by T Gephart
“Please tell me, you know hypotheticals are my downfall.”
“My sweet, sweet, New York.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Relax.”
Moving his hands away from my hips, he reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out an envelope.
Honestly, for a split second I thought it might have been a ring.
Because even though it hadn’t been that long, if I hadn’t scared him away with my crazy by now, it probably wasn’t going to happen. We’d even talked about marriage. So it was natural that serious talk plus reaching for something equals marriage proposal. But that didn’t look likely.
“You’re giving me stationery?” I eyed the envelope in his fingers, still not sure if I was supposed to take it.
“Nope, I’m giving you what’s inside of the stationery.” His fingers tapped the envelope trying to entice me to take it.
Hmmm.
Yep, still no clue.
As my abilities to see through the paper and find out what was inside were lacking, I took it out of his hands and carefully opened it up. And there, looking rather insignificant was a printed out email.
“Still don’t get it.”
“Read it, New York.”
I unfolded the sheet of paper, and it was then when I saw the sender/recipient part that I screamed.
It had been addressed to Eric from a realtor.
IN NEW YORK!
“Oh my God, what did you do?” I tried to read the writing but the lines on the pages started to get wavy.
“Well, we,” he corrected, “bought a house in Brooklyn. I’m keeping the L.A house, but there is no reason why we can’t commute between the two. And while I think your apartment is great and all, it’s not big enough when we decide to start a family.”
“What?”
My heart stopped.
Or maybe it skipped a beat.
I was still breathing, so I hadn’t died. That was good.
“I told you that whatever or wherever we go, I want it to be with you.” His fingers moved to my jaw. “And I’m talking long term—marriage, babies—and everything before and after. I’m not proposing in a five-minute lunch break, you deserve better than that. But I need you to know that this isn’t temporary and I also can’t take you away from a city that you love. Well, not entirely take you away.”
I threw myself at him.
Literally leapt from my own two feet onto him, arms slung around his neck so that if he hadn’t caught me with his arms I would have dropped onto my ass on the floor.
“I love you,” I mumbled into his neck, my heart so full I wasn’t sure there was enough room in my chest.
“I love you too.”
I had no doubt on whether we would stand the test of time. Or that one day when we were old and grey, people would scoff on how we came to be.
And if I was honest, it was five different kinds of ridiculous.
He had been my number one crush.
A man who had captured my attention before I knew he was destined for my heart.
Which just proves that even if your dreams are insane, so far removed from reality that even you don’t believe they are possible.
Do it anyway.
THE END
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MY FAMILY PUTS UP WITH a lot—namely my insanity and often ridiculous ideas—but without a doubt, I could not do any of this without their love and support. Gep, Jenna, Liam and Woodley—You are my heart in pieces, and when we’re together I am whole.
Thanks to my amazing extended family and friends who are usually the recipients of my crazy messages, text, emails and stories. Some of you have been lucky—or unlucky depending on what side of the fence you sit—to have been front row to the insanity. Thanks for not judging me and loving all of me unconditionally.
Thank you, Lilliana Anderson and Monica James—you guys and this story, I don’t think I ever stopped laughing.
Special thanks to MK and Danielle. I tried to warn you off and still you wanted to read it.
Thank you the amazing posse of authors who turn a blind eye to my crazy. Lili Saint Germain, JB Hartnett, Monica James, Skyla Mardi, CJ Duggan, Lilliana Anderson, Rachel Brookes, JD Nixon, Natasha Preston, Kirsty Mosely, Ker Dukey, LA Casey, Tillie Cole, Julia Kent, Helena Hunting, Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, Kelly Elliot, Jay Crownover, SC Stephens, Joanna Wylde, Kylie Scott, MK Harkins and Katy Evans—and to anyone I’ve left out, you all rock.
Hang Le—Duuuuuuudddeeee. I don’t think I have ever loved a cover more. That’s a lie. I love all of them. But this one is special because . . . we know the reasons.
Massive thanks, love and appreciation to all the bloggers and blogs who have, and continue to support me. So many of you share my covers, releases, sales without even so much as a word from me. It is a massive job and I see the incredible effort you put in. I’m sorry if I miss your shares or posts, but every single one of you is amazing.
Thanks to the T Gephart Entourage, enjoy the #Ridiculous.
Thanks to my Penny and Angela #UnimpressedCatIsBack. Love you ladies.
Thank you to my editor, Nichole Strauss, from Insight Editing Services. Different name, same badass editor. Couldn’t do this without you, well I could but there’d be a lot more missed words, fucks, CAPS and mistakes. Adore you.
Thank you to my proofreaders, Marie and Rosa.
Massive thanks to Christine Borgford from Type A Formatting—so excited and blessed to work with you, thank you for making it look so pretty.
And as always, thank you to YOU—insert your name here. I never take readers for granted and I know you are spoiled for choice. That you use that choice to read me is a blessing and honor I could never put into words. Thank you.
T GEPHART IS AN INDIE author from Melbourne, Australia.
T’s approach to life has been somewhat unconventional. Rather than going to University, she jumped on a plane to Los Angeles, USA in search of adventure. While this first trip left her somewhat underwhelmed and largely depleted of funds it fueled her appetite for travel and life experience.
With a rather eclectic resume, which reads more like the fiction she writes than an actual employment history, T struggled to find her niche in the world.
While on a subsequent trip the United States in 1999, T met and married her husband. Their whirlwind courtship and interesting impromptu convenience store wedding set the tone for their life together, which is anything but ordinary. They have lived in Louisiana, Guam and Australia and have traveled extensively throughout the US. T has two beautiful young children and one four legged child, Woodley, the wonder dog.
An avid reader, T became increasingly frustrated by the lack of strong female characters in the books she was reading. She wanted to read about a woman she could identify with, someone strong, independent and confident and who didn’t lack femininity. Out of this need, she decided to pen her first book, A Twist of Fate. T set herself the challenge to write something that was interesting, compelling and yet easy enough to read that was still enjoyable. Pulling from her own past “colorful” experiences and the amazing personalities she has surrounded herself with, she had no shortage of inspiration. With a strong slant on erotic fiction, her core characters are empowered women who don’t have to sacrifice their femininity. She enjoyed the process so much that when it was over she couldn’t let it go.
T loves to travel, laugh and surround herself with colorful characters. This inevitably spills into her writing and makes for an interesting journey—she is well and truly enjoying the ride!
Based on her life experiences, T has plenty of material for her books and has a wealth of ideas to keep you all enthralled.
Connect with T
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The Lexi Series
Lexi
A Twist of Fate
Twisted Views: Fate’s Companion
A Leap
of Faith
A Time for Hope
The Power Station Series
High Strung
Crash Ride
Back Stage
The Black Addiction Series
Slide
Sticks
Stand
Standalones
The Fall
#1 Crush
