Worth It (55 page)

Jennifer Diaz- Thank you so much for helping with this story. Several scenes came from your feedback. When I asked for help, you were always there. Thanks for spreading the word, and giving so much to the development of the story.

Judy Ruiz- Thank you for your thoughtful feedback, you made me look at things differently and pushed. You’ve been a huge help from the start and stuck with me. Thank you.

Jeannie Bell and Stacia Newbill- You girls are awesome. Thank you for your thorough beta reading and your insightful feedback. An entire POV was born from your evil ideas. Thank you.

Gina Stough- Thank you for helping me from the beginning to end. Your beta reading and your comments on teasers were very helpful and encouraging. Thank you.

Alexis Durbin- Thank you for your keen eye and meticulousness. Thank you for arguing with me about the date, it came out much better because of our discussion. Thank you also for the encouragement, it meant and still means a lot to me. Thank you.

Tina Bell- You were incredibly thorough and meticulous, making editing a billion times easier. Thank you for your encouragement and keen eye.

Christine Mateo- Thank you so much for beta reading for me. You asked questions that pushed me harder. You’re very sweet, and I loved working with you. Thank you.

Melanie Smith- You were one of the first people to read Worth It. Thank you for your suggestions and for sticking with me for so long.

Kathryn Mac Crane- Thank you for kicking my butt when I needed it. I was lost and you pointed me in the right direction. For that I will always be grateful.

E.K. Blair- Thank you so much for your wisdom and advice, especially when it comes to promotional stuff. You are the master.

Stacy Darnell from Literary Mania Reviews- Thank you for hosting my tour. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you helping, guiding, and doing a lot of work to get the word out. You rule!

Robin Harper from Wicked Cover Design- I love the cover. You tweaked, retweaked and retweaked again until it came out perfect. Thank you so much.

Jovana Shirley from Unforeseen Editing- Thank you so much for squeezing me in when I needed an editor. I’m floored by your meticulousness and attention to detail. Thank you for patience and hard work. Without you,
Worth It
wouldn’t be what it is today. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Angela McLaurin from Fictional Formats- Thank you so much for your patience, and for your hard work formatting the book for all the platforms. It came out awesome, and I love it.

Thank you to every single person that helped with this story. If I didn’t mention you by name, please know that you are still appreciated and hold a special place in my heart.

Bloggers and readers- If you’re reading this, then you have read my book and for that, I will love you forever. Writing
Worth It
was a very emotional journey for me, and I’m so thankful to share it with you. Thank you for giving my novel a shot.

The best way to help an indie author is to spread the word. If you enjoyed reading Worth It, please consider leaving a review.

Thank you!

Nicki DeStasi lives with her husband and children in a small town in Massachusetts. She attended Fitchburg State College and studied Early Childhood Education. As a child, she enjoyed reading, but only recently began doing it again. She has always had an inventive imagination and finally decided to put those ideas on paper for others to enjoy.
Worth It
is Nicki’s first self-published book. A few personal facts: Sloth from The Goonies is her third cousin, she acted and stared in several plays throughout high school and college, and she can play three different instruments. Nicki’s philosophy is to appreciate the good things in life. If we didn’t make mistakes and have bad things happen then we wouldn’t know how truly wonderful the good things are. No matter how difficult life is sometimes, if we look to the people that love us, then we can get through them and on to the good stuff.

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Turn the page for an excerpt of

Past Imperfect
by Alison G. Bailey

Coming February 2014.

I can’t keep my leg from bopping up and down while I sit here and wait. Every part of my body that has a gland is sweating. I’ve never been this nervous in my entire life. Standing, I start to pace, alternating between checking my watch and the entrance. She’ll be here any minute. I have everything planned out to perfection tonight.

I’ve rented the private patio at our favorite restaurant in downtown Charleston, the Peninsula Grill. I had them remove all the tables except for the one we’ll be sitting at. The area is secluded and away from the noisy activity of the restaurant and street. Small white lights snake up and around each palmetto tree that surrounds the area. In the center, a table for two is dressed with white linen, crystal champagne flutes, and pristine silverware. In the middle of the table there’s a crystal vase with a dozen orange tiger lilies and some sort of purple flowers. Being a graduate of Clemson University, her favorite colors are orange and purple. Tiger lilies are her favorite flower. I just told the florist orange tiger lilies, purple, and make it look perfect.

Checking my watch for the five hundredth time in the past ten minutes, I steal another glance towards the entrance. I can feel my breathing speed up and my palms feel as if I have dunked them in water. If she doesn’t get here in the next few seconds, I’m going to be a hyperventilating-sweaty-impeccably dressed mess. Just as I let out a deep breath I hear her soft voice float through the air.

“Brad,” she says breathlessly with just a hint of surprise in her tone.

God, I love the way my name sounds coming out of her mouth. Her incredibly talented mouth that’s surrounded by her full pale pink lips. The bottom lip is slightly more plump than the upper one. When she’s concentrating hard on something, her teeth graze across that bottom lip as it’s sucked into her mouth. There is no better sight in this world than Mabry Darnell concentrating. Whenever she is thinking hard, I get hard. I can’t help it. It’s as if her mouth and my dick have this synchronicity. In fact, everything about us feels in synch.

From the moment she walked into my dad’s law firm, she grabbed my attention. We are both first year lawyers which means we are low on the food chain in the firm. Even though it’s my father’s law firm, dear dad doesn’t believe in playing favorites, especially where I’m concerned. Mabry and I have spent a lot of late nights together preparing for cases. We flirted, got to know each other, and I asked her out. She kept refusing until she could no longer resist the charming masculinity that is Brad Johnson. We’ve kept things casual, but I knew from the second I laid eyes on her, my reaction was different. It was more than lust at first sight. I’ve fallen for this girl and need her in my life.

I’ve been with a lot of pretty girls, but Mabry is the first beautiful woman for me. When I say beautiful, I don’t just mean on the outside, although, the outside is mouthwatering. Everything about her holds my attention. She stands about five feet six inches on shapely toned legs that lead up to her perfectly round ass, small waist, and one of the all-time best racks the good Lord has ever created. I’ve seen a lot of racks, so I consider myself an expert. Her shoulder length chestnut brown hair frames a well-defined, but soft square jawline and when she smiles, smirks, or grins her straight little nose crinkles up in the most adorable way causing my heart to skip a beat every time. Her azure blue eyes pop against the backdrop of her creamy pale skin, and are captivating. The outside is effortlessly beautiful and sexy, but what drew me in and has held me is what’s behind those eyes.

The times she’s dealing with a colleague or client those eyes match the tone of the meeting, warm and kind, or strong and serious. But, it’s in the quiet times, when she thinks no one is looking that those eyes hold the most truth. There is something intriguing and sad behind them during those unguarded moments.

“Hey Sweetness,” I say.

I walk over to her and pull her into my chest. I close my eyes as the smell of vanilla hits me. I pull back slightly and place a soft kiss at the corner of her mouth, letting the tip of my tongue skim across the crease quickly. I have to watch myself. Things with Mabry can go from zero to a hundred-eighty in less than five seconds. Pulling back I stare into her beautiful eyes. I can’t believe I found her. She’s perfect for me. We have been ‘together’ for three months and tonight is the night. I’m going to tell her how much I love her. I don’t know at what point during the night I’m going to say it, I just know I’m ready to say it. I’ve never said those words to anyone before, so I want everything to be special tonight.

We walk over to the table and I pull the chair out for her. “What’s all this for?” she asks.

“I just thought it would be nice to do something different, is all.” I sit down across from her, taking her hand and lacing our fingers together.

“This is a little more than just ‘different’. It’s not my birthday,” she says as her lips form into a straight line at the same time her head cocks to one side. Then her eyes widen and her mouth goes slack. “Oh god, it’s not your birthday, is it?”

“Sweetness, if it was my birthday eating dinner with you would be the last thing I’d be doing.”

Looking up at me through her long dark lashes, she asks in a sultry voice, “What would you be doing?”

I lean in close so that we are nose-to-nose. “I’d have you spread across my bed tasting you.” I hold her gaze for a moment before I look down and see the huge lump she’s swallowing slide down her slender neck.

“Don’t do that.”

“Do what?” I smirk.

“Say stuff like that to me in public. You know what it does to me,” she says shifting in her chair.

I lean back, happy with myself. I love to tease her and make her squirm. “Then you need to relax and enjoy. Don’t question it.” My voice now sounds slightly annoyed.

Mabry is very guarded. She’s less so with me now, but still questions every nice thing I do for her. I hate it and at this point don’t understand why she’s still like that with me. She’s suspicious that ulterior motives are attached. It strikes a nerve with me because I’m not like that anymore. I’m upfront and honest with people. I’ve learned my lesson the hard way.

“Fine. I’m sorry. I appreciate all the trouble you went to. You know you don’t have to do this type of thing for me.”

“I want to do this type of thing for you.” We hold each other’s gaze for a few seconds before hearing her name from across the patio.

He’s tall, dark, and has douchebag written all over him. As he walks up to our table, Mabry gives me a tight smile and squeezes my hand before pulling hers away.

“Hey Ten,” she greets Sir Douche.

“Hey, I thought it was you sitting out here,” he says.

“I’m surprised you saw me out here especially with the restaurant being so crowded.”

“I’d always be able to spot you no matter how many people were in the room,” he replies, staring at her a little too long.

Who the hell is this guy?

I clear my throat startling my date.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Ten this is Brad Johnson, a colleague.” I cringe slightly at the reference. “Brad this is Ten McGuire,” Mabry introduces.

We shake hands. “Tin? Like Rin Tin Tin, the dog?” I ask.

He gives me a smug look, the motherfucker, and answers, “Short for Tennyson. It’s a family name.”

“Does your family hate you?”

Mabry gently kicks me under the table causing my gaze to snap in her direction. “Brad!”

“What?”