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Floored

Page 23

by Melanie Harlow


  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: melanieharlowwrites@gmail.com

  Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/melanieharlow2/

  Tumblr: melanieharlow.tumblr.com/

  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

 

 

 


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