Marriage For One

by Maise, Ella

  Master Blogger List

  Want to hangout with me and other amazing people who enjoy my books? You can join my private Facebook group!

  Ella Maise Reader’s Group

  Keep in Touch With Me

  My website would be the best place to keep in touch with me, and I’d love to see you there.

  www.ellamaise.com

  To get the inside scoop of my books, extra materials, and to be the first one to know when I have a new release, you can

  Sign up for my newsletter!

  (Only sent a few times a year.)

  Newsletter Sign Up

  Also by Ella Maise

  The Hardest Fall

  (Romantic Comedy/College Romance)

  The first time you meet someone, you make eye contact. You smile, say hello. Should be simple, if you’re anyone but me. The first time I met Dylan Reed, I found myself making eye contact with a different part of his body. You see, I’m very good at being shy, not to mention extremely well-versed in rambling nonsense and, unfortunately, rather highly skilled at making a fool of myself in front of a guy I’m attracted to.

  At the time, I knew nothing about him and thought none of what I said would matter since I’d never speak to him again. Turns out, I was very wrong. He was the star wide receiver of the football team, one of the few players expected to make it into the NFL, and I ended up seeing him all over campus.

  I might have also propositioned him, run away from him, attacked him with a cooking utensil…and…uh, maybe I shouldn’t tell you all of it. It’s pretty normal stuff, things you’d expect…from me. Eventually, the time came when I couldn’t hide anymore—not that he’d have let me even if I tried.

  Before now, he never knew I was secretly watching him. Now that we see each other every day, he knows when I have a hard time looking away. It doesn’t help that I’m not the most subtle person in the world either.

  He smiles at me and tells me he finds me fascinating because of my quirks. I can’t even tell him that I think my heart beats differently whenever he’s around.

  He thinks we’re going to be best friends. I think I have a big thing for him, and the more I get to know him, the more I don’t care that I’m not allowed to be his friend, let alone fall for him.

  The thing is, that’s exactly what I’m doing—what we’re doing, I think.

  Falling.

  Hard.

  The Hardest Fall

  * * *

  To Love Jason Thorn

  (Romantic Comedy/Best friend’s sister)

  Jason Thorn… My brother’s childhood friend.

  Oh, how stupidly in love with that boy I was. He was the first boy that made me blush, my first official crush. Sounds beautiful so far, right? That excitement that bubbles up inside you, those famous butterflies you feel for the very first time—he was the reason for them all. But, you only get to live in that fairytale world until they crush your hopes and dreams and then stomp on your heart for good measure. And boy did he crush my little heart into pieces.

  After the stomping part he became the boy I did my best to stay away from—and let me tell you, it was pretty hard to do when he slept in the room right across from mine.

  When tragedy struck his family and they moved away, I was ready to forget he ever existed.

  Now he is a movie star, the one who makes women of all ages go into a screaming frenzy, the one who makes everyone swoon with that dimpled smile of his. Do you think that’s dreamy? I certainly don’t think so. How about me coming face to face with him? Nope still not dreamy. Not when I can’t even manage to look him in the eye.

  Me? I’m Olive, a new writer. Actually, I’m THE writer of the book that inspired the movie he is about to star in on the big screen. As of late, I am also referred to as the oh-so-very-lucky girl who is about to become the wife of Jason Thorn.

  Maybe you’re thinking yet again that this is all so dreamy? Nope, nothing dreamy going on here. Not even close.

  To Love Jason Thorn

  * * *

  To Hate Adam Connor

  (Romantic Comedy/Hate to Love)

  So you may ask, who is Adam Connor? He is the recently divorced, Academy Award-winning actor who just moved in next door with his kid. He also happens to be an exquisite male specimen and the most infuriating sly bastard I’ve ever come across.

  Let’s be honest here, wouldn’t you wanna take a peek over the wall to catch a glimpse of him, hopefully when he is naked? Wouldn’t you melt away after watching him work out as his five-year-old kid cheered him on? Do I even have to mention those abs, the big bulge in his pants, or that arm porn? Oh, wait, you would never spy on him? Sure…

  While I was being thoughtful by not breaking and entering and was actually considering going over to offer him a shoulder—or maybe a boob or two—to cry on (y’know, because of his divorce), instead he had me thrown in jail after a small incident. Jail, people! He was supposed to grant me countless orgasms as a thank you, not a jail cell.

  After that day, I was mentally plotting ways to strangle him instead of jumping his bones to make sweet love. So what if my body did more than just shiver when he whispered dirty little things in my ear? I can’t be held responsible for that. And when was the last time he’d kissed anyone anyway? Who’d enjoy a kiss with a side of heart attack?

  Even if he and his son were the best things since sliced bread—and I’m not saying he was—I couldn’t fall for him. No matter what promises he whispered on my skin, my curse wouldn’t let us be. I wasn’t a damsel in distress—I could save myself, thank you very much—but deep inside, I still hoped Adam Connor would be the hero of my story.

  To Hate Adam Connor

  * * *

  Lost Prelude (Alexander & Maya #1)

  My name is Maya, and I'm not the same girl I was a month ago.

  There is an emptiness I carry around in my chest now. A broken heart caused by grief.

  There are also dark nights where I have trouble breathing as I feel the heavy weight of loss rushing through my veins, painful moments where I can remember my entire being scream in agony as I held onto my father's cold, lifeless hand.

  Then there is always a hero to every story, isn't there? A hero who I despised from the moment he opened his mouth.

  His name is Alexander. He is my inevitable I never expected to find. The one my broken heart leads me to. His existence, his touch, everything he did to make my pain bearable will leave a mark on me forever.

  Yet, I know that when I'm gone, he'll only remember me as a fading memory.

  Lost Prelude

  * * *

  Lost Heartbeats (Alexander & Maya #2)

  My name is Alexander, and I'm no fucking hero.

  Not when I couldn't even save the little heartbeats I was supposed to protect with my life.

  When a fist closes around my heart after a death brings me to my knees, I finally go after the woman I'd been craving for months. Not just because her beautiful face is the only thing that slips through the pain when I close my eyes, but because she has secretly carved a place for herself in my heart - leaving me with no choice.

  But if I do this, if I make myself believe that I deserve her, will the choices I make ruin everything between us? Will she accept the fact that she doesn't get to leave me twice?

  Lost Heartbeats

  About the Author

  Writing has become my world and I can’t imagine myself doing anything other than giving life to new characters and new stories. You know how some things simply makes your heart burst with happiness? A really good book, a puppy, hugging someone you’ve been missing like crazy? That’s what writing does to me. And I'm hoping that reading my books will leave you with that same happy feeling.

  Everything you’d ever want to know about me and my books is on my website. I’d love to see you there!

  www.ellamaise.com

  Book+Main

  Acknowledgments

  Marriage For One is one of those books that wrote itself, at leas
t the first draft. But that doesn’t mean it was the easiest book. No, this one, Jack and Rose challenged me the most. And I’m hoping I didn’t make a complete mess of it.

  Jack is not like any other character I wrote before and it took some time and help to make sure I was being fair to him. As scared as I am about this release, I love these two. I love their love story, their dry humor, the grumpiness, the smiles, the laugher, the ankle holding…all of it. But this is also the book I’m most scared of. I don’t want to fail Jack and Rose. I realize this isn’t for everyone, but I want it to be, really badly. I want them to steal a piece of your hearts. I really hope I didn’t disappoint you.

  Shelly…as always there is nothing I could say that would be enough. There are no words for all the help you’ve given me with this one—especially with this one. I’ve bugged you endlessly about this book (I probably bug you endlessly with every book, but I know I’ve been over the top this time around). I can still hear myself repeating the same things over and over again in a voice message about what a failure I am or will be. And you always have the right words for me. Always. Maybe that’s why I always keep running to you when I’m freaking out. I’m forever grateful to have your friendship. Forever grateful that I can trust you with everything. Jack and Rose, they wouldn’t be out in the world right now if it weren’t for you, so thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for cheering me. Love you. Thank you so much for reading my little big book.

  Beth…what would I do if I didn’t have your friendship? Your comments with this one…they helped me so much. So much. And the fact that you don’t enjoy reading long books, but read mine in no time? I love you for that. For helping me. For sending me voice messages with your beautiful voice and beautiful accent and helping me even more—with the blurb, the cover, the teasers. Just like I just told Shelly, I would’ve messed up Jack and Rose’s story too much if I hadn’t had you to help me work things out. I’m hoping one day I can help you as much as you help me. I’m lucky to call you a friend and lucky that you’re not tired of me yet. I promise I’ll keep the next book shorter, but thank you for reading the entire thing.

  Erin…here we are again. I’m so glad that you’re not tired of me yet. Especially after this one because I know how annoying I’ve been. We finished another one, and I’m both excited and scared. As always, it helps to know you have my back. I promise I’ll try not to freak out this much on the new one. And thank you so much for reading Jack and Rose’s story even though you have a million better things to do.

  Elena (aka The beautiful thebibliotheque)…you’ve read this book so fast and so beautifully. And then you gave me life. I’m not even kidding. You already know how much I was freaking out when you started reading it so you know how much it meant to me that you actually loved it (that’s if you haven’t lied to spare my feelings of course). Loved Jack. Thank you for not making me beg to read my book. Thank you for making me smile so big when I was sure I’d failed in telling Jack and Rose’s story. Thank you for the beautiful photo. And last but not least, thank you for talking Jack and Rose with me for days! You made me feel excited about them all over again. I might beg you again, with the next one. Just saying…

  Saffron…thank you for reading thirteen chapters of this book even when you were dealing with something so insane. You know how much it helped me with Jack. I really appreciate the support, you know how insecure this book made me so thank you for listening and being there.

  The sweetest agent… Hannah, you’re the absolute best. You were there for me when I needed a friend the most. You read this whole thing in just a few days and not only once, but twice. I’m forever grateful for the help and the comments. I hope I won’t disappoint you. And just to repeat it, thank you so much for your lovely compliments. I wouldn’t want to work with anyone but you.

  Christina and Yasmin…you two are the first early readers and actually Yasmin is reading it as I’m typing this. Just in case you didn’t get it from my messages, I don’t like the fact that you’re hoarding your notes. I don’t know if you guys will love Jack and Rose, but I’m hoping so hard that you will. Thank you so much for being so enthusiastic about it. Every message I get from you guys put the biggest smile on my face. I really really hope you love it.

  Caitlin Nelson and Ellie McLove - thank you so much for making my book better and more readable.

  Emily A. Lawrence - thank you so so much for editing my synopsis at the very last minute. I can’t wait for the next one!

  Nina—please don’t get sick of me anytime soon!

  And thank you to all the incredible bloggers and instagrammers who gave me a shot. I know Jack and Rose’s story is longer than most books out there, but thank you for reading and helping me get the word out. ALL of you are amazing, I couldn’t do what you guys do. I hope you enjoyed my big little book.

  And my lovely readers, I want you to fall for Jack and Rose so much. I hope I won’t disappoint you and I hope you’ll meet me on my next book. Thank you so much for loving my characters as much as I do. You’re everything.