Posts
Hello, thank you all for stopping by. There's excitement today because In the Chair is featuring a new release. A romance novel titled I Want You Back and written by Chicki Brown. Take a seat and let's see what it's all about.
.
Nick
Stafford is the youngest in his family. He's recently graduated from
medical school and finished his internship. Everything was going well
for him until Cherilyn, his girlfriend of two years, starts hinting
about marriage.
The thought of adding more responsibility to the
pressure he is already facing getting ready to take the last of his
board exams and the nearly quarter of a million dollars in student loan
debt already hanging over his head is too much. He breaks off their
relationship.
Eight
months later, he runs into Cherilyn at an event on the arm of another
doctor, and she's wearing an engagement ring. Seeing her with another
man stirs up a jealousy like he's never experienced before. Now all Nick
can think of is how he can get her back.
Doesn't it all sound intriguing? I'm excited. Come closer, take a look inside:
Nick
Stafford’s hands trembled as he straightened his tie. He needed to be
at The Estate, a well-known Atlanta wedding venue, early before all the
guests arrived. His gift for the bride had to be delivered in person. It
was a gift with special meaning to her, and he’d spent hours coming up
with the two lines he’d written in the card. He wanted to put it into
her hand himself, even though he knew he wasn’t supposed to speak to the
bride.
Rather
than have someone else drive him, he took his own car. The peace and
quiet of being alone was necessary for his sanity before the ceremony
began. His stomach clenched with anticipation and anxiety, yet he
couldn’t wait to get there.
Only
a handful of cars were in the parking lot of the Buckhead venue known
for its beautiful weddings when he arrived. Nick parked and entered the
eighteenth-century antebellum mansion through the beveled glass double
doors and absentmindedly gazed at the artwork lining the walls as he
passed through one of the front salons.
“Are
you here for the wedding?” a tuxedo-clad man asked when he saw Nick
stop and gaze into the ballroom decorated in white and peach, Cherilyn’s
favorite color.
“I’m here to deliver a special gift to the bride. Can you tell me what room she’s in, please?”
“Sure. The ladies are in the bridal suite upstairs on the right. You’ll hear them cackling.” He laughed and went on his way.
“Thanks,
man.” Nick proceeded up the steps, turned to his right and stopped
outside a closed door where he could hear the sound of women’s voices.
He swallowed hard and knocked. A woman he didn’t recognize partially
opened the door and peeked out.
“May I help you?”
“Yes, I’m here to deliver a gift to Cherilyn Vernon.” He struggled to keep his voice from shaking.
She stretched out her hands. “I’ll take it.”
“Sorry, I have to give it directly to the bride. You understand, right?”
“I guess.” She turned her back to him. “Cherilyn, there’s a man here who says he has a gift he can only deliver to you.”
“Ooh, really?” The bride’s voice rose in expectation. “Tell him I’ll be right there.”
“She’s coming. I’d ask you in, but there are ladies getting dressed in here.”
Nick
held his breath and waited. A few seconds later, a rustling sound
preceded the door opening wider. He lost his breath when Cherilyn
appeared looking like a vision in a strapless gown with sparkling jewels
adorning her ample cleavage. When she saw him, she merely stared,
tongue-tied.
“Cher,
I know this is inappropriate, but I had to come and bring this to you.”
She stared down at the box he held out to her. “Please open it.”
She
still hadn’t spoken, but she took the gift from his hand and removed
the top. A soft gasp escaped her as she stared down at the elegant white
gold pendant of the Eiffel Tower that captured the tower’s distinctive
beauty. Round diamonds brought the brilliance of the tower's lights to
life. He’d taken three-hundred dollars from his already anemic bank
account to buy the necklace.
Tears immediately sprang to her eyes. She stepped out into the hall and closed the door behind her. “What does this mean, Nick?”
“It
means you’re getting ready to make the biggest mistake of your life.”
His eyes drank in the sensuality of her full-figure in the form-fitting
strapless gown. “It means I still love you. I don’t believe you love
Derrick. He was just your rebound man. If you don’t marry him today, I
promise you we’ll go to Paris. I’ll marry you beneath the Eiffel Tower
just the way you’ve always dreamed. Please don’t do this, Cher.”
The
door suddenly opened, and Cherilyn’s mother stared at him open-mouthed.
“How dare you come here, Nick! Leave now, or I’ll have security escort
you off the property.”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Vernon, but I had to speak to her before she did this.”
Her nostrils flared. “How dare you!” she repeated with mounting rage. “I’m going to find security.”
Cherilyn
held up her hand. “No, Mommy. Please close the door. I need to talk to
him for a minute.” Her mother glowered at her and turned away muttering
under her breath as Cherilyn closed the door again.
“You
wouldn’t return my phone calls, Cher. What other choice did I have? I
called you every day for the first two months. You wouldn’t return my
calls, so eventually I gave up.”
She blinked as though she was bewildered. “Why are you doing this? It’s been almost a year since we’ve seen each other.”
“I
can’t let you marry him. I messed up. I realize that, baby.” His heart
thundered in his chest. “I panicked at the thought of added
responsibilities on top of medical school, but I was wrong. If you can
look me in my eyes and tell me you don’t love me anymore, I’ll leave.”
He knew the answer by the way she averted her gaze from his face.
“I can’t do that to Derrick. He’s a good man.”
“Look
at me, Cher. I’m sure he is, but if you still love me, you’re doing an
awful thing to Derrick by marrying him. Your marriage would be a lie.”
A
tear cascaded over her cheek. “Please go away, Nick.” She shoved the
box into his chest. “I can’t. We have two-hundred guests waiting
upstairs. I can’t! You need to go, please.” He pressed the box into her
hand once again. “Wear it until I can replace it with a ring.” She
swallowed a loud sob then shut the door in his face.
Contemporary women’s fiction/romance author Chicki Brown has been featured twice in USAToday. She was the 2014 B.R.A.B. (Building Relationships Around Books) Inspirational Fiction Author and also the 2011 SORMAG (Shades of Romance Magazine) Author of the Year. Chicki was also a contributing author to the Gumbo for the Soul: Men of Honor (Special Cancer Awareness Edition).
A transplanted New Jersey native who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, Brown still misses the Jersey shore, the pizza and the hot dogs.
Nia Forrester, Beverly Jenkins, Iris Bolling, Lisa Kleypas, and J.R. Ward are among her favorite authors.
Online contacts:
Link Directly To This Post :
Link To The Homepage :
It's great to be here today, Ey! Thanks for the opportunity.
You're truly welcome. Stop again anytime. Here's hoping for lots of new readers and big sales.
What a heart-stopping moment for Cher and Nick. Will Cher turn Derrick down at the altar for the man she loves? I have to read this book. Chicki, you have me hooked and you know I love the Stafford family.