Always (Spiral of Bliss #5) - Nina Lane Page 0,138

surrenders to his own release.

We fall against the pillows together, sweaty and breathing hard. Dean wraps his arm around me and pulls me into the space against his side where I will always fit so perfectly.

As we catch our breath, his fingers linger on my left breast, absently tracing the decade-old surgery scar and radiation burns that are now concealed by a tattoo. An intricate design of flowers and vines surrounds an orange-and-black monarch butterfly, delicate wings arched and poised to take flight. Nestled among the vines is an interwoven L and D.

Dean has a smaller, matching version of the tattoo on the inside of his wrist, right where his pulse beats. We’d gotten the tattoos the fifth year I was declared free of cancer, and all tests and scans since then have come back clear. Though we never need reminding, the tattoos are small evidence of big things.

Dean and I have walked through fire together and kissed in the moonlight, but one strong, glittering thread binds us more powerfully than anything else. Throughout this life of ours, we know we will always be us, one heart beating beneath all that we do and all that we are.

A professor who showed a damsel in distress what it means to love and be loved. A student who learned how to trust that man alone with her body and her soul. A gentleman who waited for her. A barista who saved the freshest cookies for a certain handsome customer. A dorky medievalist who championed obscure foreign films. A girl who discovered she already had all she needed to become a woman. A man who protected her with every beat of his fiercely steadfast heart.

Everything Dean and I were once upon a time, we are at this moment. We’ll forever be a white knight and his beauty who battled monsters and won. We’ll always be a husband and wife who never gave up, who still believe in library call numbers, rainy Saturdays, houseplants, string figures, coffeehouses, and lists of Important Things.

We’ll always be Liv and Dean, who knew at first glance that we would do more than simply live a life together.

We knew we would create a life together, one in which promises are kept, blessings are counted, and our marriage is the blissful haven to which we always return. We knew we would laugh, hold hands, cry, learn, argue, grow, cherish, and kiss an awful lot.

And so we’ve done all those things and more. As the years pass, the medieval history professor and the girl from Jitter Beans will continue, with wild passion and tenderness, to love so very happily ever after.

Thank you for reading the Spiral of Bliss series. I hope you enjoyed reading Liv and Dean’s story as much as I loved writing it. Please consider leaving a review, as they are always helpful and appreciated. Thank you!

Click here to leave a review for ALWAYS ♡

As I wrote this series, I loved the imagery of cupcakes, flowers, gardens, and Paris that emerged as part of Liv and Dean’s marriage.

I’m delighted to have those themes revealed in THE SPIRAL OF BLISS COLORING BOOK, which features intricate illustrations hand-drawn by artist and author Victoria Colotta. A visual expression of hope and love, this is the book Liv creates when she draws pictures of “things that make her happy.”

Proceeds from the sale of The Spiral of Bliss Coloring Book will be donated to the following breast cancer organizations: The Wisconsin Breast Cancer Coalition, Hope Chest for Breast Cancer, and The Metastatic Breast Cancer Network.

A woman fleeing scandal. A town’s mysterious recluse. Lust and secrets collide in THE SECRET THIEF.

Click here to discover this provocative romance.

READ AN EXCERPT OF THE SECRET THIEF

“Anything else for you?” A young man in his early twenties with a nametag reading Alex punches a few keys on the cash register.

“I’ll have a coffee.” I study the chalkboard menu behind the café counter. “Café latte, please. For here.”

“Ma, café latte for here,” Alex calls to a blonde woman in her forties who is putting cookies into the cold case.

“Coming up.” The woman waves me toward the counter. “Two percent okay?”

“Sure.” I pay for the books and hitch myself onto a stool. “You wouldn’t happen to be hiring by any chance, would you?”

“Sorry.” She turns on the machine to steam the milk. “We’re a family operation, just me, Ned, and Alex when he doesn’t have classes at Ford’s. In the summer we sometimes hire another college kid or two, but we’re

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