Misadventures on the Rebound
Page 20
The crowd goes nuts. But I’m frozen in place. A deer in headlights. Did he just say…?
Aiden turns toward the wings. “Savvy, baby? Could you come out here, sweetheart?”
I can’t move. My legs won’t function. Oh, my God.
Laughing, my friend squeezes my shoulders and guides me onto the stage. She deposits me in front of Aiden and glides away…and, yet again, the crowd loses its collective mind.
Aiden pulls his microphone out of its stand. “Savvy,” he says softly. He grabs my hand with his free one. “You’re the love of my life. My everything.” He releases my hand in order to pull a ring box out of his jeans…and then he kneels, the ring box in his hand, a beautiful smile on his face, and says, “Savannah Valentine. Savvy Who Isn’t Savvy. Savvy Whose Give-a-Shitter Done Broke. I love you with all my heart and soul. Will you please, please make me the happiest man alive and say yes to becoming my wife?”
Aiden opens the ring box to reveal a goddamned beast of a diamond, and I gasp.
“Yes,” I choke out.
Laughing, tearing up, Aiden rises and wraps me in his muscled arms. He plants a huge kiss on my lips that makes me burst into tears. As the arena applauds and cheers, I throw myself into Aiden’s arms. For a long moment, we hold on to each other, trembling with emotion.
“I love you,” Aiden says into my ear. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too,” I reply.
Wiping his eyes, Aiden disengages from me. He raises my hand into the air like I’ve just won a prize fight. “Ladies and gentlemen!” he booms into his microphone. “I give you my future wife…Savvy Who Isn’t…Single!”
Acknowledgments
I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Gary Lorden, Professor of Mathematics and brilliant mind, for so generously helping me get the math and gambling right in this story. Thank you also to Toby Wheeler, cybersecurity specialist, for helping me make Savvy a superheroine in as accurate and realistic a manner as possible. Thank you to the team at Waterhouse Press for your hard work and for making my entire Misadventures experience so wonderful. And, of course, thank you, dear reader, for reading this book!
Don’t miss any Misadventures!
Misadventures with a Country Boy
Available December 4, 2018
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Excerpt from Misadventures with a Country Boy
“Hi. I’m Cole,” he said, extending his hand. “You tell me your name, and then we won’t be strangers anymore.”
She remained silent and gave him a withering look.
“Fine.” He shrugged. “If you’re not gonna tell me your name, I’ll pick one for you.” Cole studied the girl from head to toe. She wore a gray T-shirt with a neck so wide it hung off one shoulder—the kind of T-shirt people paid a hundred dollars for. He would have gladly stretched out one of his shirts for a fraction of that price. She’d paired the overpriced shirt with tight blue jeans and black flats. The way she crossed her arms over her chest and impatiently tapped her foot reminded him of some of the girls from his hometown. Girls who wouldn’t give a guy the time of day if he didn’t drive a flashy car. Back home, a girl like her would have taken one look at a guy like him—his beat-up ride, dirt under his nails—and acted like a, well… “Let’s go with Princess,” Cole said, a faint smile on his lips.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Not even close.”
“What is it, then?”
Her gaze darted down to a twig beside her. She picked it up and tossed it a few feet away. “Rose,” she said, though she didn’t move to shake his hand. She looked him up and down, her expression making it clear she was still suspicious. “You’re still a stranger.”
Cole retracted his hand and slid it into his back pocket. “So tell me, then. How do I stop being a stranger?” Better judgment should have had him getting into his truck and driving away from this girl’s drama. But his conscience wouldn’t let him.
“You don’t. You think just because we know each other’s names that I should suddenly trust that you won’t kill me later?”
Cole let out a loud laugh. She was funny…he’d give her that. And she was still Princess as far as he was concerned because the name Rose was bullshit. The quirk of her lips and the way she averted her eyes told him she wasn’t being honest. “You think I might kill you?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know that you won’t. Just because you have this whole…charming Southern thing going on”—she gestured up and down Cole’s body with her hand—“doesn’t mean you’re not the next Ted Bundy.”
“You think I’m charming?”
She rolled her eyes and huffed as if the question annoyed her. But Cole knew by the faint flush on her cheeks it hadn’t. “I also said I think you might be the next Ted Bundy.”
“I might also be Prince Charming.”
Princess’s expression softened, and the corners of her lips turned up slightly.
“Is that a smile?”
“No,” she replied. Though he was certain she knew just as well as he did that it was.
“Listen, I’m honestly trying to help. You seem like you’re trying to get someplace. But I understand if you don’t want to take a ride from some dude you met at a gas station. It pretty much goes against everything you’ve probably been taught your whole life. If it’ll make you feel better, you can text a picture of my license to a friend or somethin’.” Cole reached into his wallet and removed his license for her to take.
She narrowed her eyes at him, as if deciding what to do next, before grabbing and studying his ID closely like she was looking for any information that would help make her decision clear.
“What are you looking for?” he asked.
“That doesn’t really look like you.” She unwrapped an orange Starburst from the pack she held in her hand and popped it into her mouth. She chewed slowly as she twisted the wrapper around her index finger.
“Well, it is. Same guy, different hair,” Cole said, removing his hat to show her his hair. “Normally it’s a little longer, like this.”
She stood and leaned against the building, pressing one foot back on the dusty brick behind her. Tearing the Starburst pack open some more, she held it out to him.
“Thanks,” he said, taking one.
Then she took out another orange one before shoving the pack into her bag and removing her phone. She turned it on and pressed a few buttons.
Cole gestured to the ancient flip phone she was holding. There was no way that was the one she normally carried with her. “Did you teleport here from 2002 or something?”
She stopped fidgeting with the buttons and glanced up at him, her long black lashes framing her deep brown eyes perfectly. “Or something,” she replied. Then she directed her attention back to the phone while Cole waited.
When she was done, she handed his license back to him and slid her phone back into the outside pocket of her backpack. “Okay, Cole Timmons from 116 North Washington Street, Samson, Georgia. I know where you live. And now so does my sister. So don’t do anything crazy.”
Cole raised his hands out to his sides innocently. “Wouldn’t dream of it. Besides,” he added, “I’m not the one with no ID who’s carrying around a burner phone and eating only the orange Starbursts. If one of us is crazy, it’s sure as hell not me.”
She was silent for a moment before pushing off the wall and heading toward Cole’s truck. And this time she didn’t try to hide her smile.
Cole walked to the passenger side and stood in front of it, blocking his new companion from opening the door.
Her eyes shot to his. “What?”
“I have one condition for you ridin’ with me.”
She returned his glare, pulling her shoulders back and raising her eyebrows.
“I’m gonna need to know your real name.”
If you haven't met rock star Lucas
Ford yet, check out Misadventures on the Night Shift.
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Misadventures of a Good Wife
Misadventures of a Valedictorian
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Misadventures with My Roommate
Misadventures with a Rookie
Misadventures with the Boss
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Misadventures with a Speed Demon
Misadventures with a Manny
Misadventures with a Professor
Misadventures on the Rebound
Misadventures with a Country Boy
Misadventures with My Ex
Misadventures of a Curvy Girl
Misadventures with a Book Boyfriend
Misadventures in a Threesome
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Visit Misadventures.com for more information!
About Lauren Rowe
USA Today and internationally bestselling author Lauren Rowe lives in San Diego, California, where, in addition to writing books, she performs with her dance/party band at events all over Southern California, writes songs, takes embarrassing snapshots of her ever-patient Boston terrier, Buster, spends time with her wonderful family, and narrates audiobooks. Much to Lauren’s thrill, her books have been translated all over the world in multiple languages and hit multiple domestic and international bestseller lists. With enticing characters, enthralling situations and a general love of romantic fiction, Lauren has created a world of her own, full of wit and sensual desire.
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For more information, please visit Lauren Rowe at:
www.laurenrowebooks.com