by Ella Frank
Forcing myself to shake off my dread, I said, “I’m okay,” and tried to believe it for his sake.
“Well, you look like hell.” When my head shot up, he leaned against the doorway, one of those charming half-grins cocking up one side of his lips. “Hell on wheels, anyway. What’d you do, run all the way here?”
Not too far off there. I didn’t even remember crossing campus to get to his dorm until I was in front of the building.
When I didn’t laugh at his teasing, Lucas’s expression fell again and his brows pulled down, a crease forming between them as his eyes, the color of a stormy sky, gave me a thorough once-over, looking for the source of my pain. He was silent for a long moment, but he must’ve seen something he didn’t like, because he stiffened and his jaw clenched. Then he took a deep breath and let it out in a rush.
“Tell me.”
“Tell you what?” I asked.
Lucas shook his head, his arms going over his chest. “I’m not helping you out here. If you came here for a reason, get out with it.”
Did he know? He couldn’t. I’d only just found out myself, and… No. There was no way. “It’s…complicated.”
“Complicated?”
“Yes.”
Lucas gave a humorless chuckle. “Jackson Davenport, I knew you were scared, but I never took you for a coward. If you don’t want to do this, you can man the hell up and tell me to my face.”
“What are you… I’m not…” I ran my hand over my face, struggling to understand the conclusion he’d come to for why I was standing at his door. My lack of a poker face had put him on the defensive. He thought I was here to reject him. An idea so completely unfathomable to me that it made my stomach turn thinking about it. “Lucas…you’ve got this all wrong.”
“Do I?”
“Yes. I’m not here to—“ I almost said “end things with you,” but I didn’t want to lie to him. I never had and I never would. Instead, I said, “Fight with you. I don’t want to fight.”
“Then why are you here, Jackson?” he asked, and my gaze fell to his lips. I’d tasted those lips only a few times, not nearly enough to quench a starving man’s hunger. All these months I’d wasted, warring with myself in my head, never letting myself have the thing I wanted most. And now I was down to a matter of hours. It wasn’t enough, not nearly enough. But it was all I had, and I wasn’t wasting another second.
If I couldn’t tell Lucas how I felt about him, then I’d show him.
Finally.
Irrevocably.
And starting now.
A Little Bit Like Love releases June 2017
To get the inside scoop from Brooke’s upcoming book, you can join her and Ella in the The Naughty Umbrella on Facebook.
You can add it to your TBR list right here on Goodreads
About Brooke
You could say Brooke Blaine was a book-a-holic from the time she knew how to read; she used to tell her mother that curling up with one at 4 a.m. before elementary school was her ‘quiet time.’ Not much has changed except for the espresso I.V. pump she now carries around and the size of her onesie pajamas.
Brooke is a USA Today Bestselling Author and enjoys writing sassy contemporary romance, whether in the form of comedy, suspense, or erotica. The latter has scarred her conservative Southern family for life, bless their hearts.
If you’d like to get in touch with her, she’s easy to find - just keep an ear out for the Rick Astley ringtone that’s dominated her cell phone for years.
Brooke’s Links
Brooke’s Newsletter
www.BrookeBlaine.com
https://www.facebook.com/BrookeBlaine.Writer
https://www.facebook.com/BrookeBlaineAuthor
https://twitter.com/BrookeBlaine1
https://instagram.com/brookeblaine1
Acknowledgments
“Special Thanks” are always difficult, and not because you don’t want to thank everyone, but because it’s so incredibly hard to find the right words to express how thankful and grateful you are to have these people take part in such a special thing as creating a book.
When I went into this project—the second installment of The Temptation Series—I knew without a doubt it was going to be a project that took some time and planning to have it done exactly the way I wanted it. Because not only did I want to re-launch the original three books TRY, TAKE, and TRUST with a stunning new makeover, but I also wanted to announce that I was ready to write the final three books in Logan & Tate’s story.
The first stop in this journey was, of course, to run the idea by my awesome BFF and co-author, Brooke Blaine. I know it has been said many times before, but I couldn’t do this without her. I actually have an anxiety attack if she hints she might be busy the week I hope she can read my final work. Seriously…an anxiety attack.
BUT…she is never too busy, and is always there for me whenever I have doubts, ideas, or need her to check anything and everything for me. And when I came to her with this idea, not only was she excited, she was so supportive and helpful in listening to my thoughts and outline for these next three books that I count myself extremely fortunate to have such a friend who will convince me to tackle my fears and pursue my dreams. And who has the strongest strength of character in a person I have ever seen.
I couldn’t have done this without you, and these boys wouldn’t be the same without you! No one knows them as well—and sometimes better—than I do but you. <3
Then I wanted to see what my fabulous agent, Kimberly Brower, thought about the idea. Was this smart after three-four years?? And as she always is, she was one hundred percent supportive. I can’t thank you enough for talking with me about this idea and encouraging me to go forth! Your advice and complete accessibility (pretty much instantly LOL) makes you invaluable. And I can’t tell you how much better I felt having your eyes on my lawyer. Thank you!
Oh, and when you all get your brand new beautiful paperbacks, we can thank Kimberly for helping me switch over to EverAfter Romance publishing. They make a beautiful book!
The next stop was finding the perfect Logan and the perfect Tate for these gorgeous new covers.
I knew exactly who I wanted for Logan. There was no one else for me, and I was determined. I was lucky enough to be able to track down the wonderful Chris Davis at Specular Photography who I knew had photographed the man I was after, and then, well, Brooke and I had the oh-so-difficult task of picking three photos of the extraordinarily handsome Adam Cowie. I am thrilled to say I got some of the most stunning photos ever, and that is due to the talent of Chris. What magnificent photos you take, sir.
Then it was a matter of tracking down a Tate. He was a little harder because I had a vision in my head for so long. But then I came across a photo by Fred Goudon of the beautiful Clément Becq (the cover photo on Try) and it was as though Tate stepped out of my head and came to life on my screen. He was perfect. I reached out to Fred and crossed all my fingers and toes he had more of Clément, and luckily for me, he did!
So, that was the photos secured…that took a couple of months and happened at the end of 2016. I have to say, I am terrible at keeping secrets so sitting on this was agonizing! I would open the photo files and just want to show everyone—BUT NO. I waited.
And I HAD to wait because Shannon at Shanoff Formats had to go in and create some magic with these bad boys—and BOY DID SHE EVER! Have you seen these covers??? Damn girl. Not only did you brand them perfectly, but you made them so beautiful I literally couldn’t have seen them any other way.
Words cannot express how much I love the re-vamp of TRY, TAKE, and TRUST. Then TEASE came along, and I can’t wait for everyone to see the final two!
Thank you for working with me on these, and for all of your talented work for the teasers. You’re awesome, and I hope I have communicated this clearly. (See, Shannon? I’m working on it!)
And wait… there’s someone else… someone I’m trying to put my finger on but it’s difficult because she is never in one place for
too long. She is elusive…Jenn Watson. You know that’s you, lady!
This wonderful woman and owner of Social Butterfly PR is an insanely busy human who never actually sleeps—of this I am convinced. She is, however, dedicated to her clients (and friends) and does everything in her power to help facilitate the best release for each and every one of us.
I love how easy it is to communicate with you, Jenn. I love having you to ask advice and bounce my ideas off when it comes to go time, and I can’t wait to see you at Shameless this year! Big hugs coming your way!
Oh Arran. I always say this while shaking my head because I’m convinced when I read some of your comments that that is what you’re doing. Case in point “MATCHBOX AND HOT WHEELS ARE DIFFERENT BRANDS ENTIRELY, GOD!”
Consider me schooled LOL. But seriously, your sarcasm and dry wit makes the editing process much less painful—for me, anyway. I’m sure it’s horrible for you. Hahaha! Are you thinking YES as you read this right now? Are you? Thank you for being awesome! And I’ll be emailing you again soon! Aren’t you excited?
To my two wonderful proofreaders: Judy at Judy’s Proofreading & Alison at Red Leaf Proofing. Thank you for being my fresh, and final, set of eyes on this project as we got Tease ready and pretty for the public. I was so pleased to get a chance to work with both of you, and I can’t wait to do it again. There’s no one I trust more.
To the four ladies of the Naughty Umbrella who gave me the names of the drinks that Logan ** cough cough ** swallows. Ahaha. THANK YOU. I love them! They were fun, creative, and cheeky! A great tribute to our guys and so very fitting IMO.
- The Cherry Banger - Tessa Parke - The Tongue Twister - Gina Olivieri - The Throat Tickler - Julie Covington - The Ivy League - Lisa VanHollebeke Howell
To every single blogger who originally picked up TRY and had faith in me: Thank you for supporting my journey into a genre I adore and have only grown to love even more with every single book I have read, and written, within it. You are the people who helped spread the word about Logan and Tate. And you are who helped me convince others to give it a “try.”
To my ravenous readers: YOU are the reason Logan and Tate are back in your hands and YOU are the reason that I get to spend more time with these two phenomenal men. You trusted my vision, took a chance on me, and thankfully fell in love with these men just as hard as I did.
I can’t wait to continue their journey later this year, and I thank you for all the emails, all the love, and the constant support of these men. I can’t ever begin to tell you just how much it means to me.
And finally, to my husband: Thank you for putting up with me and my moody writing ways. Thank you for being supportive of everything I write. And thank you for never complaining when I do my out loud reads with Brooke. You are a trooper, and so patient and unbelievably supportive, and I couldn’t ask for anyone more understanding than you. <3 <3
Much love to everyone, and until next time…
Xx Ella
About the Author
If you’d like to get to know Ella better, you can find her getting up to all kinds of shenanigans at:
The Naughty Umbrella
Ella Frank is the USA Today Bestselling author of the Temptation series, including Try, Take, and Trust and is the co-author of the fan-favorite contemporary romance, Sex Addict. Her Exquisite series has been praised as “scorching hot!” and “enticingly sexy!”
Some of her favorite authors include Tiffany Reisz, Kresley Cole, Riley Hart, J.R. Ward, Erika Wilde, Gena Showalter, and Carly Philips.
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