He doesn’t even turn to look. “Couldn’t possibly be more beautiful than you,” he says, stroking his thumb across my cheek.
“I have mascara running down my face, don’t I?”
He nods. “How many coats of this stuff do you have on?”
“I might have been a little heavy-handed this morning; I wanted to wow you.”
“You always wow me.” He drops a tender kiss on my forehead.
“Ooooo, I just had an idea! Let’s go in costume to Howl-O-Scream. I can be drowned girl.”
“Then you’d have to walk around the park in wet clothes all night.” He glances down at my waterlogged dress, which is now clinging provocatively to my body. “And I’d be totally okay with that.”
I chuckle. “I’m sure you would. And you can go as a lifeguard . . . a really bad one since you didn’t save me. No shirt required for this costume obviously.” I trail my fingers down his front, slip them beneath the hem of his wet tee, and slide them back up the lean planes of his bare torso.
He smirks. “We’re going to get booted out of Busch Gardens for lewd behavior, aren’t we?”
“I wouldn’t consider it a successful first date if we didn’t.” Giving him a saucy wink, I grab his hand and pull him toward the pool steps.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Thanks so much for reading Izzy As Is! If you could take a moment to leave a review for the book on Amazon and/or Goodreads, I would be eternally grateful. Not only do reviews mean the world to indie authors like me, they encourage potential readers to give our stories a try.
If you do leave a review, please e-mail me at [email protected] with a link and I will send you a special treat—a bonus chapter! I’ve got a fun missing scene from Izzy As Is that I will share with anyone who’s kind enough to write and post a review of the book. So, what are you waiting for? Write that review so that you can find out what Izzy shenanigans take place in this missing scene!
Want to be the first to get the scoop on all of my books? Subscribe to The Banister Buzz and receive exclusive content, including announcements on new releases, sneak peeks, and fun contests!
Can’t get enough of the Alvarez family? Then, grab a copy of In Need of Therapy, which is the story of Izzy’s sister, Pilar. This story takes place six years before the events of Izzy As Is.
IN NEED OF THERAPY
Lending a sympathetic ear and dispensing sage words of advice is all part of the job for psychologist Pilar Alvarez, and she’s everything a good therapist should be: warm, compassionate, supportive. She listens, she cares, and she has all the answers, but how’s the woman everyone turns to in their hour of need supposed to cope when her own life starts to fall apart?
While working hard to make a success of her recently-opened practice in trendy South Beach, Pilar must also find time to cater to the demands of her boisterous Cuban family, which includes younger sister Izzy, an unemployed, navel-pierced wild child who can’t stay out of trouble, and their mother, a beauty queen turned drama queen who’s equally obsessed with her fading looks and getting Pilar married before it’s “too late.” Although she’d like to oblige her mother and make a permanent love connection, Pilar’s romantic prospects look grim. Her cheating ex, who swears that he’s reformed, is stalking her. A hunky, but strictly off-limits, patient with bad-boy appeal and intimacy issues is making passes. And the sexy shrink in the suite across the hall has a gold band on his left ring finger.
When a series of personal and professional disasters lead Pilar into the arms of one of her unsuitable suitors, she’s left shaken, confused, and full of self-doubt. With time running out, she must make sense of her feelings and learn to trust herself again so that she can save her business, her family, and most importantly, her heart.
***FINALIST in the 2013 Shirley You Jest! Book Awards***
“In Need of Therapy is Big Fat Greek Wedding type comedy only Cuban style!”
-Tobi Helton at Forget the Housework, I’m Reading
“Banister’s writing style is engaging, her characters are full of life and she will make you laugh until you cry.”
-Reader
“. . . entertaining chick lit romp replete with hilariously bad dates, out of control clients and a drama queen mother, and spiced with details of Cuban-American culture and Miami life.”
-Shirley You Jest! Book Awards
“I loved turning the pages with Pilar and her collection of crazy patients, family members, and love interests.”
-Reader
In Need of Therapy is available in e-book and paperback at Amazon.
OTHER BOOKS WRITTEN
BY TRACIE BANISTER
Blame It on the Fame
Twin Piques
Mixing It Up
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book wouldn’t have happened without my amazing support team. These folks are the wind beneath my wings!
Glynis Astie, Jackie Bouchard, Marcia Hassell, and Cat Lavoie—the most awesome group of beta readers and blurb helpers an author could ask for! Thanks for catching all the boo-boos my bleary eyes didn’t and for your suggestions that made Izzy As Is the best it could be! Speaking of the book’s very clever title, major kudos to my mother, the aforementioned Marcia, who came up with it. (My original title paled in comparison, and the always-tan Izzy does not like anything pale.)
Karan Heitschmidt—I am so grateful for all the hand-holding you did when I was freaking out over a variety of things toward the end of this process. Your feedback about my cover art was invaluable!
Lynn Theberge, Madeline Collins, Erin Hogan Huss and her husband, Jed—Big thanks to all of you for your input on the Spanish in the book. I really appreciate your time and patience in answering all of my questions. Hopefully, I did the language justice!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
An avid reader and writer, Tracie Banister has been scribbling stories since she was a child, most of them featuring feisty heroines with complicated love lives like her favorite fictional protagonist Scarlett O’Hara. Her work was first seen on the stage of her elementary school, where her 4th grade class performed an original holiday play she penned. (Like all good divas-in-the-making, she also starred in and tried to direct the production.)
Tracie’s dreams of authorial success were put on the backburner when she reached adulthood and discovered that she needed a “real” job in order to pay her bills. Her career as personal assistant to a local entrepreneur lasted for 12 years. When it ended, she decided to follow her bliss and dedicate herself to writing full-time. She is the proud winner of the 2017 Independent Press Award (Romantic Comedy) and a Bronze Medal in the 2017 Readers’ Favorite Awards (Chick Lit).
Although Tracie swore she’d never write a sequel to any of her books, the character of Izzy Alvarez, who first appeared in In Need of Therapy, would not be denied. Izzy As Is is Tracie’s fifth novel, and she hopes readers enjoy this return trip to Miami.
CONNECT WITH TRACIE
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