Natalie has dropped a major bomb on her, confessing she believes her husband is having an affair. Kassandra is always ready to help a friend, but accepting that one of their marriages isn’t working goes against everything she believes about the people she loves. Wanting to help their friend overcome this difficult situation and provide Natalie the support she needs, Kassandra and the girls pull a lot of strings to help Natalie uncover the truth. In the process, Kassandra discovers remarkable similarities between Josh’s recent changes and those in Natalie’s allegedly cheating husband. She’s always been an independent woman who prides herself on her own success, and when she digs up one dirty secret after another, she can’t help but wonder if her man’s womanizing days are really behind him.
Sometimes, love makes us twist reality to avoid hurting those we hold closest to our hearts. Join Kassandra and Natalie as they struggle to reconcile their fears in love with the truth.
From Chapter 1
Whenever a friend of mine dropped for a quick visit, it was always a nice surprise. Having Natalie for dinner was no different. She was a lovely woman, always doing her best to make everyone around her happy and comfortable. I thought she was even more beautiful on the inside than she was on the outside, and that was hard to top. With blonde hair, sky-blue eyes, and a smile so bright, she had a way of making people happy to comply with whatever she asked. But tonight, her charming smile didn’t illuminate her face. If I really thought about it, her smile hadn’t been the same for a while. Now I understood why.
“Why would you say that, Nat?” I couldn’t understand what she’d just told me.
“Because it’s true, Kassie.” Her shoulders fell as she exhaled what she believed was true. “I know it’s hard to believe. I couldn’t believe it myself, but I reached the point where there’s no denying it anymore. He’s definitely having an affair.”
She seemed so heartbroken. Her wide eyes glanced around the house as if she were lost, apparently finding it difficult to concentrate on any given point. She slouched as if in defeat, her hair seemed dull pulled back in a painful ponytail, but most of all, her sad smile seemed forced, so out of place on her face. She seemed so lonely sitting on my kitchen counter stool, regardless of whether or not if Josh and I were there with her. When did this happen? Why didn’t I notice before? I quickly moved to her side and held her in a tender hug with no idea what to say. I didn’t want to believe that Andrik could possibly put her through that. He was always so protective of her, looking after her every need. He was hands down the most decent man I’d ever met.
There had to be some sort of mistake.
“Natalie, do you think you could’ve made a mistake?” Josh sat next to us by the kitchen counter. He and I had been about to have one of our in-home dinner dates when Natalie showed up at our place. Naturally, we invited her to join us. What we didn’t count on was the bitter aftertaste her news had left in both our mouths. “Andrik would never cheat on you.”
Natalie and Andrik had always been the most stable couple out of my group of friends. They weren’t the first to get married—that had been Denise and Clay—but they’d been next in line. It had surprised us all a little when Nat decided to marry a man so many years her senior; Andrik was actually her mother’s age. But everything about them had always been so natural, so organic. They seemed to belong to one another from very beginning of their relationship. I wasn’t any more ready to see that change.
“I wish that were true, Josh,” she told him.” But I’m positive that’s what’s happening.” Her voice trembled with emotion, her eyes red, and her hand felt clammy and cold in mine.
“That makes no sense,” Josh insisted. “He’d never do something like that.”
She laughed a little, more as a defense mechanism than humor, and it came out lifeless and sad. Staring at the dark marble of our counter, she traced the intrinsic pattern with her fingers. “How can you be so sure, Josh? You don’t know him that well.”
“I know him enough,” Josh answered with certainty. He leaned over the counter, holding himself up with his arms and hovering too close for Natalie’s comfort. “He’s crazy about you. He would never do something to hurt you.”
“Well, he sure is hurting me right now.” Natalie had never liked confrontation, and Josh’s questioning certainly didn’t seem to help. She held herself in a protective hug, her eyes now fixated on our floor as she avoided eye contact with either one of us.
Whenever a friend of mine dropped for a quick visit, it was always a nice surprise. Having Natalie for dinner was no different. She was a lovely woman, always doing her best to make everyone around her happy and comfortable. I thought she was even more beautiful on the inside than she was on the outside, and that was hard to top. With blonde hair, sky-blue eyes, and a smile so bright, she had a way of making people happy to comply with whatever she asked. But tonight, her charming smile didn’t illuminate her face. If I really thought about it, her smile hadn’t been the same for a while. Now I understood why.
“Why would you say that, Nat?” I couldn’t understand what she’d just told me.
“Because it’s true, Kassie.” Her shoulders fell as she exhaled what she believed was true. “I know it’s hard to believe. I couldn’t believe it myself, but I reached the point where there’s no denying it anymore. He’s definitely having an affair.”
She seemed so heartbroken. Her wide eyes glanced around the house as if she were lost, apparently finding it difficult to concentrate on any given point. She slouched as if in defeat, her hair seemed dull pulled back in a painful ponytail, but most of all, her sad smile seemed forced, so out of place on her face. She seemed so lonely sitting on my kitchen counter stool, regardless of whether or not if Josh and I were there with her. When did this happen? Why didn’t I notice before? I quickly moved to her side and held her in a tender hug with no idea what to say. I didn’t want to believe that Andrik could possibly put her through that. He was always so protective of her, looking after her every need. He was hands down the most decent man I’d ever met.
There had to be some sort of mistake.
“Natalie, do you think you could’ve made a mistake?” Josh sat next to us by the kitchen counter. He and I had been about to have one of our in-home dinner dates when Natalie showed up at our place. Naturally, we invited her to join us. What we didn’t count on was the bitter aftertaste her news had left in both our mouths. “Andrik would never cheat on you.”
Natalie and Andrik had always been the most stable couple out of my group of friends. They weren’t the first to get married—that had been Denise and Clay—but they’d been next in line. It had surprised us all a little when Nat decided to marry a man so many years her senior; Andrik was actually her mother’s age. But everything about them had always been so natural, so organic. They seemed to belong to one another from very beginning of their relationship. I wasn’t any more ready to see that change.
“I wish that were true, Josh,” she told him.” But I’m positive that’s what’s happening.” Her voice trembled with emotion, her eyes red, and her hand felt clammy and cold in mine.
“That makes no sense,” Josh insisted. “He’d never do something like that.”
She laughed a little, more as a defense mechanism than humor, and it came out lifeless and sad. Staring at the dark marble of our counter, she traced the intrinsic pattern with her fingers. “How can you be so sure, Josh? You don’t know him that well.”
“I know him enough,” Josh answered with certainty. He leaned over the counter, holding himself up with his arms and hovering too close for Natalie’s comfort. “He’s crazy about you. He would never do something to hurt you.”
“Well, he sure is hurting me right now.” Natalie had never liked confrontation, and Josh’s questioning certainly didn’t seem to help. She held herself in a protective hug, her eyes now fixated on our floor as she avoided eye contact with either one of us.
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  |  The whole event kicks off with the worst kind of surprise when Kassandra discovers who her friend's fiancé really is, and she's torn between supporting Laura's future happiness and hiding the deeply buried, intimate past she shares with the groom-to-be. Struggling to be the bigger person and do all the hard work on her own, Kassandra finds surprising comfort in Josh, the best man in the wedding and someone she's been avoiding for years. He's charming, thoughtful, handsome, and the worst kind of womanizer, but she just can't seem to stay away. All the while, Kassandra can't help wondering if the wedding could be any more cliché—until she finds unexpected ways to change things up a bit. |
 | Kassandra is unable to decide the best way to help Marisol, specially when her relationship with Josh reaches a level of commitment she wasn’t expecting. Both girls will have to remember the past in order to move their relationships forward. Kassandra is a single, independent woman who prides herself on her own success. Now her life seems complete when Josh, a thoughtful, handsome, and the worst kind of charmer, leaves his womanizing days behind and can’t seem to stay away from her. Kassandra keeps wondering if their single days are really over and they’re ready for a monogamous and committed relationship. Marisol is a married woman with the perfect life: a wonderful husband and a beautiful son. Life gets even better when her little boy is finally ready for school and Sol can go to go back to work. Destiny is full of surprises for both girls, and sometimes the plans that you have aren’t the ones in the path before you. Join Kassandra and Marisol as they remember how they planned Sol’s wedding while they solve together the difficulties in the present. |
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ReplyDeleteGood morning!!
ReplyDeleteLauren, thank you so much for having me here again. I always love visiting you and your blog :)
This is such an exciting day! My third book is finally out, and I have to say that if yoy liked the first two, you're going to love this one.
I'll be around if you have any questions.
Later,
K
Thanks for the chance to win!! The books look very good and I can't wait to read them!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Heather.
DeleteBooks 1 and 2 are going to be 99 cents for a limited time. And book 3 is free in iBooks, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and Smashwords.
Hope you give them a chance. Let me know what you think of them :)
Lovely cover, wish my hair was thick enough for that do
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy you like the cover!
DeleteIt's actually the result of my first ever photoshoot session. The model is super sweet, and she was cool with us playing with her hair and changing the color (She has a dark golden tone and we wanted to go platinum blonde).
After playing with her like a Barbie doll, doing make up, hair, dressing her up and taking lots of pics, this is the end result and I'm really excited about it. So thanks!
Sounds like a good read.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kim!
DeleteHope you get the chance to read them :)
Sounds like a good book.
ReplyDelete