Brody (36 page)

“But you’re scared,” she whispered. “You’re scared, Blake Chandler.”

She saw right through me and was able to do so in such a short amount of time. I didn’t talk to folks much about things. That had never been how I was, but with Ann, I never had to. She always just somehow knew.

I touched her right back, her hands. I pulled them into my palms and brought them down between us, but I didn’t let go. Once, I might have, but not now, never now.

“I didn’t do this right the first time,” I admitted to her. “With Maggie.” She knew all about my ex-wife. We’d talked about it in detail along with both our pasts.

I moved my thumb over the band of yellow gold around her finger. It was simple and only a few stones, but she said she loved it. She said it was me. She said it was me
and her
.

I looked up at her. “I was gone a lot, working, and I… I just couldn’t be what she needed.”

Her hands went out to me again, pressing my chest before sliding above my collar. Her fingers brushing my neck felt like flower petals; delicate like her. She tipped her chin, so much smaller than me.

“A man working too much doesn’t make a mother leave her children, Blake,” she said, eyes searching mine. “Just like a woman unable to be a mother doesn’t justify a husband bringing another woman in to replace her nightly.”

Her words shuddered me back to a familiar place, they
angered
me
back anytime discussion of her ex-husband seemed to find us. My boys were me. They were a part of me, an extension so intricately weaved I couldn’t imagine a life or world without them in it, so for a woman not being able to do the same,
have
the same… Ann should have had nothing but support.

I held her close by her hips, breathing her in. Her cheek, a deep brown mahogany I brushed my lips over, the fan of her eyes fluttering down in response.

“We’ll do this together,” she said to me. “No reason to be scared.” An angelic smile touched her lips after she said the words, and she was an angel. My angel.

I closed the distance between our lips, the feel of her mouth like breathing. She did allow me to breathe. She allowed me to
live
again and I’d never forget that. In fact, I’d spend the rest of my life,
our lives,
proving I was worthy of that very gift.

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Roxie and Griffin’s story concludes in…

Cherished by You:

A Found by You Novella

~ Blurb ~

We’ve been through a lot…

Griffin and me.

But Miami never broke us. This life never overtook us, and now, we’re planning for the next chapter in our lives.

I can’t believe it’s been over three years since we’ve moved to Florida. They’ve been three years of love. They’ve been three years of trust, but still, life has its challenges. Every day I battle with the burdens of my past while Griffin finds the future to be the biggest test of all.

But together… we’ve made it this far.

~ Coming 2016 ~

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About the Author

Victoria H. Smith has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. She puts it to good use writing romance all day. She resides in the Midwest with her Macbook on her lap and a cornfield to her right. She often draws inspiration for her stories from her own life experiences and the characters she writes give her an earful about it.

In her free time, she enjoys extreme couponing, reading, watching Scandal, and general geekery in the form of Sherlock and DC Comics. She’s a bestselling author and the 2014 Swirl Award winner for Best New Adult Romance, as well as the recipient of the 2015 AMB Ovation Award for her new adult romance FOUND BY YOU. She writes both new adult and adult fiction in many genres, but mainly focuses in contemporary interracial and multicultural romances.

Check out my
profile
for a list of my other books

~

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:
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