Love Revolution
Page 19
“John,” she tried again and then stopped, looking down at her feet. “I want…” Her bottom lip quivered. She took a deep breath and when she glanced back at him, for the first time since the breakup, he began to hope. Her gaze was steady and he caught a glimpse of something that he’d never thought to see again in her eyes.
The force of it hit him in the chest like an avalanche, making it hard for him to breathe. His eyes burned and tears blurred his vision. Taking a step closer, he carefully reached out, his hand trembling, and tucked a loose curl behind her ear. “What is it that you want?” he asked carefully.
She took his hand again and pressed it back to her face. “I want to try again… to start over.”
A smile like the sun rising at dawn spread slowly across JR’s face. “Oh thank God.” He caressed her cheek with his free hand, ghosting his thumb softly across her bottom lip. His eyes searched hers. “I don’t deserve it though. I don’t deserve you.” He swallowed. “Without you, I’m lost, without any direction or purpose. My life was dark and empty before you came into it. You, Sam, are my star. You set my world ablaze from the moment I met you. I will gladly spend every minute of the rest of my life proving how much I love you.”
Sam’s silver eyes sparkled. She stood up on her tiptoes, closed her eyes and tilted her face up toward his. Heart thudding, JR leaned down and laid his lips softly against hers. It was not a passionate kiss, yet the feel of it… of her… rocked him to the core. Words of love clamored to get out and it was a struggle to push them back down. Now was not the time. She wouldn’t accept them. Later. Another day. Hopefully, soon. Sam was giving him another chance. He wanted to shout his happiness from a stadium stage. He wasn’t going to screw it up this time.
Avery pulled Marcus away from the doorway. “Leave them alone, you lurker.”
He smiled. “Hey, do I need to remind you again just who’s in charge here?”
She threaded her fingers with his. “Yeah, why don’t you do that?” She raised an auburn brow. “Would that be something we’d need to go back to the apartment to take care of?”
He nodded. “Hell yeah.” He took a couple of long strides down the hall, tugging on her hand before veering off. “Apartment’s too far,” he said with darkened eyes. “In here.” He twisted the door handle on an empty practice room. Turning back to Avery with a wicked grin, he said in a low voice, “Good. There’s a lock.”
Avery’s face had drained of color. Her emerald eyes were huge as she stared at something down the hallway.
“What the hell?” Marcus said, looking that way while drawing her protectively close to his side.
“What are you doing here?” she gasped.
Husband—Stylistic editing and lyrics and music to my tone deaf ears
Beta reading—Lisa Paul from Lisa Reads…Oh. My. Gosh! Do you have an eye for relationship details or what? I wrote you a hottie in the story. Do you recognize who he is?
Jenny Aspinal—Totally Booked… My ganache girl. Story flow and chapter 33 ;)
Ashley Ferguson—Thanks for believing in both stories.
Demi Anastasopoulou—A friend and fan from Goodreads
Diane Klein, MD—editor “the closer” makes my words shine
Advance readers & cheerleaders extraordinaire—Tressa Sager, Jamie Hall, Wendy Wilken, and Deanna Prophet-Pyles, Jennifer Roberts-Hall, Rita Jinkins Knits, Beth Maresh-Ehemann, and Addi Footit
Advance book bloggers—Fred LeBaron of Stillseekingallies.blogspot.com
Mollie Harper of Tough Critic Book Reviews
Denise Tung of Flirty & Dirty Book Blog
Holly Malgieri of I love Indie books…
Kimberly Schaaf, Derinda Love, and Jodie O-Brien of YA and Teen Readers
The Indie Bookshelf
Lisa Kinzel—Bff, agent, soul sister, proof reader, and forever friend
Bookaholics Anonymous and 50 Authors and an owl—My internet family and support network. My muses, heroes, and inspirational writing pixie dust.
Sargeant Major Wayne of the Squamish RCMP
Ron Roberts—Canadian law enforcement advice
Formatting—Julie Titus.
Michelle Mankin is a young/new adult author, as well as self proclaimed giant… inside her own mind!
For many years she worked in the insurance industry as an underwriter. Somehow, the boredom didn’t kill her but the hours and hours of looking at facts and figures provided ample time for her mind to wander.
Love Revolution is the second novel in The Black Cat Record’s Shakespeare Inspired Series (Love Evolution, based on Twelfth Night, is the first). Love Resolution will be the finale (May 2013). All three novels use the plot underpinnings of Shakespeare, combined with the drama, excitement, and indisputable sexiness of the rock ‘n roll industry.
When she is not putting her daydreams down on paper, you can find her traveling the world with her family, some-times for real, and sometimes just for pretend as she takes the children to school and back.
To read more about Michelle, please visit:
http://www.michellemankin.com/
You can also reach Michelle via e-mail at,
foofighterfanatic@gmail.com
Or via the below social networks:
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michelle-Mankin/233503403414065
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/#!/MichelleMankin
Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5835506.Michelle_Mankin
If you enjoyed this book, please support the author by posting your review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads.
Please also consider recommending or reviewing the book on your blog, Facebook, and Twitter.
Table of Contents
Dedication
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Thirty-Six
Thirty-Seven
Acknowledgments
About the Author
foofighterfanatic@gmail.com