The Pickup (Imperfect Love Book 1)

by Nikki Ash

  Excerpt from Tapping Out

  One

  Bella

  Present day

  Two lines mean pregnant. One line means not.

  Two lines. Pregnant.

  One line. Not.

  I sit on the edge of the tub in the bathroom with the door locked. My head is down as I stare at the tiled floor. There are thirty-four tiles. One is cracked. The grout is dirty. I should buy better cleaning supplies. The test said three minutes. It’s probably been closer to ten but I can’t look. Will the test still be accurate if I don’t look right away? Maybe I should take another one just in case.

  Two lines and my life changes.

  One line and nothing changes.

  “Bella! You have been in there forever. Are we still going to dinner? The shower isn’t even running. Gina is going to be here any minute.” When I don’t respond, Tristan knocks on the door, again. “Bella!”

  “I’ll be out in a minute,” I yell through the door praying he can’t hear the tremble in my voice. If he knows I’m freaking out, he will without a doubt force his way in here to find out what’s going on, and right now, Tristan is probably the last person I want knowing what’s going on.

  Taking a deep breath, I stand up and walk slowly toward the counter silently praying for one line, like praying now is going to make a difference, like if I pray right this second, the results will miraculously change in my favor. The second line will just disappear and all will be right with the world. Maybe I don’t need a miracle. Maybe there’s only one line. Maybe I am freaking out over nothing. I swear to God if there’s only one line, I am getting on birth control today! Not that I’ll need it, because if I’m not pregnant, I’m never having sex again! Okay, maybe not never again but not anytime in the near future.

  Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath to calm my nerves. After holding it in for a few seconds, I let out a slow exhale. Nope, doesn’t work, I’m still freaking out. I open my eyes and stare at the test.

  One-Click on Amazon: Tapping Out

  Excerpt from Unbroken Promises

  PART ONE

  chapter one

  Delilah

  “I don’t want to go.” My body drops onto the oversized makeshift haybed that is covered with thick winter blankets to keep the straws of hay from poking through and pricking us. My arms cross over my chest, and I let out a loud huff, well aware that I sound like a petulant child.

  “You say this every year, Delilah, and every year we tell you everything will be okay. It’s been four years, and every year you worry for nothing.” My best friend Cole plops down on the same haybed as me and pulls me into his lap. “Just go, get the news that everything is fine, and then come back so we can celebrate our eighteenth birthday and the fact that we’ve made it through our first week as high school seniors.”

  “Ugh! But I don’t want to go.” I pout, and my head falls into the crook of his neck. I inhale deeply, immediately feeling the calmness that I can only find in the arms of Cole. I don’t know what I would’ve done the last six years without him—without his positivity and comfort—and I don’t ever want to find out.

  “Well, you have to go,” another voice demands. “I have a rare twenty-four hours of no practice, and we need to do both your birthdays up right.”

  I lift my head and turn to find my other best friend, Xander, standing in the doorway of the old barn that my parents should’ve torn down years ago but never did because they know how much I love this place. Pushing myself off Cole, I stand and sprint the short distance to Xander, and without warning, I jump straight into his awaiting arms. He, of course, catches me—my legs wrapping around his waist and holding onto him like he’s my lifeline. Because he is—both he and Cole are. I feel his chest rise and fall as he chuckles over my dramatics. He may only be forty minutes away at Texas University, but it feels like he’s moved to another planet. I can’t wait until the three of us are at the same school again—only nine more months to go.

  “I missed you too, sweet girl,” he murmurs into my ear. I always smile when Xander calls me sweet girl. Anybody who knows him, knows he’s rough around the edges. While Cole is sweet and wears his heart on his sleeve for the world to see, Xander keeps his locked up tight from everyone besides Cole and me. I love that I’m privy to that small piece of Xander others don’t get to see.

  Xander drops me back down and walks over to Cole to give him one of those weird handshake-hug things guys always give when they see each other. When they’re done, they both turn around to face me while I stand against the wall, facing the two of them, in a stare down that I already know I’m going to lose. This is the life I’ve been dealt and Cole is right. Every year I go and everything is okay, but it doesn’t stop me from feeling the nervousness in the pit of my stomach over the fact that it already happened once, and it can easily happen again. As I glare at my two best friends, I remember the first time I met them. It was right here in this same building. I don’t think any of us knew it at the time, but the two of them stumbling into my barn would forever change all of our lives in so many ways.

  One-click on Amazon: Unbroken Promises

  Other books by Nikki Ash

  All books can be read as standalones

  The Fighting Series

  Fighting for a Second Chance (Secret baby)

  Fighting with Faith (Secret baby)

  Fighting for Your Touch

  Fighting for Your Love (Single mom)

  Fighting ‘round the Christmas Tree: A Fighting Series Novella

  Fighting Love Series

  Tapping Out (Secret baby)

  Clinched (Single dad)

  Takedown (Single mom)

  Stand-alone Novels

  Bordello (Mob romance)

  Knocked Down (Single dad)

  Unbroken Promises (Friends to lovers MFM/MF/MM)

  Heath (Modern telling) Co-Author K Webster

  Imperfect Love Series

  The Pickup (Secret baby)

  Going Deep

  On the Surface

  Acknowledgements

  First and foremost, I want to thank my readers! It’s been two years since I’ve released my first book and if it wasn’t for your reading and loving my books, I wouldn’t be writing this acknowledgment. It’s because of you I can continue to create and write stories for you to read. So, thank you! To the bloggers who sign up and share my covers, sales, teasers, and releases. Thank you! It means so much to me. To my beta readers, editors, proofreaders, and book friends, thank you! Stacy, Nicole, Brittany, Andrea, Ashley, Tabitha, Lisa, Kristi, and anyone else I forgot. You guys make a lonely job less lonely. Thank you for welcoming me into your lives and reading and loving my books like they’re your own. Juliana, every cover, if possible, gets even more beautiful. Thank you for treating my book babies like they’re your own. Fight Club members, you guys are everything! Every post, comment, like, and share. You guys are amazing. Ena and Amanda with Enticing Journey, thank you for keeping everything organized so I can simply focus on writing. To my children, I love you both so much. You are my inspiration in everything I do.

  About the Author

  Nikki Ash resides in South Florida where she is an English teacher by day and a writer by night. When she’s not writing, you can find her with a book in her hand. From the Boxcar Children to Wuthering Heights, to the latest single parent romance, she has lived and breathed every type of book. While reading and writing are her passions, her two children are her entire world. You can probably find them at a Disney park before you would find them at home on the weekends!

  Reading is like breathing in, writing is like breathing out.– Pam Allyn

  Contact Nikki Ash

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  Amazon * Website

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