Worth Saving(82)

“Yeah, I wish you could tell that to the school board.”

“Shit, you just tell me where they work and I’ll be there to sing your praises. I’ll sing that shit until I’m blue in the face, and they’ll be so soothed by my sweet, sweet vocals they’ll have to put you in the position you want. I guarantee it.”

“You’re a fool,” I say, behind a giggle. “That’s why I love you.”

“Aww, I love you, too, babe.”

We walk down to the end of the sidewalk where we always part ways, and Austin takes both of my hands in his. He looks me straight in the eye and lets out a deep breath, like he’s nervous about something.

“You okay?” I ask. “You look nervous all of a sudden.”

“Well, I kind of am,” he replies.

“What, about tomorrow?”

“No, about right now.”

“I’m confused,” I say, furrowing my brow.

Austin looks at me, and takes another deep breath.

“You know I love you, right?” he asks.

“Yes. I also know you’re weird, and this is no exception. What’s going on?”

“Nothing, just listen to me for a second, okay? I love you, Layla, and nothing brings me more joy than spending time with you. The past few months, we’ve been sleeping over each other’s houses, and every time we do it, I realize more and more that I don’t want to go home without you. So, I have a question to ask you.”

I feel my heart starting to pound in my chest, and now it’s me who’s nervous. I love Austin, but I’m not sure I’m ready for the question he’s about to ask. I watch as he gets down on one knee and reaches into his pocket, and my nerves feel like they might explode. When he brings his hand out, he opens it up and there’s a key in his palm.

“Layla Davison, will you move in with me?”

A smile spreads over my face, and I feel a little relief as I exhale and hit him in the arm.

“Oh my god, you have got to stop doing that,” I exclaim. “You’re such an ass.”

“What? That’s why you love me though, right?”

“Yeah, that’s why I love you,” I reply. “Now get your ass off your knee, because you know I’d love to move in with you.”

“You would?”

“Hell yeah, I would. Now, come here.”

Austin gets up and pulls my body into his. I wrap my arms around his neck and close my eyes. I feel overcome with joy. Who would’ve known that the night I met him in Stacy’s Bar, would change my life forever? Who would’ve thought I’d end up falling in love with him, after all I’ve been through? After all the shit I’ve had to deal with, and the men I’ve known in my life, it all turned out to be worth it because it brought me to Austin. I am the woman I am because of what I’ve been through, and Austin doesn’t judge me for that. He loves me for who I am, including all my flaws and my issues, and I love him just the same. In fact, I love him more because he accepts me for me.

As we hug, I see the charm bracelet he bought for me still hanging from my wrist. It’s been over a year and I’m still wearing it. I still look down at it when I feel like giving up. It’s a reminder of how far I’ve come, and how far we’ve come together. To me, the two butterflies on the bracelet aren’t just for me anymore. They symbolize both of us now, and we’re flying together. And we’ll continue to fly high, because between the two of us, we have all the faith, hope, and strength, we’ll ever need, and that’s worth saving.





THE END





Well, here we are again with another acknowledgements section! This is my sixth book, and I’m pretty sure I’m more proud of this one than I am of all the rest.

Worth Saving is my first crack at contemporary romance, and let me tell you, it was a bitch. I had this great idea for these two great characters and I just didn’t know how to bring them to life and make sure their story wasn’t boring. It was really tough, honestly. Once I created Austin and Layla, I didn’t know how to show the progress they were making as a couple, because I didn’t know how to how write romance properly.

So, in comes my good friend Tonya Nichols. If you’ve read any of my acknowledgements before, then you know Tonya Nichols is in almost all of them. She’s been a part of my team for a long time now, and my wife and I depend on her for a lot, but nothing more than her honesty. So, I sent Tonya my first nineteen chapters of this book, and when she reported back, it was a bit of a letdown for me. I’d put this book on such a high pedestal, when she told me it was missing something, I was so frustrated. So, I had to go in and make some adjustments, and even after the adjustments I made, it still wasn’t quite good enough for me. I was on a mission after to talking to Tonya. I was determined to make sure this book would be beyond what I thought it would be, and it became a challenge to make a great romance novel, even though it was my very first one. But, I knew Tonya was on to something, and it needed to be taken care of.

So, in comes Resurrecting Phoenix, by Isabel Lucero, my wife. I took a break from writing Worth Saving so I could read and edit Phoenix. Within two chapters, I knew this book was exactly what I needed to see. Not to brag too much, but my wife is awesome, and seeing how her characters grew together was perfect for me. Without my wife’s great writing, and Tonya Nichols as the catalyst and telling me the truth, Worth Saving would not have come together the way it did. Because of Tonya and my wife, I added eight new chapters to this story that weren’t outlined into it in the beginning. Eight! How’s that for revisions? Tonya and my wife changed the entire book, and I have to give all my thanks to them. I don’t think they know how much they made a difference, but they really, really did.