“Rue Calliwell?” a female voice asks.
“Yes?”
“Your mother was a filthy whore!” The phone goes dead.
Staring at it, I stand here, stunned. It’s only 6:18 a.m. It’s way too early to hear your mother’s a whore. Shaken, I dial Jenna’s number. As I wait for her to pick up, I get angrier and angrier. “Come on, Jenna. Pick up!” I dial it again and again until finally she answers in a very groggy voice.
“Hey. What’s up?” I can practically hear her scratching her nose.
“Jenna, get up. Something just happened and… Oh fuck it! You know what? I’ll tell you about it when you get here. Come over. Now. Because guess what? We’re going shopping.”
She pauses, still half asleep at the time. “The stores aren’t open yet.”
“They are, in New York.”
Silence. Then she gasps, waking up more. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“What do you think I’m saying?”
“That we are flying to New York to go shopping??!!”
“Then yes.”
“I’ll be right there!” She hangs up.
I’m about to throw the phone on the bed so I can pack, when I get a better idea. I go through the recent-call list and assign the name Evil Bitch to the unknown caller who just tried to ruin my morning. “There. Try and surprise me now.” I toss the phone and run to pull out my suitcase, yanking it out of the pile of crap in my closet. Time to dust this baby off.
One thing I’ve always fought against is caring how others perceive me. It’s been too much a part of my life, wanting to blend in and not be judged. The desire to ‘fit in’ is in our evolutionary DNA, one biology teacher told us in high school. It’s still engrained in us from the days when, if we were thrown out of the cave, we’d be dinner. But I hate it.
I don’t want to fit in.
And I really, really don’t want to hear it from ANYONE what they think of my mom, this whole situation, or me.
Alec’s face pops into my mind and I stop in my tracks on the way to the dresser, the soft carpet squishing between my toes. Talking aloud to myself, I mutter, “The only problem with going to New York is that he’s here. If I stayed here, maybe I’d go out with the brothers again and run into him. You know, by purposeful accident. Maybe I could tell him I don’t care what Sean thinks. That if I’m going to get my heart broken, I want it to be by him.” A shudder passes over me and I shake out my head. “You’re being crazy, Rue. You can’t just lay yourself at a guy’s feet like that. Especially when that probably happens to him all the time.”
Sighing, I pull open my top dresser drawer, and grab my favorite underwear, socks and bras, tossing them into the suitcase from where I stand. The bank balance jumps in front of my eyes again and a grin spreads on my lips. I just found out I’m a fucking millionaire. For real. Running into the bathroom, I say, loudly, “I just want to be happy.” Excitement racing the blood faster in my veins, I grab my must-haves and run out to throw them in the suitcase, too.
I want to stop listening when people say these words: You shouldn’t… You can’t… You’re too… What makes them think they have the right to impose their rules or inhibitions on me?
We have one life.
We get to do what we want.
As long as we don’t purposefully hurt people… we should follow our hearts and dreams and search for joy wherever we can find it.
I want to laugh hard. I want to cry hard. I want to dance!
New York… here I come.
STAND CLOSE: PART 2
O ne brother wants her gone. One wants to help her, maybe even love her... but that help included a warning to stay away from their best friend, Alec. And that kind of help she does not want.
With the world waking up to the news that the Stone family has a secret-sister, Rue's facing the advantages and pitfalls to her inheritance. After receiving a call slandering her mother's good name, she phones her best friend and hightails it all the way to New York City. But you can't run from fame. And you can't run from Alec Gabriel, either.
Available on Amazon: USA | UK | Canada | Australia | Deutschland
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To see more titles by Sabrina, please turn the page. To See Photos from Stand Close of the Lotus Evora, Juan Juan, Boa, Millennium Dance Studio, and more, go to Sabrina’s Pinterest Page for Stand Close. She pins pictures from her stories as well as inspired by her characters.
HEARTS SERIES BUNDLE - PARTS 1-6
Alpha-male Brendan Clark is a gorgeous 'uncatchable' Annie's loved since day one. After getting the brushoff, she changes herself to become the type of woman he'd want. When he doesn't recognize her and invites her up to his penthouse, she decides to keep her identity a secret. What could go wrong? Now Part 1-6 are available in one box set.
Amazon: USA | UK | Canada | Australia | Deutschland
SOCIAL
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sabrina Lacey lives in Hollywood, California. She’s a big fan of full-bodied red wine, chocolate malted crunch ice cream, and sitting out in the yard with her friends underneath the moon to exchange details of what’s going on in their lives. She published her first erotic romance book, I Love My Breakup, on July 8, 2013 and hasn’t stopped since. I Love My Healed Heart hit #1 on Amazon in Romance, Romantic Comedy, Erotic Romance, and New Adult Romance. She believes a little laughter is needed for any story to be truly complete.
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