Good Girl : An Enemies-to-Lovers, Roommate Romance (Alphahole Roommates Book 2), page 46
In between sifting through the storage stuff, we went for dinners and to a dance club, I got to visit Shane, and we also attended Raven’s first book signing. She went the self-publishing route, but also told her family about her books after she hit a bestseller list with her debut novel. She has a lot to be proud of and tells me her family was shocked but is supportive, which has shocked her in the best way. She has a new beau, too.
Of course we stayed at Aiden’s condo when we were in New York and surprisingly, Andrew still works as a security guard on the night shift.
The guy has no idea that he got Sienna pregnant, though it wasn’t viable. And I have no idea if he’s gotten any more acting jobs, but I do know he looked unhappy when he saw me.
I smiled. “Hi Andrew.”
“Jada,” he returned and looked away.
Based on his reaction, I didn’t ask any further questions.
Now, Shane is out of the hospital and on probation. He’s been assigned a probation officer in San Diego.
Adele connected Roger with Dr. Lexington and strings were pulled and Sienna is in a similar program to Shane in California.
Apparently she’s doing well in that program.
There were mixed feelings about helping her, but it’s what Austin’s mother wanted, so everyone agreed.
I donated most of Dad’s stuff. I got his furniture taken to the dump, but felt conflicted about that recliner of his. He loved that chair, but it was in rough shape.
All my father’s tools went to his classic car buddy Walter. His cigar humidor and a few of his models (he built model cars when my parents were still together) I dropped at the bar and Frank put them up on a shelf over the bar with a picture of my father. I saved a few models for Shane; in case he wants them.
We drive an hour and a half before stopping and I rent us adjoining motel rooms near the lake.
And after burgers and laughs, we hang out and talk. We talk a lot. And I feel like I’m getting to know a new version of my brother, a version that gives me a lot of hope for his future.
I wind up falling asleep in his room on one bed and he crashes on the other.
I’m woken up in the morning with my hand in warm water and my brother laughing as I make a mad dash for the bathroom.
He’s always loved waking me up in annoying ways.
After breakfast, we take our parents’ urns to a spot near a weeping willow right beside the water before things open up into a rocky beach.
Now that we’re here, I have a memory of tiptoeing through the rocks to swim as a little kid and cutting my foot on a shard of green glass. The memory becomes vivid as I stand under the tree, staring at the rocky shoreline. Dad got the glass out while Mom dried my tears and Shane made funny faces behind her, trying to get me to laugh so I wouldn’t cry.
It’s a windy day, so we sit and talk with the urn lids off. We talk about some of the positive things we remember about both our parents and it doesn’t take long for the wind to stir up dust from both urns.
We watch, quietly as the dust seems to come together and swirl into a faint cloud. Not a large one, not a very defined one, but for sure – it’s obvious some of their ashes mingle.
“Bye Dad. I love you. Bye Mom. Love you, too. Hope you’re in a happier place, that Lala Land is awesome, and that Dad likes it there, too,” I say softly.
Shane says nothing. His shoulders are slumped and his eyes are pointed to the urns.
He takes Mom’s urn and I take Dad’s and we quietly empty them into the water, watching some of the sand rise up with the wind and some of it settle to the rocks. I see a piece of broken green glass down in the rocks, too. The same piece of glass from so many years ago? Not likely. But it sure looks the same.
“You okay?” I ask my brother.
He nods and puts his arms around me.
“This still hurts,” I say. “But I’m glad I have you here.”
“I’m glad I’m here, too, Jayjay.”
A ladybug lands on my engagement ring then and I smile, looking at it.
“Look,” I say to Shane.
“Mom used to call you ladybug,” he says.
She did.
“Yeah. I always felt like they were lucky. I don’t think one has ever landed on me before.”
It flies from me to him, landing on his shoulder.
“Maybe I’ve got luck now, too,” Shane says and then he smiles before he asks me for my manicure kit. I pass it to him and he removes the nail file so he can carve our initials as well as Mom’s and Dad’s into the tree.
It takes a while before he rises and dusts his jeans off.
“Let’s go. I’m ready for that California life.” He takes the bug from his shoulder to his finger and puts it on the tree.
I rented Shane a furnished apartment twenty minutes from us. I told him I’ll pay his bills for a while with the money from Dad’s house while he gets on his feet. He doesn’t want any vast sums of money in his account, lest he get tempted. Austin got him a job interview for the mail room at Carmichael Consulting. He says he wants the job for now, that he’s interested in higher education and wants to consider night school after he gets settled.
We’re taking a road trip with Dad’s Mustang to California, where I’ll then be hitting publish on my first book. It’s the Austin Smut File, revised a little. I haven’t given it a new title yet, but I’ve been hoping a better title than The Austin Smut File comes to me on the trip.
I send a text message to my fiancé.
We’re done. I’m on my way home.
He replies.
You doing ok?
Me: I am. Very okay.
I write another text as Shane backs out of the parking space.
Miss you already. Love you. I’ll text you tonight when we get to our next hotel.
Austin: Be safe. Love you, too. Can’t wait until you’re home. But call me tonight. Need to hear your voice. Be alone. Be naked.
So bossy. I love it.
We decided when I get back that it’s time to start planning our wedding. I feel so lucky and I can hardly wait to get home.
Home. Home with Austin. It really does feel like home. He feels like home.
The End
Jude and Ally’s story is NEXT – Releasing May 7, 2021
Bad Girl – http://ddprince.com/bad-girl/
Available to preorder on major ebook retailers.
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Which other DD Prince books should you check out?
The Beautiful Biker Series
Smokin’ hot steamy biker romances with steam, laughs, feels, and a little bit of gritty darkness.
Detour
Joyride
Scenic Route
Crossroads
(more books coming!)
Shifter Romance:
Wild – Tyson Savage hasn’t shifted to man in years. And when he does after catching the scent of his fated mate, he’s even wilder as a man than he is as a wolf.
This one has biting and knotting, folks!
(No cliffhanger. More books in this series coming about other alphas)
Alien Romances:
Available on all ebook retailers –
Hot Alpha Alien Husbands.
Book 1 – Daxx and Jetta
Book 2 – Zane and Tanya
Sci-fi lite – these are fun, dirty stories about a space matchmaking projects with 7 ft tall horny humanoid alpha males who haven’t had sex in years. Sprinkle in some space aphrodisiacs and have a blast.
Dark mafia romance:
If you like dark, dangerous antiheroes (trigger warnings), DD’s most popular series so far is The Dominator Series.
The Dominator
Truth or Dare
Unbound
TNT – Book 1.5 but best experienced after book 3.
The spin-off, Saved, is available as standalone or book #4 and available on all ebook retailers.
Paranormal Vampire Romance
The Nectar Trilogy – dark, taboo, unpredictable, and maybe even unputdownable.
Nectar
Ambrosia
Essence
More books may have been published and /or retailer availability may change at any time so visit ddprince.com for the latest links and information. Sign up for the newsletter to get emailed about new release, sales, reader events, and more.
Erotic Thriller / Fairytale Retelling
The Hollow Duet, an erotic and twisted retelling of The Headless Horseman legend. This is a story where the monster gets the happy ending.
Hollow
Holden
Oh yes, this goes there.
This list might not be exhaustive! For more information, check out http://ddprince.com
Want to follow DD on social media and book sites? Check out
http://ddprince.com/about-dd_prince/
for a list of links.
End of Book Notes:
When I started writing this, I didn’t know much about where it was going. I knew all three books would have an enemies-to-lovers theme and that there would be forced proximity in a ‘rooommate’ scenario with a few parallels between the books, but other than that, all I knew about Austin was that he liked good girls and that Jada was going to be one.
I was pleasantly surprised throughout the process. Getting to know Austin, Jada, and experiencing the level of frustration they both had at things out of their control.
I tackled some subject matters that felt important, too, like reverse chauvinism. Strained relationships with family after divorce. And addiction and mental health.
How would any of us handle those situations if faced with them? I guess we can’t know, but it was interesting to explore.
I hope you enjoyed this story.
I’m looking forward to seeing what happens with Jude and Ally, too. It’s not just enemies-to-lovers, I’m thinking enemies with benefits. Ally has secrets and Jude is like a bloodhound, determined to figure out what they are while the two of them enjoy some carnal pleasures.
At the time I write this, Jude and Ally’s book, Bad Girl, is set up for preorder. So I’m going to get on that immediately and hope I can deliver it on time. I hate giving myself deadlines but did that to get this series finished. As much as deadlines fuck with my writing mojo a little, I’ve had lots of fun writing this book.
If you’ve helped with the alpha or beta reading of this book, with promoting my links on social media, or being in my reader group cheering me on, THANK YOU.
Special thanks to alpha readers Robin, Peggy, Liz, Haelah, Nina, Scharme.
Thanks to my beta readers, my street team, and my reader group - DD’s Chickadees.
If you enjoyed this book, a review really helps a lot.
So do recommendations among your book friends. It’s not easy being an indie author, having to do so many things yourself. Recommendations are the BEST marketing there is. Thank you, as always.
I love my tribe of readers, authors, bloggers, FRIENDS.
Much love!
Back to it now. I’ve got lots of books in the works.
Bad Girl, The Devious Games Duet, and I’m dying to get back to my bikers, my shifters, and have so much more planned too.
TTFN.
Xoxo
DD
About DD Prince
DD Prince is a Canadian author - writing from the honeymoon capital of the world. She’s a wordy foodie who loves to read and write across multiple romance genres. She loves reading and writing smutty books with substance and hard-won happily-ever-afters.
She met the love of her life (The Mister) at seventeen and they’ve got two sons (The Boy and The Wee Boy), a quirky cat (Tucky Boo), and a tiny talking Pacific Parrotlet (Jack) with a BIG attitude. Heck, all these males in DD’s house have attitude. It’s no wonder she writes about alpha males.
Contents
Good Girl
1
Austin
2
Austin
3
Jada
4
Austin
5
Jada
6
Austin
7
Jada
8
Austin
9
Jada
10
Austin
11
Jada
12
Austin
13
Jada
14
Austin
15
Jada
16
Austin
17
Jada
18
Austin
19
Jada
20
Austin
21
Jada
22
Austin
23
Jada
24
Austin
25
Jada
26
Austin
27
Jada
28
Austin
29
Jada
30
Austin
31
Jada
32
Austin
33
Jada
34
Austin
35
Jada
36
Austin
37
Jada
38
Austin
39
Jada
40
Austin
41
Jada
42
Austin
43
Jada
44
Austin
45
Jada
46
Austin
47
Jada
48
Austin
49
Jada
50
Austin
51
Jada
52
Austin
53
Jada
54
Austin
55
Jada
56
Jada
57
Jada
58
Jada
59
Austin
60
Jada
61
Austin
62
Jada
63
Austin
64
Jada
Epilogue
Bad Girl
End of Book Notes:
About DD Prince
DD Prince, Good Girl : An Enemies-to-Lovers, Roommate Romance (Alphahole Roommates Book 2)
