Away From You (Back To You Book 2) (25 page)

“We’ll join you,” I offered, grabbing Ellie’s hand.
“I think the guy we had in mind is already there.”

Ellie giggled and discreetly pointed at the very
well-dressed
man leaning casually against the bar. He had a
short glass with what was most likely bourbon in front of him. Honestly, he
kind of looked like Zac Efron at a red carpet event.

“Who is he?” Jo asked Ellie. She seemed to think he
was pretty attractive since she smoothed the skirt of her black cocktail dress
and gave her short bob a shake.

“I work with him at my dad’s law firm. His name is
Eric; we’re actually really good friends. Full disclosure, we actually
attempted to date for a minute last year. But nothing happened.”

Jo raised a brow at me. “Is she seriously trying to
set me up with her ex?”

I laughed. “It’s not as weird as it sounds. They
really weren’t together long enough to call him an ‘ex.’ What was it, Ells? Two
dates before you were back with Spencer?”

“Something
like
that.” I
nodded. “Trust me, he’s a really great catch.”

“Well,” Jo sighed, shrugging. “I mean, I guess you
must be friends if he’s at your wedding.”

“Exactly.” Ellie confirmed.

Just then, Eric saw us and straightened, a huge
smile on his face. We walked over and he hugged Ellie warmly. “Congratulations,
Elizabeth! You are the picture of happiness.”

“Thank you, I’m so glad you could come!” Ellie
replied, beaming at him.

“Are you kidding?
Free booze on
your dad?
I wouldn’t miss it.” He winked at Ellie and turned to me.
“Good to see you, too, Olivia. How’ve you been?”

Eric knew a bit about my recent struggles since I’d
been going to the office to have lunch with him and Ellie ever since the guys
had first deployed. He really was a great guy. Ellie and I had talked about
setting him up with Jo back when we’d first met her at the ball. She seemed
like the perfect mix of independent, smart, funny, and gorgeous – exactly
what Eric was looking for.

“I’m great, thank you,” I answered, and then
gestured to Jo. “This is our friend, Jordan. She works with the guys.”

Erik stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Jordan.”

“Call me Jo,” she responded, taking his hand.

First and foremost, thank you to our service
members. You voluntarily risk your life every day, and we all owe you for your
sacrifice. Post-traumatic stress can be just as debilitating as a physical
injury, sometimes even more so. Long after a wound heals, the scars left on the
mind can be everlasting. That being said, if you or someone you love is
suffering from PTSD, please seek help. I wrote
Away From
You
as I was finishing up my
Master’s in Psychology, so my number one priority was accurately representing
the struggles that families touched by PTSD face. My only hope is that it
helped to make you feel less alone.

Beta Readers and A. Wrighton – thank you
again for an amazing writing experience! Your comments and suggestions were so
helpful!

As with
Back
To You,
thank you to the Marine Corps girlfriends, fiancées, and wives who
submitted their photos for the cover image. There were so many beautiful shots
of you and your Marines, it was hard to choose just one!

Thank you to my friends and family for your
continuous support! I love you!

Writing this book was not as easy as the first. I
was pregnant with my first little love when I wrote
Back
To You.
I had no idea how much free time I really had until I
tried to write a novel with a baby boy to take care of. Not to mention the fact
that we’re now expecting our little girl in a few weeks. So, to Leo, thank you
for your patience with your crazy mama. And to Zoe, you’ve completed our little
family and we can’t wait to meet you.

Last, but never least, Nick – As we start on
your second enlistment, I want you to know that I love you and swear to always be
there should you ever need a shoulder to lean on.