Suspicious Minds (Fate #3) (33 page)

“No!” she said, pushing his hands away from her. “Of course not.
I wouldn’t do that.”

He smiled suddenly, pulling her to him even as she pretended to
protest. “If you’re calling it an engagement ring, Liv, then I’m holding you to
it. This is really happening. You know that, right?”

Her eyes opened wide, but she nodded, so he leaned in and kissed
her long and deep, unable to believe his life was only getting better. Then he
pulled away and looked at her even more seriously. “You know what else this
means, right?”

Those cute little brows pinched, and she shook her head, looking
almost scared.

“No. What?’

He leaned his forehead against her. “Raiders, baby. You’re
crossing over to the dark side!”

Olivia laughed, nudging him playfully. “No way!”

“Hey, it’s not my fault you skipped over the formalities of this
engagement. It’s in the contract. You accept that engagement ring; you’re a
Raiders fan. It’s in the fine print, and you’ve already told your whole family,
so you can’t take it back now.”

She smiled, her eyes suddenly full of tears. “I wouldn’t dream of
taking it back.
Ever
.”

He smiled, kissing her softly again. “I wouldn’t dream of letting
you”—he tilted his head—“even if it meant having to remove that clause from the
contract. I’d do
anything
for you, Liv.”

“Go Raiders,” she attempted to whisper, but it was more of a
squeak as a tear slid down her cheek. “
I’d
do anything for
you,
Enzo.”

“What are the odds I’d get so lucky?” he said, feeling suddenly
choked up too.

“Better than most,” she said, lifting her hand to show him her
bracelet she still never took off. “We were meant to be.”

“I’ve known it since day one,” he whispered, kissing her again. “You
were meant for me, baby.”

“And you were meant for
me
.”

A Note to my Wonderful Readers

I hope you have enjoyed reading Lorenzo and Olivia’s story.
Please take a moment to leave a review at your favorite retailer.

Have you read the 5th Street series yet? Here is a little the
blurb and excerpt from the first in that series,
Noah
:

Veronica Cruz has been through hell and back.

After disconnecting with the world two years ago to be at the
side of her dying mother, she’s left alone, unemployed, overweight, and feeling
a decade older than her twenty-eight years. When her best friend coaxes her
into joining the local gym to ditch her depression and rejuvenate her life, she
meets Noah. Assigned to help Veronica lose weight, Noah is everything she
expected a young trainer to be—perfectly chiseled, supportive, and motivating.
Add to that he’s incredibly sexy. He’s everything she’s ever looked for in a
man. What she least expected was for him to fall for her, but he has. There's
just one glaring problem: Noah is eight years younger.

Noah Quintanilla has his eye on a boxing title—someday. Down
for a few months with an injury, his maintenance-boy pay at 5th Street Gym
won't cut it. He’s finally given the opportunity to train. The catch? His trainee
is an out-of-shape woman with a free week pass. Taking on the challenge, Noah
stumbles into one of the closest friendships he’s ever known, and before he
knows it, he’s in love. But Veronica’s not having it—the age difference is too
much. Their platonic relationship however, means having to watch her date other
men—something that would make Noah crazy.

Believing he’s the man for her, Noah sets out to prove
that age is but an illusion, and there's more to him than just a number.

Excerpt from
Noah
:

Roni
sighed as
she concentrated on stretching until she was interrupted by a sweaty guy
holding a jump rope. She’d began to familiarize herself with most of the
members, but since there’d been so many new ones, there were lots she didn’t
recognize. This guy was one of them.

“Hello.” He waved
at her. “My name is Edward. I’d shake your hand, but mine is a little sweaty
right now.”

“Hi,” she said
and stopped stretching, a bit curious.

“I just started
working out here a little over a week ago. I noticed you right away and have
been meaning to introduce myself.”

Veronica felt the
nerves immediately. This guy looked around Noah’s age, maybe a little older,
but then, like Noah, he was a big guy and that had completely thrown her off
about Noah’s age. It’d been a long time since she’d had anyone hit on her.

“You’re a little
early today, aren’t you?”

He’d even noticed
what time she worked out? Wow. He must’ve really been watching. “Yeah, I’m
leaving early today, so I thought I’d make up for it and get here early. I’m
Veronica by the way.”

She watched as
Noah approached from behind Edward with that hard look he so often had when
they worked out.

“Listen, part of
the reason I hadn’t approached you was because you’re always with that one guy.
Are you and him—
?
”

“Yeah, we are,”
Noah said, getting a little too in Edward’s face.

Edward backed up
with a smirk. Veronica watched, her mouth dropping open. Abel and Gio walked
toward them cautiously.

Edward lifted his
hands, nodding, but the smirk was still there. “I had a feeling that was the
case. I’m glad I asked. No harm, no foul, right? Can’t blame a guy for trying.”
He turned and winked at Veronica. “Nice meeting you, Veronica.”

Noah didn’t say
another word. He simply stared at Edward until he’d walked away then turned
back to Veronica. “Ready to work out?”

Veronica’s mouth
really fell open now. She shook her head and blinked. “First, can you explain
what that was about?”

“What do you
mean?”

She looked at him
incredibly. “Me and you
are
what?”

“Workout
partners, right? Isn’t that what he was asking?” Noah walked past her, but she
didn’t miss the corner of his lip lifting as he did. “We should make this a
good one since it’s gonna be short.”

“That is
not
what he was asking, and you know it.” Veronica followed him, feeling secretly
thrilled. Had Noah really implied to another possible suitor that she and he
were …? She wouldn’t even think it. Maybe he’d just been just playing, though
his body language had said anything but.

He stopped so
fast she nearly collided with him. “Why? What do
you
think he was
asking?”

She looked up at
his eyes that had gone back to hard again like when he’d gotten in Edward’s
face. “Well, just based on what he said before you got there—”

“What did he say
to you?” His brows furrowed, looking around the gym, and then he turned back to
her, searching her eyes.

Great, now she
felt like a braggart. She shrugged, trying to make less of it and suddenly
feeling stupid. “Just that he only started working out here a week ago, but he
said he noticed me right away.”

“Is that right?”
She watched his jaw work as he looked around the gym again.

If she didn’t
know any better, unbelievably she’d think her instincts had been right. Noah
was
jealous. His eyes came back to hers and he stared at her hard. “So what? You
interested?”

“No, but—”

“Good. ’Cause he
looked like an asshole.” He started toward the treadmill again, and she
followed, glancing around.

Edward
did not
look like an asshole to her. But her instincts once again told her she better
just shut it and let it go. It was very reasonable that, like her, Noah had
begun to feel there was a bit more to their friendship. She couldn’t decide if
that was necessarily a good thing. This could be bad.

Click here to see a list
of books by Elizabeth Reyes.

Acknowledgments

Writing stories is all about me and my muse. I spent
countless hours and days in my cave
,
obsessing and arguing loudly like a
crazy person with my muse. But once it's all said and done
,
there is
still much more to do
,
and I couldn't
get it all done without my army of help. So I'd like to thank all of them now
for contributing in some way to every single book I put out.

To my husband and "assistant" Mark, for
believing in me always and encouraging me to do this. For your patience when
many an evening you get home from work and I'm still deep in the cave with no
signs of coming up for air. You never complain
,
and I know I would!
I couldn't do any of this without you
, and I'd never want to
.
I love you!

To my babies, Marky and Megan, thank you for
understanding when I disappear into "the zone" for days at a time. I
think we're all used to this way of life now, and you've been troopers all the
way. I love you!

To my beta readers, Dawn Winter, Judy DeVries, Emily
Lamphear, and welcome Amanda "Hootie" Clark to the team!
T
hank you
all SO
much
!
Your input and feedback are truly invaluable. Only you guys know
how
the stories start out
originally, and I have to say your input
i
s
always
spot on.
I really
do brag about how lucky I am to have found such an awesome "speed
reading" team! The time it takes you to get back to me with all your
insightful feedback always amazes me. I always think maybe after a few books
your excitement and eagerness will wear off
,
and after almost
four
years
,
you guys
are still superstars! I truly am blessed! This year should be interesting yet
exciting. I look forward to having you in my corner the whole way. <3

I'd also like to thank the many bloggers out there who
have supported me and have pimped, reviewed
,
and participated with my
cover reveals and announcements. You guys have been a HUGE part of my success,
and I thank every single one of you from the bottom of my heart! A special
shout out to Ing Cruz of "As the Pages Turn" for all your help with
the cover reveals, release blitzes
,
and blog tours! You are VERY
appreciated!

Thank you to
Theresa (Eagle Eyes) Wegand
,
my one-stop superhero beta reader/editor/formatter, listener to all my whiny
rants/vents and obsessive worrying, and friend, even when you tell me I need to
get a map. LOL ;) As always, your work is impeccable, and I can’t say enough
about it. I hope to be working with you for years to come! Thank you so much!

I want to give a special shout out to “my FP girls,” my
incredibly talented group of superstar authors. I feel absolutely blessed to
have found you. I owe you all so much. Thank you for the love, empathy, and
your friendships. Each and every one of you!

I'd also like to thank my cover artist,
Amanda Simpson of
Pixel Mischief Design.
You're an amazing talent and awesome to work
with. So far you've made some gems for me
,
and I'm excited about what's yet to
come and to working with you on many more!

Thanks
to my good friend New York Times Best Seller JB Salsbury for turning me on to
my new cover artist! And also for being such a great fan of my work! I'm so
glad I finally got to meet you last year and so proud of you and all your success!

A
special shout out to my street team "
Team Reyes
!"
To my admins, Leslie Carey,
Jenn DaSilva,
Delashawne Hodgeson, Christina Garner
Staggs, and Astin Brooks for running it with so much love and enthusiasm. Thank
you for all the hard work you put into the team! But to all who are part of
Team Reyes and are part of the madness and FUN I thank you all for your
continued support! Love you guys!
I'm SO looking forward to the teams
meet and greet this year!! <3

And, of course, my incredibly awesome readers! Thank you
all for waiting so patiently for Lorenzo's story. I hope you enjoyed it and I
didn't put ya'll through too much nail biting! ;)
I really do LOVE hearing from you!
I hope to
have a few surprises for you guys in 201
5
just to show you that I really am
listening and reading ALL your messages and comments!
.

About the Author

USA Today Bestselling Author, Elizabeth Reyes, was born
and raised in southern California and still lives there with her husband of
almost twenty-one years, her two teens, her Great Dane named Dexter, and one
big fat cat named Tyson.

She spends eighty percent of time in front of her
computer, writing and keeping up with all the social media, and loves it. She
says that there is nothing better than doing what you absolutely love for a
living, and she eats, sleeps, and breathes these stories, which are constantly
begging to be written.

Representation:
Jane Dystel of Dystel & Goderich
now handles all questions regarding subsidiary rights for any of Ms. Reyes’
work. Please direct inquiries regarding foreign translation and film rights
availability to her.

For more information on her upcoming projects and to
connect with her--she loves hearing from you all—here are a few places you can
find her:

Blog:
www.ElizabethReyes.com

Facebook fan page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Elizabeth-Reyes/278724885527554

Twitter: @AuthorElizabeth

Email
[email protected]

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She enjoys hearing your feedback and looks forward to
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