would have had to
live with your mother, because I had no money.”
“My mother
loved you. She would have been happy to have us live with her,” she interjected.
“And we were
so naïve, Lynsey. You would have graduated high school with either a big belly,
or a baby in your arms…if you had graduated at all.”
She crossed
her arms over her breasts and looked at the floor. She was too afraid that if
she looked at him she would break down. “Some of the girls in school were
married. A few of them had babies.”
He lifted her
chin and forced her to make eye contact with him. “And you were too smart to be
stuck in this town, and just another housewife. You would have become bored and
resentful.”
“I wouldn’t
have known the difference,” she countered.
“I had
serious doubts then. I still have doubts now,” he admitted.
Her dark
lashes flew upward. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“I believe
that you will become bored and restless in Unity and will want to go back to Florida or maybe California.
I have a job and a family here, Lynsey. I don’t ever want to give that up. I’m
afraid that we’ll have a child, and you’ll take my baby and leave. I can not
allow that to happen.”
She couldn’t
believe what he was saying. Nothing was further from the truth. “Do you think I
would have sunk so much of my savings into that house just to abandon it? I
would never, ever do what you’re saying. But if circumstances changed, I would
expect you to support what was best for our family. Couples who are committed
make sacrifices for each other!”
It was
becoming clearer and clearer that things were rapidly falling apart between
them.
“Lynsey,
didn’t what happened between us last night mean anything to you?” he asked.
She chuckled
unpleasantly. “I suppose that with us living in such close proximity, last
night was inevitable. But don’t worry about it happening again, Nick. When you
get home this evening, I won’t be here.”
“Where are you
going to be?”
She wanted to
hurt Nick like she was now hurting. “I’m sure that Caleb wouldn’t mind me
bunking down at his house for a week or two.”
“Over my dead
body,” he seethed. “I will drag you away from him kicking and screaming if it
comes to it. I’ll handcuff you to my bed if need be. Believe me, Lynsey, I’ll
do it!” He flopped down into a kitchen chair and buried his face in his hands.
“I have to go
now, Nick. I’m meeting your sister for breakfast. Listen to me. You need to
pull yourself together. In your line of work, bad things happen when you lose
your concentration.”
When he
didn’t reply, she let out a sigh of resignation and headed for the door. At the
last minute she turned to him. “Thanks for almost making it happen between us.”
it will be free on Amazon on June7th - 9th
About the author:
Event organized by Lady Amber's Book Tours
1 comment:
pare o carte foarte interesanta...imi place foarte mult coperta :)
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