Strip Me Bare (33 page)

“Maybe not here, but where he is now, he has
all of those things. He does know our children and he’s
strong.”

Ryan sucks in a weepy breath, “I hope you’re
right.”

“Of course I’m right, I’m a woman,” I quip
and Ryan’s mood teeters just a little, but not nearly enough.

The drive home is just as quiet as the drive
there. It’s dark now and there’s nothing but shadows in the
sky.

“Thanks,” he says, as we walk up the front
steps and onto the porch.

“For what?”

“Being there. For always being there.”

“There isn’t any place I’d rather be.”

“You know, you really are the best thing
that’s ever happened to me.” He skims his thumb across my
cheek.

“I think that’s only partly true.”

“Okay, I’ll rephrase,” he smiles, “Up until
two years ago you were the best thing that ever happened to me, now
you have competition.”

“It's competition I can live with,” I
grin.

I unlock the door and let Ryan walk in first
and as he enters, he’s showered with voices yelling surprise. He
freezes suddenly, taking in all the faces around him, all the faces
of the people who love him. Emily is holding a birthday cake with
sparkler candles on top, as Sean and Savannah hop giddily at her
feet. Everyone who is important to us is here, Rayleen, my father,
my uncle John and Aunt Caroline. Alex, Alyssa and Aaron, Divan and
Logan (who Emily still can’t look at without blushing).

Ryan looks down at me and beams; it’s a much
better expression than earlier today.

“I love you,” he whispers as he embraces me
jubilantly.

“Happy birthday,” I respond when his lips
part from mine.

“Only since I met you,” he says, just before
he’s bombarded by hugs and kisses and handshakes. I watch as Ryan
is encircled in our foyer, a feeling of great joy overtaking me.
Our future has been fused. And it’s a beautiful, boundless prospect
of what can ultimately be.

If it takes a
village to raise a child, it takes a metropolis to publish a book.
There have been so many wonderful people who have contributed to
Strip Me Bare I am beyond blessed and truly grateful. To my
tremendous editor Matthew Taylor, every time we work together I
learn more and more. You helped me center my voice and for that I
am forever indebted to you. My talented cover designer Amber Rendon
@ Novel Idea Design (
http://novelideadesign.com
). Thank you for working
so diligently with me to bring my vision to life. I don't know what
else to say that hasn't already been said, but I love, love, love
the cover. To Lady Amber and her squad of fantastic bloggers
(
http://ambersupernaturalandya.blogspot.com/
) you
are a God sent to the indie author!! Thank you for coordinating all
my cover reveals and book blitzes. You are always the professional
and I adore working with you! To Amanda and Damaris and their team
of outstanding bloggers @ Good Choice Reading (
http://www.goodchoicereading.com/
) thank you for
working with me and setting up such amazing review tours. To my
beta readers, Kit Rav (
http://suburbaneclectic.com/
), Christina Comely
and Lavinia Urban (author of Erin the Fire Goddess series
(
http://laviniaurban.blogspot.com/
) your feedback
was invaluable, and I truly believe your comments and opinions
brought the book to the next level. Thank you! My proofreader Amy
Chris (
https://weetweetsbookshelfblog.com
) who combed
through 70,000 words looking for every spelling error and
punctuation mistake she could find! To Ann Snizek, my formatter and
new friend (
https://snowflowersafterdark.blogspot.com/
). To
Jamie Haenick Lieberman and Jessica Ragno Sprague, my legal
counsel. Thank you for answering all my mundane law questions. My
bestie, Nicole Occhino for giving me the rundown on the NJ Criminal
Justice system. Jessica Verney for letting me use her Facebook
group to solicit research sources! To the TV show Suits for
inspiring me to make Alana a lawyer and Julie Baum Eipert and
Jennifer Baum for dragging me to a male revue. Who knew I'd find
inspiration. Last, but never least, to my family who supports me
every day and gives me the time I need to pursue my passion. Babe,
you are my living, breathing, happily ever after. I <3 you.

Thank you for
purchasing Strip Me Bare! I hope you enjoyed reading Alana and
Ryan's story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Now that you know how
it ends, find out how it all began. Be on the lookout for Stripped
From You coming soon!

TBR
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18484521-stripped-from-you

Muse- Madness

Run- Leona Lewis

I Know You Want Me- Pitbull

Troublemaker- Olly Murs feat. Flo Rida

What You Wanted- OneRepublic

(I Just) Died in Your Arms Tonight (Club
Remix) - Cutting Crew

*Counting Stars- OneRepublic

Marissa Carmel has loved
writing ever since a young age. She has a duel degree in History
and Political Science, but took as many creative writing classes in
college as she could. She spent most of her twenties bartending,
which is where she met her husband and a multitude of interesting
people. When she’s not reading or writing, she’s hanging out with
her family, experimenting in her kitchen or doing yoga on the
living room floor.

Links-

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Amazon author page

http://www.amazon.com/Marissa-Carmel/e/B005OKFXXU/

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