I never intended writing Spoiled Perfection with such difficult topics. Yes, I love a hard fought and won HEA, but initially this book was meant to tread a bit lightly on alcoholism with the underlying tone that some issues can’t be fixed by love.
As I started writing the first book, however, I had the opportunity of facing my past, and some of my painful memories became of Cal’s and Ash’s.
I didn’t want to portray alcoholism in a romantic light where poof, there’s love and the problem is solved. It took one night of utter devastation and drunkenness, a bottle of pills, followed by hospitalization and parts of my memory I will never get back, to scare the shit out of me and made me face what I was about to become.
Pain and hopelessness can drive you to do things you never thought you’d ever contemplate when sober.
The second book especially took me down a lane of brokenness, but in a good way. You know when something was never fitted properly and you have to break it apart to put it back together? That’s exactly what I experienced writing about the pain that Callum and Ash had to go through as a couple and as individuals.
The pain was heartbreaking, but at times it was also healing. They needed that as much as I did.
It might not be alcoholism, but many of us would have gone through a period of loving someone so much we stay even when their actions hurt us. In that way, I hope you can empathize with why Callum stayed when staying should not have been an option.
Some events from book 2 are based on my real life experiences of alcohol abuse and coping with grief.
I don’t just hope you will enjoy reading this book. I wish for you a deep reading experience.
XO
Gianni
Recovery is about progression, not perfection.
Blurb
Perfection n. The state of being complete and correct in every way.
Callum
I learned the hard way that love doesn't change anyone. Yet, here I am for the long haul with Ashton on his road to recovery. I have to make tough decisions for his own good, but I have to believe in the end we'll be better for it.
Ashton
Local AA or an anonymous rehab center in another state? It's no hairbrainer why I chose the former. I don't think I can make it through recovery without my Daddy's support. But will he continue supporting me when he finds out what drove me to the bottle in the first place? How can anyone forgive me for what I've done when I can't even forgive myself?
Perfection is the second book in the Spoiled Perfection duet. This book cannot be read as a standalone.
Perfection
Chapter One
Callum
“You sure you don’t want me to go with you?” I asked Ash, who sat across from me in the coffee shop.
He gave me a smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes, which wouldn’t settle on me for too long. His gaze flickered around the half-empty coffee shop, his anxiety showing in the way his knees knocked against the underside of the table.
“I’m a big boy, and Rue’s already on his way to get me,” he said.
“You know what I mean, Ashton.” I hated seeing him so uncomfortable with the idea of going to AA, but we’d agreed. If we were going to be in a relationship, he had to get treatment. “To support you. You know I support you, don’t you?”
His cheeks grew pink, and his chest moved rapidly. “Don’t make a big deal out of it, please?” His gaze finally landed on me, and I couldn’t tell if he was as angry as he sounded or terrified. “I feel like you’re pressuring me to be better already, and I haven’t even gone to the first meeting yet!”
I sat back in my chair, struck dumb at his words. I never thought about how much pressure he might be under. All this time, I was just trying to support him, not demand anything from him.
“Shit, Ash, I’m sorry. Believe me. I’m the last person to expect you to change overnight. It will be a long process.”
“And now you make me sound so hopeless.”
He pushed his bottom lip out like a petulant child’s. I frowned at him acting up tonight. His behavior had been quiet since two days, after we reconnected and made plans for moving forward.
He would go to AA, and that was nonnegotiable. I wasn’t willing to waste my life on another alcoholic who had no intention to