the certainty of deception
by
Jeanne McDonald
Author: Jeanne McDonald
Title: The Certainty of Deception (The Truth in Lies Saga #2)
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Cover Design: Jada D'Lee Designs
Release Date: July 8, 2014
Summary:
After years of living in the darkness of his past,
Andrew Wise, a young attorney working for his family’s law firm in Sarasota,
Florida, has finally broken free of the demons that haunt him. Wealth, success, happiness, and true love;
everything a man could ever dream of, was right at his fingertips. Or so he thought. But in the blink of an eye, all of that
changed. Upon discovering that his
ex-girlfriend, Olivia Hamilton, was pregnant, Drew fell back into some old
habits, which led to him losing the one person that mattered the most in his
life - McKenzie Evans.
When McKenzie left him and returned to Texas, Drew
was beside himself. The night before she
left, he made an agreement with her best friend Jared Christopher, that he
would give her time and space to come to grips with the fact that he’d fathered
her best friend’s child. Now, two months
later, he feels as though he held up his end of the bargain, Drew can’t take
their separation any longer. With his
brother’s wedding mere weeks away, Drew devises a plan to win McKenzie back.
Under the guise of a bachelor getaway for Gavin,
Drew, along with his brother and Jared, jets off on an adventure to the
panhandle of Texas. There, he will learn
what made McKenzie who she is and will find strength within himself that he
never realized existed.
In this charming sequel to The Truth in Lies, Drew
and McKenzie discover that not everything is as it seems, forgiveness is a
matter of acceptance, and true love really can conquer all.
Excerpt:
“Evans’ Bodyworks, McKenzie speaking,” her sweet voice
serenaded me like a siren’s song.
The wind pushed from my chest in the most orgasmic of
ways.
I closed my eyes and allowed the intense rush of relief
blow from my chest. For the last two
months, I’d called her office just to hear her voice. She’d changed her cell phone number to an
Amarillo number after leaving, but Evans’ Bodyworks was a listed number. As per my agreement with Jared, I never said
a word. I simply listened to her until
she hung up.
“Hello?” I shivered
with delight at the sweet timbre of her tone.
Since her departure, I’d taken up sending her flowers
every Monday, simply to brighten her week.
The phone call was to brighten mine.
“Hello? Anybody
there?”
Oh, God, that Southern drawl. She’d commented several times about how much
she hated her accent. “I sound like a backwoods hick,” she’d
complained. She didn’t sound like a hick
to me. On the contrary, I could’ve
listened to her talk all day long if given the chance.
Drops of rain splattered to the ground. I looked up at the sky. It appeared the sun was going to lose the
battle of the clouds after all. Not that
I minded, I loved the rain. The rain
held a sentimental value to me. It was a
rainy night where I first made love to McKenzie. Rain was a good thing. It brought life and in my case, it brought
love.
I closed my eyes to recall the smell of her skin mixed
with the rain. Shadows of her danced in the recesses of my
mind. I swallowed hard, thinking of how
it felt to have her smooth skin pressed against mine. Every minor detail displayed with vivid
accuracy in my consciousness. Her
shimmering blue eyes sparkled, her playful smile, and the way her golden hair
fell in front of her face when it was wet.
“Andy? Is that
you?” she whispered.
Tha-thump.
My heart skipped a beat at the sound of that nickname on such beautiful
lips. Only Mickie was allowed to call me
that. Just because my name was Andrew,
didn’t mean people should call me Andy.
Andrew or Drew was fine with me, but never Andy. That was my twin sister’s nickname, after
all.
I sprang to my feet in a single bound, and looked around
the beach. It was still fairly
empty. Just a few runners making their
way to their cars before the rain picked up.
“I guess not,” she faltered.
The sadness in her voice chipped away another piece of my
mangled heart. She missed me. The evidence was there in the sound of her
voice. Fine, the evidence was hearsay,
but this wasn’t a court of law, so it was admissible. She called me by name,
hoping it was me on the other end of the line.
This was what I’d been waiting for. I needed to know that she missed me too, that
I wasn’t alone in my heartache. I wanted
to reveal myself, but I feared it would ruin my upcoming plans. Only one person knew what I was about to do
and that was because he was intricate to my plans. All I needed was for Jared or Gavin to get
wind of my trip to Amarillo. There was
no doubt in my mind that they’d try to stop me.
So, instead of acting on instinct, I sat there like a fool, listening to
her breathe.
Click.
The phone went silent.
For several seconds I stood, unmoving. She had spoken to me. To hear her call me by name was an answer to
my prayers. It only solidified my
decision to get off of my ass and fly to Texas.
I’d waited like Jared and Gavin demanded. Two long, miserable months, I’d waited. Not a single drop of liquor had touched my
lips since that night, no matter how bad I wanted a drink. I’d been patient, keeping my distance, well,
in a way. Sure, the flowers didn’t
equate to distance, but she hadn’t told Jared about them as far as I knew. I was sure if she had, I’d never hear the end
of it. So, to me, that was a signal that
she wasn’t over me any more than I was her.
They were lucky I’d lasted this long.
Patience was not one of my virtues.
The time had come, and I was getting my girl back.
My mind released me from its
temporary prison, allowing my heart to say what it needed to say. “I miss you,” I whispered, breathless.
Playlist
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Follow the link below to order your autographed copies of The Truth in Lies and The Certainty of Deception!
About the Author:
Jeanne
McDonald began telling stories at the ripe young age of five, when her mother
considered the truth to be a lie due to her extensive embellishment to the
retelling of an event. She wrote her
first short story when she was twelve years old, and at the age of sixteen she
tried her hand at poetry. She
reconnected with her love for writing in 2010 thanks to the encouragement of a
dear friend.
Her
passions include a "mild" Starbucks addiction, music, reading,
quotes, movies, and romance. When she's
not spending time with her family, she can be found reading, writing, chatting
with her friends or diligently working toward her bachelor's degree in Speech
Pathology and Audiology. A proud Texan,
Jeanne currently resides in the Dallas/Fort Worth area with her family.
Stalk the Author:
Giveaway:
Special Houston Giveaway
***To win, applicants must be able to
attend the event in Houston, Texas on August 15-17, 2014.
Prize does not include airfare or other travel arrangements.
Tickets are also available at http://www.indieauthorevent.com/***
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