Publisher: Self
Date of publication: August 9, 2018
Cassidy Freeman doesn’t believe dreams come true because every night her dreams trap her in a nightmare she barely escaped as a child. She maintains rigid control over all aspects of her life, giving the illusion she's strong and confident. Allowing very few close enough to see the brave heart buried beneath, she’s convinced she’ll carry her burdens alone.
From the minute they
met, Caleb Lockwood disrupted everything by destroying her sense of order. His
patience, compassion and sensuality obliterated her defenses. It’s as if he
knew her from the inside out.
Helping his younger
brother hire a wedding planner shouldn’t have led to this. In just a few short
days, Caleb’s learned untold secrets about his family – and about the Freemans.
When he demands to meet them, he doesn’t expect the pull he feels towards the
petite dynamo in front of him whom life has dealt an unspeakable hand.
With Caleb, Cassidy’s
lost her semblance of control. Now, she's not sure she wants it back. Not if
giving it up means having a chance at something she never imagined.
Love.
Exclusive Excerpt:
“So,
about that first appointment,” Phil starts. I slowly uncross my legs and sit
forward.
“Yes?”
“There’s
something you should know.”
I’m
going to throttle my brother. After all our years of working together, if he
left out telling me any minute detail about this appointment, I’m going to lose
it.
Knowing
Phil, this could be anything from the appointment was supposed to be at the
Lockwood company headquarters in Manhattan or their family compound in
Greenwich. If Phil suddenly springs on
me that he forgot to tell me the client’s expecting to have a champagne catered
breakfast ready, I’m going to give up on keeping my legendary control, take my
scissors and straddle him while I cut off all his hair in massive chunks. He
won’t be able to stop me because he’ll be too busy choking on the extra-skinny,
watered down latte he just made me pick up.
In my
calmest voice, I ask, “What about it?”
Ali
whispers “Uh-oh” under her breath.
Phil
looks at his hands, then at the clock. Another minute ticks by. Sixteen minutes
until this appointment. He looks at Ali, who just stares back at him with a
mean look. He looks back down at his hands. Silence. Fifteen minutes.
From
the doorway, Holly pipes in with “Did you fuck the groom or something?”
Ali
starts to laugh as I gasp. Standing in the door, Corinna, Em and Holly are
standing in varying states of arms crossed, waiting for Phil’s answer. Em just
mean mugs Phil. I check the clock again. Fourteen minutes.
Phil
sighs and looks at me with guilt on his face. That was my only warning.
“No,
but Jason was engaged to him about ten years ago and broke it off to be with
me. Or so the story goes.”
Chaos
erupts in my office. In my disbelief, I make a few mental notes. First, Phil is
prohibited from doing any further client event profile forms. I also give
myself a mental reminder to review all his other forms for new clients for the
rest of the week. How could he not think this information was important for me
to know, especially now, having more than mere minutes before the Lockwoods
come through my door?
As I sit back, listening to my siblings yell
among each other, I try to regroup. I have no time to call Jason to discreetly
find out what occurred.
I now
have five minutes to get this under control.
Forget
who fucked who or who fucked whom over. This is not how we built this business.
Phil.
Might. Die.
Slowly.
Blunt
force trauma caused by my planner. That’s a delicious thought.
But
later.
I’ll
enjoy planning it in detail, after I deal with damage control.
“All
of you, get out of my office. RIGHT NOW!” I yell at my siblings. “I have
exactly four minutes to figure this out. I think you all might be depraved
lunatics, and how I know this and continue to work with you all on a daily
basis is eluding me. This is not the impression this company will give under
any circumstances, short of the building catching fire. Find your offices and
have your meltdowns in there.”
Then I
hear it. That fucking bitch Fate. Three goddamn minutes early. Of course.
“I
happen to agree with Ms. Freeman. She and I have an appointment on behalf of my
family.”
I find
myself staring briefly into a set of the most gorgeous, chocolate brown eyes I
have ever seen.
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About
Tracey:
Tracey Jerald knew she was meant to be a writer when she
would re-write the ending of books in her head on her bike when she was a young
girl growing up in southern Connecticut. It wasn’t long before she was typing
alternate endings and extended epilogues “just for fun”.
After college in Florida, where she obtained a degree in
Criminal Justice swearing she saw things she’ll never quite believe and never
quite forget, Tracey traded the world of law and order for IT. Her work for a
world-wide internet startup transferred her to Northern Virginia where she met
her husband in what many call their own happily ever after. They have one son.
When she’s not busy with her family or writing, Tracey can
be found in her home in north Florida drinking coffee, reading, training for a
runDisney event, or feeding her addiction to HGTV. Friend her on Facebook page
(https://www.facebook.com/tracey.jerald.71) or on Instagram (TraceyJerald) to
see what antics she’s up to on a regular basis.
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