Sierra wiped her running nose with the back of her wrist, yes, her wrist, and mumbled, “You two are like a tragic romance novel. I can’t.”
I tipped my head back and smirked at the sky. “Tragic, nah. That’s a cop-out for when you don’t have enough story to fill the pages. We filled novels...” I smiled on the inside, comforted by the truth to what I was about to say. “And our final chapter may have been written two years ago, but I know in my heart, our epilogue is still to come. Until then I’m going to live each borrowed day and love our children and our children’s children enough for the both of us.”
Barefoot and unsteady, Lil sauntered over and grabbed the half empty bottle Tack had left behind. Her drunken brow scrunched and I said, “No. I think we’ve had more than enough.” But she ignored me and remedied our empty wine glasses with the infamous amber liquid.
Sierra went hysterical, almost choking on her words, “Ya think Tack knows why Asher loved scotch so much? Bahahaha.”
“No! God no! Ewwww. Sier, what’s wrong with you?” I shook my head back and forth, trying to not vomit between the fits of laughter. Lil was bent over almost hyperventilating.
There was going to be no yoga, no Zumba, and no running tomorrow. For sure.
But that was okay.
We were good.
Everyone would be fine.
You only live once.
Read other books by Riley Mackenzie
After another seriously looooong year, we finished round two! Feel that stretch in seriously loooong? Just checking. Never in a million years did we expect the response we received from Beautifully Awake. We were humbled beyond words! Every praise, every critique you took the time to write and share with us we took straight to our hearts and listened. This time around was for all of you! Chase and Lili were our vision, but Asher and Talia were our ideal.
That being said, the seven people who own our hearts were exceedingly patient with us. Acknowledgement doesn’t even come close, and thankful falls a mile short. A big old ‘we’re sorry’ is probably most fitting. We can’t blame you for every now and then wanting us to watch that show for real (without the computer on our laps, lol!). Your cheering is always the loudest though and you celebrate every single one of our benchmarks in grand fashion, as if it was your own. We started as Riley Mackenzie, now the nine of us are team RM and it is pure awesomeness. We love you more than anything in this world. You are the fill to our buckets every day and the yous ‘til the end. Truth.
To our parents and siblings- Talk about unconditional. Half of you would cringe reading chapter one, yet you have been so unbelievably supportive. Who needs a street team when your moms blow up Facebook on a daily basis! And the sista keeps the RM website afloat.
Our amazing editor Lori Sabin- We’re still wondering what you were thinking when you took us on. One look at BA and you probably questioned the same thing. Being completely honest, we hoped you were our Asher—take our first story and just ‘fix’ it. The greatest gift you gave us as writers was NOT doing that and telling us to try harder. We might still be medicine geeks at heart, but we have a new appreciation of the English language because of you. Just wait until round three—the more you do it, the better you get. Let’s hope we continue to make you proud. Our arms are wide open because when we finally meet, huge bear hugs are coming your way (listen for the clinks of our Prosecco-filled flutes ‘To Lori!’).
Tosha, Dawnita, Michelle- Do you realize the level of nervous stomach we had when we hit send? About ten thousand times worse than last time. This time there was an expectation that had to be met. You were the first to see our unedited BA, gave the best feedback and signed up to do it again. You need to know your support and honest opinions were our personal benchmarks. Get ready ladies ... there’s only so long before we need to see those gorgeous faces in person!
Tosha- you might not know you were our very first response to BA (as in the first person to lay eyes on it). You set the bar, and when you said you loved BD—the happy dance far exceeded any other!
Dawnita- you get the virgin beta rock star award. You tore BA apart and we LOVED you for it. We asked, you answered. Honest and raw, any author would be lucky to have you critique!
Michelle- not really fair since you are Sierra. Start a blog! You read and review, the romance world will follow. Just saying!
Laura- we love you. Period. End of. :)
Tammy- you took the time to power through BA and BD and sent us a selfie of your face after you finished … omg, you made our year!
Barb- we asked the impossible—critique a love story without having read the first half. Thank you!
To our cover designer and formatter Emily Tippetts- Have we told you lately how much we love it? Perfect, just perfect!!!
Last year after we edited and revised, we discovered the blog world. You rock this genre, ladies! You get our books out there and make it happen—as in, make careers! There are too many to name, but we love you for everything you’ve done and continue to do every single day. A special shout out to Jennifer and Natalie at Love Between the Sheets who filled in the clueless ones on blitz and blog tours. Thank you so much for everything.
Last but not least... To our Sierras- our moms, sisters and best friends. We laugh, we cry, we complain, we work it out. There is no greater gift to a woman than her girlfriends. We stand taller and laugh louder because of you. Yes, we write fiction, but you’re the inspiration—every Josie Grossie moment and every accomplishment. We could only wish that every woman out there be lucky enough to have a few Sierras in her life. It does the heart wonders!
Speaking of Sierra- love ya, asspuck! Right back at ya! Who knew the day we mumbled ‘we can do this,’ we’d be here? Beautifully Done! Are we really considering book three? Let’s sleep on it, but those dreams are screaming! Hmmm, should we get another tat? Ummm, yes! That other arch is looking awfully naked!
To see our Asher and Talia inspirations, visit our pinterest page
We would love to hear from you. Find us at our website
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Riley Mackenzie is plural. As two East Coast girls separated by a tiny thirteen-mile strip of water, they have succeeded at keeping their five children busy and their husbands of eleven years entertained, all while maintaining careers as physician assistants. They both love to travel, but agree that curling up with an angsty romance (on a beach, in a rainforest, in a skyscraper, on top of a volcano) is just as good. The pair met in 1999 during PA school and waited to take on this writing endeavor until they were diagnosed with overflowing life responsibility, requiring self-prescribed outlets. The Beautifully Awake series is the result.
This ebook was designed and formatted by
www.emtippettsbookdesigns.com
Artisan ebooks for discerning authors and publishers.
Copyright © 2014 by Riley Mackenzie, LLC
All rights reserved.
ISBN-10: 1500184918
ISBN-13: 978-1500184919
Cover design and interior book design by Emily Mah Tippets, E.M. Tippetts Book Designs.
Edited by Lori Sabin.
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission of the above author of this book. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.
All songs, song-titles, and lyrics excerpts quoted herein are the property of the respective copyright holders.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Books by Riley Mackenzie
Dedication
Chapter 1 Barefoot
Chapter 2 Toilet Paper
Chpt 3 HTs
Chapter 4 Bacon and Eggs
Chapter 5 Swimmers
Chapter 6 Turkey
Chapter 7 Inhabitable Chandelier
Chapter 8 Stuff
Chapter 9 Dating
Chapter 10 Dating Over
Chapter 11 Diamonds
Chapter 12 Trust
Chapter 13 Balance, Cock, Torque, Strike
Chapter 14 To TACK
Chapter 15 Stop Talking
Chapter 16 That Smile
Chapter 17 Vulture
Chapter 18 Lucky
Chapter 19 You
Chapter 20 Seven Minutes
Chapter 21 Cast Iron Armor
Chapter 22 Wait
Chapter 23 Clockwork
Chapter 24 The Exception, Not the Norm
Chapter 25 Rounds
Chapter 26 Clarity
Chapter 27 Perfect
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
About the Authors
About the Book Designer
Copyright Notice
Beautifully Done Page 35