Deception, page 21
Her ribs were about to break from the sheer force of their hug, neither one wanting to let go.
Hope released her and took a tentative step backward. “I’m so...”
“Do not say sorry! I can’t hear another person say sorry!”
Her friend’s mouth dropped open. She was taken aback by Grace’s harshness.
“It’s just... it’s no one’s fault. Don’t be sorry. I’m just glad you’re here.”
“I wish I could’ve gotten here sooner.” She sounded so sad.
“You’re here now, that’s all that matters.”
Nick stepped up behind Hope and wrapped his arms around her protectively.
It filled Grace with happiness, to see her friends find love. She rested her head back and closed her eyes, taking in everything that’d happened.
In less than two weeks, her world had changed forever.
Two weeks later, Grace walked into the renovated theater with a rhythmic click, thump, click, thump. With one high-heeled black patent leather shoe, and a walking cast, she was quite the site to see.
Jason and Richard had been kind and understanding, offering to do anything she needed to get her on the way to healing.
Her voice was slowly coming back, and she needed to get out of her new apartment.
Blaze had stayed with her every night since their arrival. He’d slept on the couch in the beginning, because Grace had a panic attack when she’d felt him lying next to her.
Every time she woke screaming, he ran to her side and held her until she fell back asleep.
Slowly, they’d worked to get her comfortable with him simply lying beside her.
She was finally realizing the extent of the damage Charles had done.
Grace still couldn’t even kiss Blaze with her eyes closed.
It would take time.
He never once showed any sign of upset.
There were nights she’d laid awake, listen to his breathing, wondering when he would give up on her and leave.
Grace stepped into the auditorium and breathed it all in.
The smell of fresh paint was fading, the plastic sheets were gone, and the tools all put away.
She both feared and craved the day she’d be back on a stage, playing someone else’s life.
Richard came up behind her, making a loud cough to let her know he was there.
She faced the older man, and smiled.
“Welcome back, Grace. Are you ready to start your new life?”
* * *
THE END
Afterword
Were you curious what was in the drinks, ‘Nick at Nite’ and ‘BJ in the Morning’?
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Here are the drink recipes for your enjoyment… if you are of the appropriate age.
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Don’t be Grace, please drink responsibly.
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Nick at Nite
1.5 oz. Cuervo Gold Tequila
1.5 oz Peach Schnapps
4 oz Sweet and Sour Mix
2 oz Cranberry Juice
* * *
Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into glass
* * *
BJ in the Morning
1 oz Malibu Rum
1 oz Creme de Banana
1 oz Blue Curacao
1 oz Orange Juice
1 oz Pineapple Juice
Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into glass
About the Author
Andrea Hurtt is an emerging author of various romance categories. She enjoys writing a little bit of everything.
She’s still deciding what she wants to be when she grows up. Andrea has been a dental assistant, a stay at home mom, owned her own clothing store, was a clothing designer with a vintage inspired clothing line, Amaryllis Designs, even won Omaha Fashion Week for Top Designer in her category, and Top Boutique for Cancer Survivor Night.
Andrea currently spends her days either writing books or making #EmotionalSupportPillows and traveling around the USA and parts of Canada with the cast and fans of the CW TV show Supernatural.
She is the mother or two children, two cats, two dogs, and is a proud Army wife; currently residing in the MidWest.
* * *
For more books and updates:
www.pieceofpiepublishing.com
www.facebook.com/andreahurttauthor
www.Twitter.com/atomicbombshel1
www.Instagram.com/AndreaHurttAuthor
www.Amazon.com/author/andreahurtt
Sneak Peek
Read on for an excerpt from
Andrea Hurtt’s new novella
* * *
Careless Kisses
* * *
Now available from Piece of Pie Publishing
* * *
ORDER IT ON AMAZON
Careless Kisses
CHAPTER ONE
* * *
“Breathe. Just breathe.” Grace took a deep breath as she entered the community hall’s recreational room. This was where she was her life-changing event?.
The lights were bright, harsh old fluorescent tube bulbs. The room smelled like a locker room.
She took in the less-than-impressive view.
The bleachers were closed and pushed up against the walls, giving the room a large cavernous feel. If anyone yelled, it would echo off the walls.
It made Grace smile.
That slice of joy only lasted a moment.
Her new costar, was about ten feet away, bouncing a red dodge ball like it was a basketball.
She cringed inside.
Those balls were made of nightmares!
“Gracie! You’re here! It’s about damn time! We can’t get started without you. Hey! Catch!” The good looking, well-built twenty-one-year-old man threw the ball at her.
She stepped out of the way before it could collide with her. The flying red rubber hit the wall behind her only to roll back her way. Grace continued to ignore it, walking closer to not only him but the others in the room.
“Seriously, Grace. Would it really hurt that much if it hit you?” Charles crossed his bare muscled arms over his chest, looking at her with mock disapproval.
If you only knew.
She forced a smile and stood by the other actors. Grace, for all her name implied, had always been clumsy.
In middle school, they’d given her the nickname, Graceless. One time in gym class, she tried to dodge one of those red balls. She’d slipped and broke her left arm when she’d hit the wooden floor.
She’d screamed like the world had ended, and everyone had laughed. The horrible teasing was born. That was the day she lost her voice, not just physically, but emotionally. She’d become an introvert, caving in on herself.
If Grace talked with no one, no one could hurt her.
Years later, theater had helped change all that. Taking on characters, becoming someone else, her whole body changed.
She had poise and grace she’d never had before.
Her new addiction.
She always needed more.
“Everyone please take your seats, I don’t care where. Just sit and I’ll pass out the scripts,” Jason, the man in charge said. He was an amazing man with a vision. At six foot, five inches, his height alone made her uncomfortable. His sun-bleached hair and copper tone shouted he spent more time outside than in a dark theater. When he smiled, and those pearly white teeth shone, it set her at ease.
Jason had been on a massive search throughout the theater communities everywhere, for actors looking to spread their wings. He needed people that could act, sing, and dance and weren’t afraid to leave their homes for an extended period.
That was what’d caught her eye, and motivated her to drive the long distance to audition.
Grace took a seat next to her new costar, as she tried to push back memories she didn’t need at the moment. She had to focus.
The script in her hand took on a permanent curved because she kept rolling it and squeezing, then unrolling and smoothing it out.
Her nerves were getting the best of her.
I still can’t believe I am here. This is really happening. Mom, I’m doing it. I’m doing this for you.
The younger man bumped her shoulder, bringing her back to the moment. “Are you ready for your life to change?” he whispered in her ear, his breath warm from his earlier exertion with the damned red ball.
Andrea Hurtt, Deception
