Title:
December Rain
Author:
A.L. Goulden
Release
date: November 25th, 2014
Genre:
Contemporary Romance
Book
Description:
Monica and Alex Waters have spent that last few
months working to repair a broken marriage and rekindle their passion. Just as
they start finding their spark, Quinn Matthews and his escalating career
resurfaces, but this time Alex makes the decision to let Monica go.
The devastation of losing her high school
sweetheart, her home, and even her dog twists Monica down a destructive path
that alienates her from her closest friends and lands her on Quinn’s couch.
Despite her efforts to resist jumping into his arms again, the spark between
them reignites and sweeps her away on a whirlwind holiday adventure. She finds
that falling in love with Quinn’s family and lifestyle is as easy as falling
for his ocean colored eyes. The problem is that it’s all too easy, and when she
sees that Quinn’s reinvented life has completely shifted towards her dreams,
she starts to question whether he’s too good to be true.
Quinn has a secret that was never meant to be kept
this long, but will Monica be able to trust another man who’s lied? And now
that Quinn’s got his happily ever after in sight, he’s not about to let her go
or share her with another man.
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22922733-december-rain
Book Excerpt:
“How you feeling?” Quinn
asks, turning to a dining area where he pulls out a chair and motions for her
to sit. Two place settings wait at the square metal and glass table. He grabs a
pitcher of orange juice when she starts to move and pours for both of them.
“Better than I deserve.”
She sits with her head hung low, avoiding his face. There’s a full outdoor
kitchen to the side of the stairs where Quinn reaches into a stainless warming
drawer. Wow. “Was this deck already like this when you moved in?” Shit.
I wasn’t gonna bring up the house.
“No. A friend of a
friend designed it and fast-tracked the job for me. They just finished a couple
weeks ago.” He sets a plate in front of her with a spinach and goat cheese
scramble and rosemary potatoes.
Oh wow… What’s he trying
to do?
“You didn’t have to do all this?” she sighs.
“I was making it for me
too. Not a big deal.”
He sets down a plate for
himself along with a bowl of fruit to share and the memories of their
breakfasts back in LA flood in. I’m really not ready for this. Oh my god,
these potatoes smell so good. “This is amazing.” Amazing doesn’t really
cover it. She looks around overwhelmed by the drastic change in his
lifestyle in such a quick time. He’s gotta be blowing all of his money, and
getting into some serious debt.
“I’m really happy with
it,” he says. Just wish you were here with me every morning… Quinn
shakes his thoughts and grabs the sourdough from the toaster. “So how much do
you remember?” He settles into his chair and spreads butter as casually as he
can manage.
Ugh. “Most of it,
unfortunately. Definitely racking up the worst days of my life lately.”
Oh. He sighs. It doesn’t
have to be. “I’m sorry to hear that.” His voice cracks a bit as he takes a
bite.
They continue in silence
for a few minutes as the tension builds.
How can this robe be too
warm up here? It’s probably not even 55 degrees outside. She looks around and
notices a red glow coming from various areas behind the horizontal slats. Heat?
There’s a heat lamp built into the canopy over the kitchen as well. He has outdoor heat?
Quinn chews with
frustration, his fork hitting the plate harder with each bite. Say
something! Seriously. Why won’t she let us be happy? Gotta be the most
frustrating woman on the planet… and I pick her. Typical! He drops his
knife causing her to jump. “Sorry,” he says. I wish she’d take off those
stupid sunglasses so I can see her.
Jeez. What’s his
problem? He seems mad. Join the club and get in line! Monica starts scooping
all the pineapple out of the fruit bowl.
Seriously? She’s only
gonna eat the pineapple? Whatever. Always gotta be difficult. He shakes his head and
waits to retrieve the strawberries and mango left in the bowl.
They continue eating
without conversation, but the clamber of utensils and glasses slamming gets
louder and louder.
“Can you call me a cab?”
Monica starts to get up.
“Seriously? That’s it?”
Staring at his reflection in her sunglasses only pisses him off more.
“What do you expect from
me? I didn’t ask you to bring me here! In fact… I remember screaming that I
didn’t want to leave with you!”
“Did you think we’d let
you leave with Jack?”
“It’s not your business
who I would have left with!”
“Why are you acting like
I did something to you? You left me! You ended us. And I respected your
decision and disappeared.”
“Really? Cause I
could’ve sworn you were in Maui!”
“How was I supposed to
know you’d be there? And come into my gallery? What, you got dibs on the whole
island?”
“Yours? You own the
gallery?” She shakes her head not caring for an answer. “That’s what made him
finally decide to end it.”
Quinn stills remembering
Alex’s pain filled face. “So you blame me for Alex leaving?”
About
the Author:
Im a designer, author, wife and dog-lover living in the South Pasadena
area of California. I got my BFA in Film Production from the Academy of
Art University in San Francisco, but my love of a good story came way before college.
I remember writing my first full story in fifth grade on a
typewriter. I cut and pasted it into a book, complete with cardboard cover and
taped binding. Things have changed a lot since then. With the magnificent
digital age I can produce books and give them to the world without a sticky
mess.
In college numerous instructors and peers praised my
dialogue pushed me to hone my storytelling skills. Of course
the need to cut and paste was still there, so I went into the world of
Production Design and Art Direction for films and television. It
gave me the ability to connect design to storytelling in a way that no
other career can. The past 18 years have spun a unique perspective on
visually emotional tales of relationships and the thread that ties all things
together. Now I’m shifting focus on the driving force thatn brought me here…
stories. I hope that I can share a unique perspective on life, love and the
pursuit in all of the above.
Official Website: http://www.author-algoulden.com/
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