For any of you who have read Back to December, you've seen this, since it appears at the end of the book. This is for those of you who haven't read Book #1. What are you waiting for? Quick! Go buy Back to December and read it before Only One comes out in the next month or so! You'll really, really wish you had!
Also, just a quick note. My awesome book club is reading Back to December for our December read (of course!) and as such, I will be creating a list of discussion questions. If you're interested in having those for your own book club, I'm planning to post them here when they're ready. I've got a couple months, so I haven't put that on top of the to-do list yet.
Here's your snippet, as promised!
Prologue
Jenna
pulled up to the big, white house with its New England charm,
complete with a huge front porch. Numerous cars occupied the
driveway, but since this place had been an inn, there were still
parking spots. Unfortunately, there were none near the door.
“You
ready for this?” Christopher asked. Jenna nodded.
Fake
it til you make it, she thought.
Rob
and Emily were getting married and that meant there would be a crowd
of people here soon. The gathering wasn't the issue, however; the
problem was that one of those people would be Liam.
As
Emily's full-time bodyguard, Liam now lived with their boss, Rob
Deacon, aka
movie star Deac Roberts. Jenna
hadn't seen Liam in seven torturous,
heartache-filled months
when she wondered
if he still loved her or
if he'd
changed his mind. She'd
despaired for six months
because she hadn't told
Liam his baby grew inside
her.
Jenna
and Christopher, who was Rob's stylist, had discussed Liam during the
entire flight to Maine from L.A. She couldn't hide her pregnancy.
These days, Jenna could barely get out of her own way. Concealment
was impossible unless she was seen from the neck up. That wasn't
going to happen.
Christopher
walked ahead to the house door and his massive frame engulfed the
whole doorway. From a distance, Jenna observed Chris' air kisses upon
Emily's greeting and heard his compliment that she was glowing. He
shouted over his shoulder, “Come on, big girl, you're lagging
behind.”
“Ha-ha.
You'd walk slower if you were me, too.”
Christopher
replied, “Thank God I never will be. My figure couldn't handle it.”
She
stepped into the house and hugged Emily, whose eyebrows shot up her
forehead. Apparently, Rob hadn't mentioned her pregnancy.
“I'm
so glad to see you!" Jenna said. "I'm so happy Rob finally
came after you. He knows." She put a protective hand over her
belly.
“Knows?”
Emily asked, brow pinched
in confusion, eyes narrowed.
“About
the baby. I told him.”
Emily's
face suddenly paled. Did she still not trust Rob? Jenna
clarified, “It's not his baby! I meant I told him. Because
he's my boss. And I'll need to take time off when the baby is born.”
Her
breathing relaxed and Emily smiled. “Oh. Right. Of course! So, how
far along are you?”
“About
seven months. Actually, it's 34 weeks on Monday.” If Emily did the
math, she'd know what that meant.
They
walked toward the back to the kitchen, where Rob's former make-up
artist, Reggie, stood alongside a tall brunette who Emily introduced
as her best friend, Meg.
Reggie
hugged Jenna, rubbed her belly and gave her a knowing look. Nervous,
her smile wavered and she thought, Yeah, it's about to get
real.
She
and Christopher stepped onto the deck. Across the expanse of wood,
Liam stood in a small group. He was as handsome as ever, his
recently-cut wave of brown hair accentuating his cheekbones. His
shoulders shrugged with a stifled laugh and his smirk made her smile.
God, had she missed him.
Liam
finally noticed them and looked in their direction. His eyes found
Jenna's and heat rushed through her body. Those gorgeous lashes
framed twinkling brown eyes, the chocolate orbs that had first caught
her attention, and her heart clenched at the memory. A grin spread
across his face as wide as the one he'd given her at the Malibu house
in January, the night when, after three years, he'd finally said he
loved her.
Then
his eyes strayed down her body to her breasts, which had grown from a
C to a DD since the last time she saw him. As his gaze traveled to
her hand on her belly, he wobbled.
“Grab
him, Rob!” Emily shouted a
second too late, because Rob barely caught Liam's arms before his
best friend collapsed. In the process, Liam's head whacked Rob's
nose. Rob lay his friend on the chaise before he asked for a cloth
for his nosebleed.
Jenna
gasped and tears sprang to her eyes. He knew that the baby was his,
or else he wouldn't have reacted that way. Her hand instantly covered
her mouth to stifle a cry of relief.
She
looked down at the red-haired woman who'd dropped to her knees beside
Liam. She'd also gasped and panicked as he fainted.
“Oh,
my God! Is he okay? What just happened?” Red asked and
looked at
Emily.
And
that was when she saw Jenna.
Red's
eyes teared, mouth drooped in a wobbly frown and her eyes drifted
closed for a second before a tear rolled down her cheek. When Rob
told her to head into the house, that he'd take care of Liam, she
agreed without a word as Meg helped her stand.
She
must
be Liam's girlfriend.
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