Exception (78 page)

He knew the ring was perfect on Emily’s finger, as she extended it for their admiration. The diamonds glimmered in the sunlight and the sapphire seemed to reflect the exact color of her eyes. Taylor stood up, snaking his arms around her waist and twirling her around, as he delivered loving kisses to her lips. It was like the lawn, the city and the world belonged to only them, and filled every inch of space in their surrounds.

“Since you said yes, we’ve got some place to be,” Taylor informed her, once their kissing had simmered down.

Emily removed her eyes from the beautiful antique ring on her finger to look quizzically at her fiancé. Her insides melted at the new title he bore. “And would that place be our apartment?”

Laughing at the eagerness in her eyes, he delivered a quick kiss to the tip of her nose and another to the crown of her head, before draping an arm around her shoulders and guiding her toward the parking lot. “Old Joe’s and our engagement party, actually. But I do love the way you think, woman.”

The End

First and foremost, I need to acknowledge my dear husband, Alex, without whom this book would still be an unfinished manuscript lost somewhere in my computer. Thank you for keeping the house tidy and providing me with clean clothes while I was writing, and for brainstorming with me every morning. Thank you for putting up with my crazy emotions and for not allowing me to fall apart when I was about to. Thank you for joining me in the happy dance when I was finished, and for all the notes you wrote on the whiteboard. Thank you for reassuring me every step of the way, and every time I felt like giving up. But above all, thank you for making me believe I could do it and for reminding me of it every time I forgot. I love you so much, and I thank our lucky star every day for being your wife. You will always be my biggest and best accomplishment, and my most perfect dream come true!

My second thank you, and this is a
huge
one, goes out to the person who read this book almost as much as I did: my dear friend, writing partner and awesome author, JL Durfey. Jen, thank you so much for being the first stranger to believe in this book, and in me. Also, thank you for all the advice, rewrites, suggestions, grammar nuggets, pep talks, brainstorming sessions, comic relief and everything else that prevented me from losing it during those last few months before publication. It meant so much! There’s no doubt in my mind that having you as a writing partner made
Exception
a far better book that it originally was. With that said, as much as all your professional help is priceless, your friendship is even more so. I’m the luckiest girl to have a friend like you, and I’m counting the days until we’re neighbors.
PS:
OMK, I totally n-r love you and you definitely stole the Soul Sister spot that once belonged to *******! ;D
PPS: Jokes and imaginary friends aside, I love you tons and bunches!

A huge thank you to the amazing author and friend, Anna Applegate, who loves Taylor more than Emily and I combined. Thanks for all the amazing feedback, especially that one email with that crazy comparison that made me cry, and for your excitement over this book. You’re a gem and I couldn’t have asked for a better Beta/CP/friend! Also, thanks for the social media guidance (#Iwouldbelostwithoutyou—LOL), for helping me cross some items off the bucket list and for all the laughs. For all of that, I officially declare that Tay is yours!

I want to give the biggest thank you
ever
to my
sweet
editor, Lauren McKellar, who made me
giggle
,
laugh
and
smile
a lot, though I also
rolled my eyes
, most
ly
when I had to go on a
full stop
and start a
new sentence
because mine was too long
!!
See what I did there? LOL.
This joke was sooo funny and you were totally laughing
. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. Now, jokes aside, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for squeezing me in and polishing this baby until it shined. You did such a wonderful job. If that wasn’t enough, you also managed to turn a pretty painful experience into something truly awesome, for which I have no words to express my gratitude—I honestly don’t. You’re funny, kind and absolutely brilliant. I’m blessed that I got to meet and work with you, and I’m already looking forward to editing the next one.

Now, to my entire family, who only bugged me a little about being stuck in my writing cave . . . thank you all so much for the love and understanding! A special thanks to:

My parents
who sacrificed a lot to ensure I would be able to write this book one day (I bet that frog and the old beat-up Belina are sweeter memories now), and for the support you provided in the end. It came in at a great time and I can’t thank you enough!

Clau
, who gave priceless feedback and support, and the most inspirational Bean in the world—I love you so much, big sis!

Myriam
, who not only is another mother to me, but is also a dear friend. I’m so lucky to have you in my life. Thank you for believing in me even when I didn’t—I see where Alex learned how to do it.

To
Titon
, who inspired one of my favorite characters and will always be in my heart. And thanks and lots of love to my
Grandmas
who inspired Nana. I hope all of you liked your characters!

Some people in life become closer than friends or even family, and this is for them:

Franco
and
Carla
, you guys are the most awesome couple we know, and we’re lucky to have you guys as friends. Thanks for the immensurable support and love you guys gave us during this process, for all the yummy cake that fueled my creativity and for the good internet connection that assured this book would be published.

The biggest hug and thank you goes to my lifelong friend,
Dani
, who shared popcorn with me when the road to writing this book started so many years ago. If anyone will understand why Taylor Carter has that name, it’s you and that just makes me super happy. Love you! =D

I owe a big thanks to my crazy “twin”,
Cava
, who is the inspiration for Marina and didn’t complain when I wanted to added her to this book. If you ask me, she turned out just like you, which is why I love her.

To the cover design genius that is Sarah Hansen from
Okay Creations
; thank you for making a cover that went above and beyond anything I could have ever dreamed of. It is perfection and I love it more than I could ever tell you!

A huge, heartfelt thanks to my blogger friends:

Anitra
from
Can’t Read Just One
, who believed and supported me from the very beginning. Thanks for all the shares, the like-campaign, the help with giveaways and everything else. I’m so lucky to have met you. Also, thanks for giving me my favorite t-shirt. YOU ROCK!

Mickey
from
I’m a Book Shark
, who is so like me in so many ways and whom I’ve come to consider a dear friend. I’m so happy I met you and that we get to work together in all my little projects. Thanks for proofing my blurb and making it better.

And
Stephenie
from
Sandwich Making Book Bitches
, you’re awesome and so much fun. Thanks for promoting my page and book, and also, for making me laugh so hard. Can’t wait to see the all the “cute” and “hot” boys you’ll cast as Tay in our next group chat with JL and Anna. LOL.

A big thank you to E.M. Tippetts, who worked magic with the interior design and formatting of this book. It’s so pretty, thanks!!

Thank you to Julie Brazeal and the other ladies at AToMR Tours. Thank you for helping me promote
Exception
, and for your patience with all of my questions. Also, thanks for the understanding and help.

And finally, I want to thank you, my dear reader, who made all this worth while. I hope, with all my heart, that you enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Words have always been a passion of mine. I’ve always loved to read them, write them and learn them in other languages. Last year, I decided to take that passion and turn it into a book. Whenever I’m not sitting behind my computer I’m either enjoying the company of my dear hubby, Alex, and our four four-legged babies, or reading. I’m a firm believer in long hand-written letters, love of any kind, and good stories.

Visit my
website

Visit my
Facebook page

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Goodreads

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Twitter

S
AMPLE OF
D
REAMER BY
JL
D
URFEY

Hey Guys,

If you follow me on Facebook and Twitter, you know I talk about how awesome my writing partner and dear friend, JL Durfey, is all of the time. Here’s my chance to prove it.