She’s even more beautiful in person, a textbook example of poise and sophistication. In the media a lot for charity work with her mother, her face is easily identifiable with her high cheekbones and sparkling smile.
"Don't worry about it," she breathes, waving me off. "I can't take my brothers anywhere without women getting all mesmerized. Especially that one," she laughs, nodding to the doorway Barrett just went through. "Although, between me and you, I don't get it."
Her grin is infectious, and I can't help but return it.
"I'm Camilla," she says, extending her long, well-manicured hand like I don’t already know.
I balance the tray on one side and take her hand in mine. "I'm Alison. Alison Baker."
"You helped clean up a sauce spill earlier. You put the lady that had the accident at ease when you took the blame and kept the attention off her. I wanted you to know I saw and respected that."
"It really was no big deal.”
"In this world, everything can be a big deal. Trust me. You probably just saved my brother a couple of votes."
"Just doing my part," I laugh.
She smiles again, her chic sky-blue dress matching her eyes and heels. "Well, on behalf of the mayor, thank you. He seems ... occupied, at the moment."
I wink. "I have no idea what you’re talking about. I didn't see a thing."
She nods, looking a touch relieved, and thanks me again before turning away and greeting the older lady from earlier, the one that spilled her dinner all over me. Camilla takes her hand and helps her into a chair.
Her elegance is breathtaking and she has a charm about her, an easiness even though she’s clearly blue-blood, that I’ve never seen before. It’s exactly what the kitchen is buzzing about with Barrett—a charisma you can’t quite put your finger on.
Read on by clicking here.
Books by Adriana Locke
The Exception Series
The Exception
The Connection
The Perception
Landry Family Series
Sway
Swing
Switch
Swear
Swink
Sweet—coming soon
The Gibson Boys Series
Crank
Craft
Cross
Crave
Crazy
Dogwood Lane Series
Tumble
Tangle
Trouble
Mason Family Series
Restraint
Reputation
Reckless
Relentless
Honey Creek Series
Like You Love Me
Cherry Falls
608 Alpha Avenue
907 For Keeps Way
Standalone Novels
Sacrifice
Wherever It Leads
Written in the Scars
Lucky Number Eleven
Battle of Sexes
The Relationship Pact
For an email every time Adriana has a new release, sign up for an alert here: http://bit.ly/AmazonAlertAddy or text the word adriana to 21000
Acknowledgments
Thank you, first and foremost, to my Creator. Thank you for guiding me, loving me, and never giving up on me.
My family cheers me on like no other. They forgive me for takeout dinners, dirty laundry, and a sink full of dishes when I’m on deadline. Well, most of the time but especially when I’m on deadline. Thank you to my husband, Saul, and my children, Alexander, Aristotle, Achilles, and Ajax for being the best part of my life.
I would like to thank my parents, Dennis and Mandy, for always being in the stands, going on field trips, and answering the phone when I needed to know how much salt to put in a recipe. I can write fun, supportive families because I had one. I had you.
Rob and Peggy bring so much light and love to my life. When I married my husband, I got them too. I hope my future daughter-in-laws love me as much as I love them.
Tiffany, my assistant, hasn’t quit yet. So, that’s good. She keeps this mom of four, down-to-the-wire writer on task and on time. I’d be lost without her.
Kari with Kari March Designs is my oldest friend in the book world. Her talent and kindness grow as the years go by. I’m routinely amazed by her and am blessed to be able to call her a friend.
My best friend, Mandi Beck, is the most genuine human being I’ve ever known. She’s there to pump me up when something is right and to sit me down when it’s not. Everyone should be as lucky to have a friend like her.
A huge thank you to my betas. We really worked for this one, didn’t we? Thank you to Jen (for reading during the worst day ever), Susan (for your ceaseless excitement for my books), and Anjelica (take your bow!) for riding this one out as a team.
Ebbie, Kaitie, and Stephanie lend their talents and support to all of my groups and teams. Thank you all for your kindness.
I would like to thank Jessica Prince for all that face-to-face time during this book. Our brains are so weirdly linked. But at least we know that we aren’t alone.
Brittni Van kept me going with her dancing, CPR demonstrations, and daily check-ins. Thank you for the laughs and the ideas. But I did give you a good one. I’m still waiting on you to follow through.
Big thanks to Lindsey, Marion ,and Jenny for editing this project and to Michele for her eagle eye in proofing. Also, thank you to Social Butterfly PR for beign so fluid with my plans and to T.E. Black for your graphics.
A massive thank you goes out to the bloggers, vloggers, and Instagrammers that shout from the roof tops about my books. There’s no way to tell you how valuable you are to me and how much I truly appreciate you. Thank you so much.
Last but certainly not least, thank you for reading this book. We may not know each other, but I’m honored you let me into your home (or car or bus or office or tent or boat). I tried to make you smile with this story. I hope I succeeded.
Much love.
About the Author
USA Today Bestselling author Adriana Locke lives and breathes books. After years of slightly obsessive relationships with the flawed bad boys created by other authors, Adriana created her own.
She resides in the Midwest with her husband, sons, two dogs, two cats, and a bird. She spends a large amount of time playing with her kids, drinking coffee, and cooking. You can find her outside if the weather's nice and there's always a piece of candy in her pocket.
Besides cinnamon gummy bears, boxing, and random quotes, her next favorite thing is chatting with readers. She’d love to hear from you!
Join her reader group and talk all the bookish things by clicking here.
www.adrianalocke.com