Meet Liam and Natalie in Consolation!
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Blurb
Liam wasn’t supposed to be my happily ever after.
He wasn’t even on my radar.
He was my husband’s best friend—forbidden.
But my husband is dead and I’m alone. I ache for him and I
reach for Liam.
One night with Liam changed everything. Now I have to decide
if I truly love him or if he’s just the consolation prize.
Copyright © 2015 Corinne Michaels
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means including
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior
written consent of the author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places
and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used
fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or
dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or
publisher.
5 Stars
I am a Navy wife of 9 years. I just want to put a warning
out there. Be prepared if ou read this book while you're husband is gone!
Granted, mine isn't a SEAL, or a "boots in the sand" sailor. But I
think this is every military wives biggest fear. Corinne Michaels did an
amazing job of writing the emotions. I won't lie, there were a few times I was
crying so hard that I had to shut my kindle off, grab more tissues and go to my
laptop and email my husband to tell him that I love him. I really connected to
Natalie. I know exactly how it feels to learn they have to deploy in under 24
hours, instead of a few weeks later. I know what it's like to stand there and
pretend you aren't torn up on the inside while waving and saying "see you
later" (we don't say goodbye in our family). I know what it's like to
paste on a fake smile and hold back your tears so that they aren't more upset
about having to leave you, so they can do their job. I know what it means to be
strong and supportive, while you are missing him before he has even left.
"not everyone can be a military wife, but even fewer
can handle being a SEAL wife."
This is so true.
Natalie is a widow at 27, and she's pregnant with her first
child. She is numb to everything. She takes care of her daughter, Aarabelle,
but that's really all she does. She's grieving the loss of her first and only
love, Aaron. Natalie and Aaron have been together since they were 16 years old.
How do you move on when your heart and soul are gone? All you've ever known,
gone! What do you do? How do you start living again when you've lost so much?
Liam is a SEAL, he was Aaron's best friend. He ends up back
in Virginia, with SEAL Team 4. He is there for Natalie and Aarabella, helping
around the house, being a friend, and a shoulder to lean on. Just don't expect
him to change diapers, unless you don't mind the use of rope.
But what happens when both realize they have feelings for
each other? This can't happen! They both feel horrible guilt about it. Will
they be able to stick together when secrets about Aaron come out and threaten
to tear Natalie apart all over again? Or when a deployment comes?
"You showed me how to love again. So you do love me all
day, and I love you."
This is an amazing, emotional read. I absolutely love it!
This does end in a cliff hanger. I don't know if I can wait
until this summer for the next one! My jaw was on the ground!
Prologue
Natalie
“Oh, Chloe, if you’d like to come out, please wait until
your Daddy gets back,” I insist, holding my belly as another Braxton Hicks
contraction hits. I grip the dresser and try to breathe through it. It seems
like they’re coming more frequently.
Once it passes, I try to finish what I came in here for.
Aaron is away, but I want the nursery done so we can enjoy the next few weeks
once he returns. I walk around what will be her room, putting a few more of the
pretty pink dresses in the drawers. Aaron and I have fought about the vast
array of pink things that are now strewn around the house—he hates it, I love
it.
He insisted we paint her room in camouflage. Brown, green,
and black camouflage for a girl? No. I almost sent myself into labor with that
argument. I got home and he and Mark were drawing it out on the walls. I
launched various household items at Mark while throwing him out of the house.
My husband found out shortly after how much he could suffer by my hands. I may
not be a SEAL, but you don’t mess with me either. In the end, I won with purple
walls and the sheer netting around her white crib.
“Daddy’s going to love this room, Chloe. I can’t wait to see
his face when he sees the pretty butterflies.” Needing to take another break, I
sit in the rocking chair and rub my stomach. It soothes me knowing she’s in
there. I can protect her—it’s my job. I love being pregnant and it’s a miracle
we were able to conceive her. I’ve already told Aaron I want to try for another
one as soon as she’s born. I close my eyes and sink, allowing the world to fade
away.
I imagine holding her in my arms, sitting here in this
chair, soothing and kissing her. I picture Aaron with her asleep on his chest
as she gets to hear his heartbeat. She’ll own his world and have him wrapped
around her finger.
Knock, knock, knock.
I hear the door, but it takes me a few seconds to get out of
the chair.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.
They bang louder this time.
“Coming!” I yell at the door. Jeez, give me a second.
Waddling to the door takes me a minute since I’m the size of
a whale.
I open the door and see Mark Dixon, Aaron’s boss and close
friend. He works at Cole Security Forces with Aaron and served with him for
years. His head is hanging low and when he looks up, his eyes are full of
sorrow.
“What’s wrong?”
“Lee,” he chokes on the one syllable of my name. The one
Aaron uses. Something is definitely not right.
“What happened?” I ask again as I begin to shake.
Tears fill his eyes and I know. I know my life is never
going to be the same. I know everything I’ve ever feared is about to come true
because Mark doesn’t cry. Mark wouldn’t be at my door if something weren’t
really, really wrong. “It’s Aaron.”
My heart stops beating and the world I live in ceases to
exist. “Don’t,” I beg with tears blurring my vision and my breath accelerating.
This can’t be happening.
“Please, don’t, Mark. Please,” I beg him again, because once
he says it…but I know it’s futile. It doesn’t matter because he can’t stop it.
It’s already happened.
“Natalie, I’m so sorry.”
The dreaded words that every military wife fears. Only I
wasn’t supposed to have to worry about this anymore. We were done. We got out.
I wasn’t supposed to ever fear this again.
Please, God, don’t take him from me. Please!
“But, I’m p-pregnant. I’m having a baby,” I stammer as if
that will somehow make none of this real. “He said he’d be back. He said he…” I
trail off as it becomes difficult to breathe. My hand flies to my mouth to
stifle the scream about to escape. Everything goes colorless.
“It was an IED. I’m sorry,” Mark says as his eyes glimmer
with unshed tears.
I fall.
But he’s there, cradling me in his arms. “I’m so fucking
sorry.”
“No. No. No.” Mark holds me as I sob clutching my stomach.
“You’re lying,” I hiss, tearing myself out of his embrace.
“I wish I were,” he says as I struggle to get up.
“It was a mistake. He’s having a baby. He said it was a
simple in and out!” I scream and throw my hands against his chest. “You’re
lying!” I scream, even knowing it’s not a lie.
“I’m sorry.”
“Stop saying you’re sorry!” My sorrow turns to hatred. I
hate him. I hate everyone in this moment. I hate Aaron and everyone who was
there. I hate this house and everything in it. I hate the air that he no longer
breathes. Hate consumes me. Hate smothers me. “Get out!” I yell and push
against his chest. “Get the fuck out of my house! Aaron will be back in a few
days and then we’re going to get ready for our daughter to be born.”
“Please,” Mark beseeches and I refuse to look at him.
This isn’t happening because Aaron’s alive.
He’s not dead. How dare Mark lie to me.
“He’ll be back. He wouldn’t leave me. He promised.” Aaron
wouldn’t lie to me. He never does. When he left for missions, he would always
say goodbye like it could be our last. But this time he kissed the tip of my
nose and said, “Now don’t have that baby until I get back.”
“Can I call someone? Your mom?”
“No, you can’t call anyone because he’s not dead! Go get
him, Mark! Go get my husband and bring him home.” I step back pointing my finger
at him. “You all promised. He promised.” I clutch my stomach as a sharp pain
radiates, but it’s nothing compared to the agony sitting on my chest. Tears
flow relentlessly as I struggle against his hold. “He promised.”
“I know he did,” Mark says as he holds my head against his
chest.
“He lied.”
My life is gone.
My heart is dead.
I’m a widow at twenty-seven.
Excerpt #1
Aarabelle sits in her highchair as I feed her dinner. She’s
growing so fast. Already she’s eating cereal and a little baby food. Soon she’ll
be crawling and I have no one to celebrate with. Her father will never see
these milestones and it breaks me apart.
“You should really lock the door,” Liam huffs as he throws
his coat over the chair.
“But then I’d have to get up to let you in,” I state
matter-of-factly and go back to feeding the baby, trying to put aside my
worries. The fact is…this is reality. I have to deal with it.
“Uh huh. Hey, Pumpkin,” his eyes alight as he crouches down
by Aara. It’s adorable hearing grown men use a baby voice. It gets a little
softer and higher pitched.
The corners of her mouth lift and she throws her arms in the
air when he gets close. My heart sputters seeing how happy she gets seeing him.
Liam kisses her head and she giggles.
“At least someone is happy to see me,” he says playfully.
“I’d be happy if you brought me a present,” I joke.
He laughs and goes into the pocket of his coat. “Just so
happens I did, but since that’s the only way you’ll be nice, I’ll hold on to
this until you’ve earned it.”
Practically leaping out of my chair, I rush over. “What is
it?” I try to peer around his back as he holds the mystery item.
Liam’s lips curl as he sees how much I want this. I don’t
even know what it is. Jeez, I’m an idiot.
“Nope. We eat first, then maybe you’ll
get it.”
“Watch, it’s a freaking Pez dispenser or something stupid.”
“Guess you’ll have to be nice to find out.” He shoves the
item into his back pocket and I fight the urge to reach and get it. “How was
work?”
We spend the next thirty minutes going over my day and
Jackson’s return. Liam never mentioned that they spoke, but he’s surprised to
hear he’s in Virginia. After we finish the pizza, Liam somehow convinces me we
should watch a movie. I get Aarabelle to bed and come down to find him sprawled
out on the couch.
“By all means, make yourself comfortable.”
Liam pulls his beanie higher on his forehead and his eyes
glimmer with amusement. He sits up and puts the TV on. “I picked the movie.”
“What?” I ask with mock incredulity. “It’s my house. Why do
you get to pick the movie?”
“Ummm, I’m the guest.” He shrugs as if this should be an
obvious answer.
I groan and lean back. “What crappy, shoot-‘em-up movie do I
have to endure?”
“You’ll see. It’s a classic.”
Excerpt #2
I lift my head and press my lips against his. His hand
cradles my cheek and he holds me as we kiss. I grab his neck and feel the
weightlessness from letting a little part of myself go. He kisses me adoringly
and cautiously, allowing me to lead but still commanding me. I lose myself a
little more as I moan when his hand presses against the small of my back.
“Let go,” he says against my mouth. “Let me take it for
you.”
Before I can say anything, his mouth is on mine again. Our
tongues thrash against each other as the kiss becomes hungry. He pulls me close
so there’s no space between us. The low sound resonates through his chest,
sending shivers down my spine. It’s sexy, and before I know it, my hands are
traveling to his chest. I pull his shirt out and my fingers trail up his chest.
I want to feel his skin.
Liam breaks the kiss. “Natalie,” my name is both a plea and
a request.
“Shhh,” I instruct him as I unbutton his shirt. “I want to
feel your heart.”
My hands glide up and he trembles beneath my touch. We stand
here with my fingers resting on his chest, feeling his heart beat beneath me.
He’s alive and here with me. His hands stay at his sides as he once again lets
me decide where I’m going with this.
“I want to touch you so bad,” he admits and his hand lifts then
drops. “I’m fighting every muscle in my body right now.”
“Stop fighting,” I say without thinking.
Book Trailer
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Playlist
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About the Author
Corinne Michaels is an emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun
loving mom of two beautiful children. She’s happily married to the man of her
dreams and is a former Navy wife. After spending months away from her husband
while he was deployed, reading and writing was her escape from the loneliness.
Both her maternal and paternal grandmothers were librarians,
which only intensified her love of reading. After years of writing short
stories, she couldn’t ignore the call to finish her debut novel, Beloved. Her
alpha Navy SEALs are broken, beautiful, and will steal your heart.
Contact Corinne
Website:
http://www.corinnemichaels.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CorinneMichaels
Instagram: http://instagram.com/authorcorinnemichaels
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorCMichaels
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7753662
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/corinnemichaels/
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