Today's newsletter is a special edition…it's my one year anniversary with D! The year has flown by fast, but it's been amazing.

For those of you who are just getting to know me, I lost my husband in December 2020. After a year and a half of processing and helping the Twinx grieve, I decided to dive back into dating.

It's a scary, scary place, y'all. Way different than it was twenty some odd years ago when I first dated my husband. Internet dating is… shudders…crazy. Seriously, some of the stories will more than likely make it into a book or two. But then I met D. And the rest is history. So for today's edition, I persuaded him to answer some questions. 

 

Me [explains what my newsletter looks like]: So, would you want to answer a couple of questions for this one?

D [laughing and groaning]: But I have to think.

Me: They aren't bad, I promise.

D: Okay.

D: That you were a good mom. It's one of the first things we talked about when we started talking. I remember you said that ‘my kids come first.’

D: The zoo night we did recently.  We walked next to each other the whole night.

(Usually, when we do stuff, I end up on the sidelines because I'm not trying to die in a Go-Kart or on a trampoline}.

D [laughing]: Oh, yeah.

Me: What?

Me: What?

D: You're way too lenient on your punishments for the kids. 

(True because I'm a pushover.)

D [chuckling]: Yep, you cook dinner.

(Y'all, the man survived on take-out, shrimp cocktails, and Hungry Man dinners for over a year!)

D: Yeah, but I can't remember the name of it.

Me: What?

D: It's on AGT. And you'll find it in your playlist.

Me: This is Me? (Slight confession: I LOVE THIS SONG!)

D: Yeah, that one!

 

With that, I let him off the hook…for now.

Here's us from the zoo the other night…even after a year, it's the only pic we have of the two of us. By this point we'd already circled the zoo once for dinner (and it was a LONG uphill walk), so excuse the hot mess express of me where I've sweated off my make-up.

His expression shifts, and if possible, turns more serious. The silence while he studies me grows more and more awkward until I can’t handle it anymore.

“What?” I finally ask.

“You left.”

“I—”

I don’t have an excuse for my behavior. Not a logical one anyway. We haven’t heard from Brad in weeks. I’ve been going crazy. I don’t want to be a burden. Any and all of the above. I used every one of those excuses to convince myself that this is okay.

It’s not.

“You were in danger, and you left a place I knew was safe,” he says.

My breath catches. “I—”

He takes a step closer. “I saw you as you left Mia’s. Followed you—”

“I didn’t see you!”

“I didn’t want you to see me.” Another step. “That’s the f!cking point, Evie.”

“What is?”

Somehow, we’re nose to nose in my bedroom, both of us breathing heavily.

“You could have been hurt. F!ck, he could have been waiting for you. Obviously, the apartment complex never f!cking added more locks like I told them to. Which means I’m calling my guy in the morning.”

“Why do you care? I’m the assistant to your sister’s best friend. I’m nothing to you. I’m just a job—one you’re not even being paid—”

My words are silenced as he yanks me against him and plants his lips on mine.

In all my life, I’ve only been kissed like this once before.

At Michaela and West’s wedding.

But kiss doesn’t do this justice. Not the masterful way Sawyer’s lips mold to mine. How the steady pressure of his mouth against mine makes my knees weak. He deepens the kiss, his tongue finding mine, and I tighten my grip on his shirt while he cups my jaw like I’m fragile. Like I’m cherished.

This isn’t a kiss. It’s consumption. Sawyer is consuming me.

And for the first time in a long time, I don’t think about how I’m damaged. I don’t think about my past.

My only thought is him.

 

 

🛠️ CHARITY ANTHOLOGY ANNOUNCEMENT 🛠️

 

USA Today Bestselling Author Dee Lagasse and Cruel Ink Editing + Design are proud to present Blue Collar Babes.

 

Blue Collar Babes is a charity anthology featuring short stories from over twenty romance authors - including yours truly! This anthology celebrates the men and women who put in long hours, sweat, and muscle to get the job done. In addition, we are thrilled to be raising money for Jobs with Justice.

 

Jobs with Justice is a labor rights organization in the United States, focused on the vision that all workers should be able to collectively bargain.

100% of the royalties from the sale of Blue Collar Babes will be donated to Jobs with Justice. For more information on Jobs with Justice, please visit https://www.jwj.org/

 

➜ Preorder is available now: https://geni.us/bluecollarbabes

Blue Collar Babes will release on October 1, 2023. It will be available in e-book, paperback, and in Kindle Unlimited.

To get an email alert when the anthology is live in KU: https://bit.ly/bcb-alert

 

➜ BOOKISH INFLUENCERS + READER FRIENDS: We would love your help promoting the release of Blue Collar Babes! We will also be offering a very limited number of advance review copies. Sign up for promo or request a limited Blue Collar Babes ARC here: https://bit.ly/bluecollarbabespromo

I still have a few of the original covers left on the Heart Beats series and am looking to make some space for the new covers. Want to grab your copies of the previous covers and get them signed at the same time?

The book boxes I did earlier this Spring seemed to be a big hit. So much so that I'm working on some new ideas for one in the fall…

Are you interested if I do one? What would you like to see in a book box?

In The Beat of the Moment custom sprayed edges are here! And they are GORGEOUS! These were done with Sabrina and The End Bookish Boutique and I am in love! What do you think?  

Want your copy? Like last time, these will be on a lottery-based system. I will tell you that I have less copies of these than I do of Written in the Beat. That being said, unlike last time, if you are not selected, you will be able to add yourself to a waitlist/preorder list for the next run.

 

Grab your ticket for RTD 2024 here!

 

 

Attending one of these signings? You can complete the preorder form here:

 

Please note, sales and freebies are that way at the time the newsletter is sent!

 

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