Book Spotlight & exceprt: Loving Maddie From A To Z by Kelly Jamieson

Author: Kelly Jamieson

Publisher: Self

Date of publication:4/7/2015

 Award-winning photojournalist Zack Donovan is happy to be alive after being held captive by a band of rebels in Syria. He's not so happy to be on his way back to Chicago to recuperate with his college friends Maddie and Aidan, who are now a couple. The fear while being held prisoner was nothing compared to how he feels about facing the two people who unknowingly broke his heart seven years ago. 

 Maddie and Aidan are deeply in love, but lately they feel something is missing for them. They'd do anything to make the other happy, but are struggling to figure out what that is. Those problems are set aside, however, when their best friend from college is taken hostage in Syria. After graduation, Maddie and Aidan were hurt by Zack's refusal to ever come home to visit, but he's still their friend and he has no family, so when he's finally free they insist he come stay with them to recover.

 Zack's a different man now. He's seen terrible things. He's come to terms with his sexuality and embraced his need to dominate. Maddie and Aidan would be shocked to know the kinds of things he likes to do. A guy like him will never have a relationship like theirs. But when Zack realizes he might be able to show Maddie and Aidan what they're missing, he faces a dilemma. Do something? Do nothing? Pretend everything's fine? Help them if he can? But will showing them what they're missing help save their relationship...or destroy it?    

Excerpt:

They talked about the Facebook page, which she still wanted to update. She’d posted that Zack was free and they were picking up him at the airport, but she hadn’t updated it since seeing him. “Do you want to post something? I think people need to hear from you.”

He lifted his gaze from his plate to meet her eyes and the pain she saw there made her heart clench. Then he nodded. “Sure,” he said casually, returning his attention to his breakfast. “I could do that.”

“We’ll do it after we finish eating.”

Maddie pulled Aidan’s office chair over beside hers for Zack to sit on. They went to the page. First they read the comments that had been left on Maddie’s post that Zack was arriving home in Chicago. It took a while to scroll through all of them and the congratulations and good wishes were overwhelming. Maddie found herself tearing up, hurting for those who were still missing family and loved ones.

She glanced at him, both of them leaning in close to see the screen. She could smell the shampoo he’d used, along with his own unique scent. Up close, could see every whisker that stubbled his jaw and cheeks, his thick eyebrows and short dark eyelashes. She let her eyes wander all over his face in profile to her while he read the comments.

“Wow.” Zack rubbed his mouth.

“I’ll move so you can post.” She pushed her chair away a little.

He hesitated, hands hovering over the keyboard. His fingers were as beautiful as the rest of him, long, lightly dusted with dark hair, his forearms sinewy and strong.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Well. Start by saying it’s you. Just say…thanks.” She bit her lip.

He started typing. She leaned away to give him time and space to think. A few moments later, he said, “There. Done. I think. Have a look before I post.”

She leaned in again, brushing against his arm. He radiated heat and she breathed in that scent again. Her skin tingled everywhere.

She read his heartfelt words, words of thanks but also thoughts and prayers for the families of other missing and lost journalists. Her throat clogged up again. She nodded. “That’s great.” She cleared her throat. “Perfect. People will be so happy to hear from you. It’s a miracle. Like you said, I hope it gives strength and hope to those who are still waiting.”

He clicked the mouse to post.

The door of the condo opened and closed, and Aidan appeared, sweaty and flushed. He spotted them in the office. “Hey. What’s up?”

Maddie spun on her chair to face him. “We’re just posting on the Facebook page I created for Zack.”

“Cool.” Aidan swiped his brow. “Gonna jump in the shower. Be right back.”

“I’ll get his breakfast started.” Maddie pushed away from the desk. “If you want to use my computer for anything else, go ahead.”

“I could check emails.”

Maddie fled back to the kitchen. “Any time.”

“I’ll have to go buy a new computer.”

“Well, until you do, you can use mine. Or Aidan’s.”

She got busy heating bacon and making more pancakes. Her heart was beating fast and she felt warm. Was that just from sitting beside Zack for a few minutes?

He’d had that effect on her back in college too, but she’d determinedly ignored it. They were friends. Although, by the time Aidan and Zack were graduating, a year before her, it was getting damn hard to ignore the fact that she was completely confused about her feelings for both Zack and Aidan.

She didn’t want to think about that time, all the intense emotion and angsty internal drama, when she was trying to figure out what she was feeling and what the hell to do about it. Then Zack just leaving, and her disappointment and hurt and heartbreak. She was older now, in control of her emotions.

Then why did she alternate between wanting to hit Zack and kiss him? Why was she almost in tears one minute, then laughing the next? And why was she all goose bumps and breathless just from sitting beside him? Especially when she was in love with Aidan.

About Kelly Jamieson:

Kelly Jamieson writes romances with heat that's sweet. Her writing has been described as “emotionally complex”, “sweet and satisfying” and “blisteringly sexy”. If she can stop herself from reading or writing, she loves to cook. She has shelves of cookbooks that she reads at length. She also enjoys gardening in the summer, and in the winter she likes to read gardening magazines and seed catalogues (there might be a theme here...) She also loves shopping, especially for clothes and shoes. But her family takes precedence over everything else (yes, even writing). She has two teenage children who are the best kids in the world, not that she’s biased, and a wonderful husband who does loads of laundry while she plays on the computer writing stories. She loves hearing from readers, so please visit her website at www.kellyjamieson.com.

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