by Apryl Baker
She snuggled into him as he turned to everyone.
“Thanks for coming, but I have plans for my wife that don’t include the rest of you. I love you all, but we’re out.”
He heard the well wishes and the congratulations as he walked out of the church and got into another limousine waiting. They were going to a different hotel tonight because he wanted his wife to himself, and his family would burst in on them.
“Becca?”
“Yes?”
“Are you happy?”
“More than I’ve ever been in my life. I’m not scared anymore. I…” She took a deep breath and looked up at him through wet lashes. “You love me. That’s all I ever needed, D. Thank you for giving me back everything I lost. I love you so much.”
“I love you too, babe. Just remember that when I tie you to the bed and have my way with my naughty little wife tonight.”
She giggled and snuggled closer to him. “Promises, promises.”
He pulled her closer and settled down to wait, content and happy.
The original manwhore had finally found his perfection—his best friend, his lover, his wife.
He was happy.
Author’s Note
Mental health is something that’s not talked about enough.
When people hear that phrase, a lot of the times they think of conditions like bipolar or schizophrenia or a multitude of other severe conditions. Anxiety rarely gets lumped into that phrase, but it’s as much a mental health condition as the others and far more common among the masses.
Most of us, at one time or another, have dealt with anxiety. We’ve gotten anxious and nervous about a situation. We may have broken out in a cold sweat or had a few sleepless nights.
But there’s a darker side to anxiety. A side that can be so severe in its symptoms, it becomes debilitating. Symptoms can manifest in trouble breathing or a fear so deep it freezes a person in their tracks. In this book, Becca has a fear of crowds. Her symptoms manifest in shaking, cold sweats, her lungs freeze up, and it’s hard to breathe, which in turn causes her to black out. You may think that’s a little hard to swallow. No one reacts like that. I can tell you they do. Two of my nieces have anxiety, and one of them reacts just like this. It’s very real.
We need to educate ourselves on anxiety instead of judging others who suffer from it. I’m a firm believer in facing your fears and trying to get over them instead of just medicating a person and forgetting about them. It’s a sound treatment, but it’s not an option for everyone. And we need to understand that.
When my nieces developed this, I read anything and everything I could. I talked to friends who were therapists. I educated myself, and I urge all of you to do the same instead of laughing, judging, or just being apathetic.
My heart goes out to all who are suffering from anxiety. I understand, and I’m with you. I’ll keep you all in my prayers.
God bless you all.
~ Apryl Baker
Acknowledgements
My goodness, 2020 has been a year, and it’s barely May. The world changed so much in just a matter of months. Social distancing, having to wear face masks, isolation, statewide shelter-in-place orders…yeah, I think when we look back on the last few years, we’ll say 2018, 2019, 2021. We just won’t discuss 2020.
With the pandemic came the cancellation of all our book signings. And I want to say to every event coordinator, thank you for looking out for the staff, the authors, and the readers. I know so many were disappointed, but we all understand.
In this book, the central theme is a book signing. I’ve been to quite a few, and I’ve seen all the work that goes into it from the author’s perspective, which is what I wrote about. Getting ready can be crazy. You order books, you put together preorders, you order swag, make sure the preorders have the swag. Then you have to get to the signing, set everything up, curse a little over trying to get the banners up when they smack you in the face. Thank God for retractable banners. The others are demons sent to torment us. You have to design your table and hope you get a few people to swing by and check out your books.
Then there’s the other side of a book signing—the people who put it together and work to make it a success. They deal with so much stress, guys. Their anxiety has to go through the roof. I want to say a special thank you to every event coordinator out there. I don’t know how y’all do it, but I’m grateful. You make the day wonderful. Thank you so much.
Out of all the Manwhore books, The Healing Touch is my favorite. I put more of myself in Dimitri and Becca than I have any other characters I’ve ever written. They’re special to me, and I hope you see how special they are as you read it.
And I’m also grateful to Limitless for publishing this story and working with me to make it great. They will always hold a special place in my heart because they took a chance on me when no one else would. Thank you, Jennifer, Jessica, and Dixie.
Lydia Harbaugh, director of marketing at Limitless, also deserves a thank you. She deals most with me when it comes to all my questions and ideas and just puts up with my nonsense in general. She’s a fan of the series, especially Touch Me Not, and I want to say thank you for believing in me and these books. You rock, Lydia!
Lori Whitwam, editor extraordinaire. I can’t put into words how thankful I am for you. Just know I wouldn’t make it without you. I’d be in the corner, eating a tub of Heavenly Hash ice cream and bawling if you ever quit on me. That should tell you how much you mean to me, Lori. You are an exceptional editor and an even better friend.
My PAs, Amber and Kay—I love you guys. You took so much off my plate. I wouldn’t be able to write because I’d be so busy trying to market without y’all. Thank you so much.
My readers, especially my romance readers, you guys keep me writing. As long as I’ve entertained someone, I’ve done my job. Thank you all so much for supporting me and just being awesome in general.
And to my family and friends, thanks for putting up with me and reminding me to take my meds and to eat. I’m diabetic, and I forget to eat and take my meds when I’m writing. Thanks so much for keeping me safe and healthy, but mostly for loving me when I’m grouchy, cranky, and knee-deep in a novel. I love you guys so much.
About the Author
So who am I? Well, I’m the crazy girl with an imagination that never shuts up. I LOVE scary movies. My friends laugh at me when I scare myself watching them and tell me to stop watching them, but who doesn’t love to get scared? I grew up in a small town nestled in the southern mountains of West Virginia where I spent days roaming around in the woods, climbing trees, and causing general mayhem. Nights I would stay up reading Nancy Drew by flashlight under the covers until my parents yelled at me to go to sleep.
Growing up in a small town, I learned a lot of values and morals, I also learned parents have spies everywhere and there’s always someone to tell your mama you were seen kissing a particular boy on a particular day just a little too long. So when you get grounded, what is there left to do? Read! My Aunt Jo gave me my first real romance novel. It was a romance titled “Lord Margrave’s Deception.” I remember it fondly. But I also learned I had a deep and abiding love of mysteries and anything paranormal. As I grew up, I started to write just that and would entertain my friends with stories featuring them as main characters.
Now, I live Huntersville, NC where I entertain my niece and nephew and watch the cats get teased by the birds and laugh myself silly when they swoop down and then dive back up just out of reach. The cats start yelling something fierce…lol.
I love books, I love writing books, and I love entertaining people with my silly stories.
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