Hey, everyone!! Today's guest is Author Chicki Brown, who is sharing her new release, I Want You Back, with us!! Check it out and be sure to comment below for your chance to win a FREE Kindle copy of the book!!!
Nick Stafford is the youngest in his family. He's recently graduated from medical school and finished his internship. Everything was going well for him until Cherilyn, his girlfriend of two years, starts hinting about marriage. The thought of adding more responsibility to the pressure he is already facing getting ready to take the last of his board exams and the nearly quarter of a million dollars in student loan debt already hanging over his head is too much. He breaks off their relationship.
Eight months later, he runs into Cherilyn at an event on the arm of another doctor, and she's wearing an engagement ring. Seeing her with another man stirs up a jealousy like he's never experienced before.
Now all Nick can think of is how he can get her back.
Excerpt:
Nick had the distinct feeling he was in for a fight. One of
the things he loved about her was that she had never been a doormat. She wasn’t
going to make this easy for him. On top of that, when the word got around about
what happened at the wedding, his name, as insignificant as it was, was going
to be mud in the Atlanta medical community. So many of his father’s and his
brothers’ colleagues were sitting in the salon at The Estate this afternoon. It
was just a matter of time before the rumor mill started churning.
After they finished dinner, he
helped Cherilyn clean up. She kissed him goodbye before he left. “Call me if
you want to see me again.”
“Stop it, Cher. Don’t play like
that.” He kissed her lips, which tasted like powdered sugar and cream from the
cannoli and left with thoughts of where he would take her on their date. He shook his head as the word
echoed through it while he drove back to his apartment. She was right, not since
they had first met would he consider what they did as dating. The first few
times, he’d taken her out to dinner and a movie or they visited one of the
popular clubs in Buckhead. What they had was a relationship, one that was more
like a marriage than he cared to admit.
His phone rang, and his father’s
cell number appeared on the digital dash display. It was pointless to ignore
it. Victor Stafford Sr. was like a dog with a bone. Nick groaned and hit the
button to answer.
“Hey, Daddy. Can I call you
back? I’m driving right now.”
“Don’t BS me, boy. Your car has
Bluetooth. I bought it, remember?”
Nick sighed. “Right. What’s up?”
“Where are you right now?”
“On I-20 on my way home.”
“Your mother and I want you to
swing by here first.”
“Is it important? I have to get
up early tomorrow.”
“What do you mean, is it
important?” His voice rose. “We’ll be waiting for you.” The line went dead, and
Nick beat his fist on the steering wheel. He’d expected this, but not so soon.
The best way to handle it was to just get it over with, so he took the next
exit for I-285 and headed for Cascade Road.
And so it begins.
I’m being called on the carpet.
His mother and father were
sitting in the family room when he arrived at the house and let himself in.
“Have a seat, son.” His father looked perturbed. “I guess it’s pointless to ask
if it’s true, since your mother has already received two phone calls from
friends who were at the wedding.
“This is my business, Daddy.
It’s between Cher and me. I may be your youngest, but I’m not a damn kid. Why
are you calling me on the carpet like I’m sixteen?”
“Nicholas, don’t ever speak to
your father like that!” his mother interrupted before his father had a chance
to explode. “You and Cherilyn haven’t been together for nearly a year. Why
would you break up her wedding?”
“Because he doesn’t have a bit
of sense,” the elder man sputtered.
“Victor, let him answer.” She
turned back to Nick and waited for a response with a shadow of disappointment
in her eyes.
“I didn’t break up the wedding.
I just went to speak to her before the ceremony.”
“Couldn’t you have come up with
a better way? Showing up at the wedding was so crass. We raised you better than
that.”
“Nobody saw me except Cher, her
mother and one of the bridesmaids. I’m sorry I’ve embarrassed you, but I never
stopped loving Cher. She wouldn’t respond to any effort I made to get in touch
with her. I had to get her to see what a big mistake she was making. What else
could I do, Mama?”
“You could’ve told me. Cherilyn
and I had such a good relationship; I could have talked to her and told her how
you were feeling. Why are you so convinced it would’ve been a mistake?”
“She called off the wedding,
didn’t she? If she loved him, she would’ve gone through with the wedding as
soon as I left.”
They responded with raised
eyebrows. “But this doesn’t make sense. You told us that you two broke up
because she felt you were getting too serious.”
Nick hung his head and mumbled,
“I lied.”
“What?” His father’s voice rose again.
“Why?”
“I knew you and Mama would think
I was a fool for breaking up with her. Cher wanted to get married. With doing
my residency, studying for step three of the boards and…”
“The idea scared you,” his
mother finished the sentence.
“Yes, ma’am. It scared me to
death. I tried to explain that to Cher, but she wasn’t hearing it.”
She leaned in, folded her hands
and pinned him with her gaze. “There was more to it, wasn’t there, Nicholas?”
He chewed on his bottom lip.
“There was. She felt that I’d started to take advantage of her.”
“Did you?”
“Mama, it didn’t feel like that
to me. I loved being at her apartment and having her cook for me. Since she has
her own washer and dryer, I’d do my laundry there. It was just more convenient.
The ones in my building work when they feel like it and…” Her questioning gaze
stopped him.
“Yeah, I did.”
His father was strangely silent
as he listened to the discourse between mother and son.
“Now that she’s broken her
engagement for you, it’s time for you to step
up, as you boys always say.”
Nick snickered. “She told me our
relationship has new rules now. I have to date her like I was supposed to.”
“Good for her. I realize you’re
from a different generation. You have different ideas about things, Nicholas,
but we taught you to respect women.”
His father finally spoke.
“Cherilyn is a great girl, and it’s clear that she loves you. If you love her,
marry her, son. Don’t make her regret what she did to Derrick today.”
“Daddy, you know I don’t have
the money for a wedding now.”
“Maybe she doesn’t want a big
wedding. Maybe she just wants to be married to you. You need to find out.”
“Since when has one of my
brothers gotten married without you giving them a reception that rivaled
Barack’s inaugural ball?”
“Greg and Rhani did,” his mother
answered.
“And it took you months to get
over it.”
“I don’t deny that, but we gave
them a fabulous party a few weeks later. We’d do the same for you and Cherilyn.
Isn’t that right, Victor?” She sent him a piercing glance.
“That’s right,” his father
answered without hesitation. He knew he’d be in the doghouse for months if he
denied Lillian Stafford an opportunity to plan a celebration.
“You’d do that after I’ve caused
a scandal?”
She covered his hand with hers.
“Don’t be silly. You’re our son. After Marc married and divorced a Las Vegas
showgirl, Charles got himself kidnapped and Greg got arrested for indecent
exposure, nothing you boys do can embarrass me anymore.”
“And I’m the baby.” Nick stood wearing a stupid grin.
“I’m sorry about the way this happened. I need some time to think about
everything, and I have to see how Cher feels about it.”
“Don’t rush into a decision.
Make sure it’s what you both want.”
“I will, Mama. It might take a
while, but I’ll let you know what we decide.”
Buy links:
Coming soon to Nook
About the Author:
Contemporary women’s fiction/romance author Chicki Brown has been featured twice in USAToday. She was the 2014 B.R.A.B. (Building Relationships Around Books) Inspirational Fiction Author and also the 2011 SORMAG (Shades of Romance Magazine) Author of the Year. Chicki was also a contributing author to the Gumbo for the Soul: Men of Honor (Special Cancer Awareness Edition).
A transplanted New Jersey native who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, Brown still misses the Jersey shore, the pizza and the hot dogs.
Nia Forrester, Beverly Jenkins, Iris Bolling, Lisa Kleypas, and J.R. Ward are among her favorite authors.
Online contacts:
Remember, comment below for your chance to win a copy of I Want You Back!!!
