you wanted?”
I smiled and let out a satisfied sigh. “Well, the groom didn’t bail and I only cried happy tears, so what do you think?”
“Sorry that Alfie went the wrong way down the aisle.”
I burst out laughing.
“And”—his voice cracked with amusement—“sorry that Jagger felt the need to stand up in the middle of the ceremony just because he wanted to freak you out.”
I laughed even harder and turned in his arms. “I’ve never seen you look so angry.”
“Bastard’s still upset about shaving some of his hair.”
I shrugged. “It just makes him look more mysterious.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Second thoughts?”
“Nope.” I wrapped my arms around his neck. “In fact, my only thought right now is how in the heck I managed to jump off this cliff in the first place without freaking out.”
“I’d like to point out I was the one swearing and freaking out.” Slade pulled away then shrugged out of his white linen shirt. “Ready?”
I bit down on my lower lip. “Is this a bad idea?”
“Now you ask?” He grinned, his golden eyes heating every inch of my body as that grin spread over his face like I was the most perfect thing he’d ever seen. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but weren’t you the one that said, ‘Hey, Slade, you know what would be great? An epic wedding picture of us jumping off that cliff.’ To which I replied, ‘Never again, no.’ To which Matt said, ‘Just think of the publicity.’”
“I was wrong.” Matt came up behind us and peered over the cliff. “A man can admit when he’s wrong. This wasn’t a smart decision. In fact, I think we should all go back to the hotel and drink.”
“Scared?” Jagger joined us, already shirtless with nothing on but his linen pants and bare feet. “Think of it as an adventure, Matty.” He slapped him on the back. “Plus, nobody likes a guy that colors inside the lines. Live a little.”
“Oh, I live a lot,” Matt grumbled. “At least when I’m not babysitting.” He grinned at both of them, then gave them a pointed stare for good measure just to make sure they understood who he meant.
“Ready?” I asked Slade in a nervous voice.
He interlaced his fingers through mine and then kissed the back of my hand. “Name one thing you would have done differently.”
“One thing,” I repeated with a grin.
“Just one.”
“I already did it—I kissed you.” I leaned up on my tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his lips. “And then I jumped.”
“And then we jumped,” he corrected as we both leaped off the cliff amidst screaming, followed by our friends.
When the cold water hit me all I heard was swearing from Matt and Jagger, but all I saw was my husband’s face as he pulled me close and wrapped his arms around me and whispered, “I’ve never been so thankful for engine failure in my entire life.”
Acknowledgments
First off, I have to thank God.
Oh man, this book was one of those books for me, one of those books that I wanted to be epic and romantic and just a wonderful joyride for my readers, and I remember just staring at the cursor going, Where is this going? What’s the story? I had the first part of Puerto Vallarta written, but then I realized I can’t just make this about soccer, I have to make this more . . . and the story was born. The minute Slade’s father dies and we get into his head I saw that this guy needs help, he needs to heal, but I don’t want Mack to be weak and put aside her needs for his. She has to be her own woman. You see, here’s a secret: female characters can be really challenging to write because they can come out as damsels or whiny or just plain irritating, and that’s such a misrepresentation of all the strong women I’ve been blessed to know in my life. But how do you create a strong female character without making her come across almost too harsh? It’s such a difficult balance! I truly feel like Mackenzie is the perfect female representation of what to do when life gives you lemons. I look up to her so much, and it was such an honor to write her story. Thank you so much for joining me on their journey, guys! And thank goodness for answered prayers!
Thank you to my husband and son for all the time they let me have with my computer while I agonized over this story. To my family for their constant support. To the best publisher around—Amazon Publishing knows how to treat their authors. I always feel like I’m part of the family, and I love writing for you guys! Melody and Maria, thank you so much for your support with this project. And to the marketing and merchandising team, thank you for helping me name this book, hah-hah! It was a struggle, I know! It took a village for this one, didn’t it?
To Erica, the best agent in the world (no, seriously, she really is), thank you for supporting me, thank you for all of your encouragement.
To Nina, Becca, Jill, Angie, and the rest of my admins, you guys are a big part of making it so that I can write. I’m so thankful to have such an incredible team behind me. You do all the things I can’t do, and I would be lost without you guys! Social Butterfly PR, thank you for another successful launch and for taking me on when I was desperate! Nina, you are more than my publicist. Thank you for always being available to me.
To the bloggers and readers, it never gets old. I’m so thankful for you guys, for the shares, the reviews, the comments. Thank you for caring and thank you for always being so supportive. I truly believe this community is one of the best around, and I’m so thankful to be a part of it. To my Rockin’ Readers, I kind of feel like we’re our own mafia now, hah-hah. Blood in, no out, RRR family ;)
Readers, if you want to connect with me, join the happiest group on Rachel’s New Rockin’ Readers. We’re big but we’re a family, and we really care about each other. Everyone is welcome!
Thank you for reading!
Until next time.
HUGS, RVD