3) Six months after they got engaged in Paris, Erin and Charlie got married in church and had their reception at The Green Hour, which we closed for the entire weekend in their honor. Madison was their combined flower girl/ring bearer, and the situation is so friendly that even Charlie’s ex and her husband came to their wedding. Erin still runs the dance studio, which expanded to include a second location two years after she took it over, and Charlie is a detective now. They live in a house not far from where Erin and I grew up, and she’s expecting their first child around the same time I’m expecting my third. She’s having a girl, whose name will be Mia Claudia Dwyer, in honor of Coco and me.
4) The burglar who stole Erin’s things was caught about six months after he robbed her. Charlie never did get to exact the kind of justice he wanted, although Erin assured him she was over it. Since the incident brought them together, she was ready to write the damn thief a thank-you note.
5) I don’t see my friends often enough, but when we do get together, we make it count. We watch our children play a little, ignore our husbands a little, drink wine (if we’re not pregnant), and laugh about the crazy turns life takes. We all agree we wouldn’t be where we are today if not for one another. For our fortieth birthdays—approaching faster than we’d like—we’re going to Paris together to celebrate life, love, and friendship.
If you have those things, you have everything.
Thank you to my husband for your patience, love, and understanding. I live in my head so often, I sometimes forget to let you know how deeply you’re in my heart. I love you.
To my two little girls, whom I adore more than words—and that is a lot.
To my parents, even though you’re not allowed to read my books. You instilled in me a love for stories that has made all the difference in my life.
To an insanely talented and understanding team: Tom Barnes for his gorgeous covers, Cait Greer for formatting, Lisa Jones Maurer for publicity, Shanyn Day for being all-around helpful when I needed it, Angie Owens for meticulous proofreading. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
To Tamara Mataya, for edits that make me laugh so hard I cry. Thank you for keeping accidental amputee sex out of my book, knowing when I mean expect and not suspect, and laughing at all my jokes.
To Laurelin Paige, who knows what my characters want to do and say even when I don’t. Thank you for cheering me on every step of the way. I could never have written this book without you.
To Bethany and her hot cop hubby for police advice (ahem, and other kinds of inspiration). To Kayti McGee and Sierra Simone for reading Floored when it was a pile of first-draft-crap and telling me you wanted more. To Geneva Lee, for inspiring me, always. And also for the pink fuzzy hand cuffs… Love you guys!
To my talented, hilarious, loyal, and loving friends in The Wrahm Society and all offshoots, thanks for never letting me feel alone in this endeavor and giving me a hell of a lot of laughs.
I’m so grateful for the friends I’ve made because of this series, and to the bloggers and fans who endlessly talk about books they love. It means so much. I’m especially indebted to the Shameless Book Club, the Rock Stars of Romance, the Dirty Laundry Review, Shayna Renee’s Spicy Reads, and Truly Schmexy Promotions.
Merci mille fois, mes amis.
Vous êtes aussi belle que Paris au printemps.
Melanie Harlow likes her martinis dry, her lipstick red, and her history with the naughty bits left in. She’s the author of the Speak Easy historical duet as well as the sexy contemporary Frenched Series. Find her sipping cocktails at cool places in Detroit or online…
Website: www.melanieharlow.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorMelanieHarlow
Twitter: @MelanieHarlow2
Email: [email protected]
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/melanieharlow2/
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Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/melanieharlow
Amazon: www.amazon.com/Melanie-Harlow
Table of Contents
Title Page
Praise for the Frenched Series
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Epilogue
A Note From Mia
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Floored Page 23