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Title: December Rain
Author:
A.L. Goulden
Release
date: November 25th, 2014
Genre:
Contemporary Romance
Book
Description:
Monica and Alex Waters have spent that last few months
working to repair a broken marriage and rekindle their passion. Just as they
start finding their spark, Quinn Matthews and his escalating career resurfaces,
but this time Alex makes the decision to let Monica go.
The devastation of losing her high school sweetheart,
her home, and even her dog twists Monica down a destructive path that alienates
her from her closest friends and lands her on Quinn’s couch. Despite her
efforts to resist jumping into his arms again, the spark between them reignites
and sweeps her away on a whirlwind holiday adventure. She finds that falling in
love with Quinn’s family and lifestyle is as easy as falling for his ocean
colored eyes. The problem is that it’s all too easy, and when she sees that
Quinn’s reinvented life has completely shifted towards her dreams, she starts
to question whether he’s too good to be true.
Quinn has a secret that was never meant to be kept
this long, but will Monica be able to trust another man who’s lied? And now
that Quinn’s got his happily ever after in sight, he’s not about to let her go
or share her with another man.
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22922733-december-rain
Book Excerpt:
“How you feeling?” Quinn asks,
turning to a dining area where he pulls out a chair and motions for her to sit.
Two place settings wait at the square metal and glass table. He grabs a pitcher
of orange juice when she starts to move and pours for both of them.
“Better than I deserve.” She sits
with her head hung low, avoiding his face. There’s a full outdoor kitchen to
the side of the stairs where Quinn reaches into a stainless warming drawer. Wow.
“Was this deck already like this when you moved in?” Shit. I wasn’t gonna
bring up the house.
“No. A friend of a friend designed
it and fast-tracked the job for me. They just finished a couple weeks ago.” He
sets a plate in front of her with a spinach and goat cheese scramble and rosemary
potatoes.
Oh wow… What’s he trying to do? “You didn’t have to do all this?”
she sighs.
“I was making it for me too. Not a
big deal.”
He sets down a plate for himself
along with a bowl of fruit to share and the memories of their breakfasts back
in LA flood in. I’m really not ready for this. Oh my god, these potatoes
smell so good. “This is amazing.” Amazing doesn’t really cover it.
She looks around overwhelmed by the drastic change in his lifestyle in such a
quick time. He’s gotta be blowing all of his money, and getting into some
serious debt.
“I’m really happy with it,” he
says. Just wish you were here with me every morning… Quinn shakes his
thoughts and grabs the sourdough from the toaster. “So how much do you
remember?” He settles into his chair and spreads butter as casually as he can
manage.
Ugh. “Most of it, unfortunately.
Definitely racking up the worst days of my life lately.”
Oh. He sighs. It doesn’t have to
be. “I’m sorry to hear that.” His voice cracks a bit as he takes a bite.
They continue in silence for a few
minutes as the tension builds.
How can this robe be too warm up
here? It’s probably not even 55 degrees outside. She looks around and notices a red
glow coming from various areas behind the horizontal slats. Heat?
There’s a heat lamp built into the canopy over the kitchen as well. He has outdoor heat?
Quinn chews with frustration, his
fork hitting the plate harder with each bite. Say something! Seriously. Why
won’t she let us be happy? Gotta be the most frustrating woman on the planet…
and I pick her. Typical! He drops his knife causing her to jump. “Sorry,”
he says. I wish she’d take off those stupid sunglasses so I can see her.
Jeez. What’s his problem? He seems
mad. Join the club and get in line! Monica starts scooping all the pineapple out of the
fruit bowl.
Seriously? She’s only gonna eat the
pineapple? Whatever. Always gotta be difficult. He shakes his head and waits to
retrieve the strawberries and mango left in the bowl.
They continue eating without
conversation, but the clamber of utensils and glasses slamming gets louder and
louder.
“Can you call me a cab?” Monica
starts to get up.
“Seriously? That’s it?” Staring at
his reflection in her sunglasses only pisses him off more.
“What do you expect from me? I
didn’t ask you to bring me here! In fact… I remember screaming that I didn’t
want to leave with you!”
“Did you think we’d let you leave
with Jack?”
“It’s not your business who I would
have left with!”
“Why are you acting like I did
something to you? You left me! You ended us. And I respected your
decision and disappeared.”
“Really? Cause I could’ve sworn you
were in Maui!”
“How was I supposed to know you’d
be there? And come into my gallery? What, you got dibs on the whole island?”
“Yours? You own the gallery?” She
shakes her head not caring for an answer. “That’s what made him finally decide
to end it.”
Quinn stills remembering Alex’s
pain filled face. “So you blame me for Alex leaving?”
About
the Author:
Im a designer, author, wife and dog-lover living in the South Pasadena
area of California. I got my BFA in Film Production from the Academy of
Art University in San Francisco, but my love of a good story came way before
college. I remember writing my first full story in fifth grade on a
typewriter. I cut and pasted it into a book, complete with cardboard cover and
taped binding. Things have changed a lot since then. With the magnificent
digital age I can produce books and give them to the world without a sticky
mess.
In college numerous instructors and peers praised my dialogue pushed
me to hone my storytelling skills. Of course the need to cut and
paste was still there, so I went into the world of Production Design and Art
Direction for films and television. It gave me the ability to connect
design to storytelling in a way that no other career can. The past 18
years have spun a unique perspective on visually emotional tales of
relationships and the thread that ties all things together. Now I’m shifting
focus on the driving force thatn brought me here… stories. I hope that I can
share a unique perspective on life, love and the pursuit in all of the above.
Official Website: http://www.author-algoulden.com/
Giveaway
Prize: 5 USD Amazon Gift Card
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