When
You're Ready
By: J.L. Berg
Blurb
When Clare
Murray suffers the tragic loss of her husband Ethan, leaving her alone to raise
their infant daughter, she feels the grief overwhelming her, seeping into her
very soul. Weeks later, she stumbles upon an envelope with the words “When
You’re Ready” written in Ethan’s familiar messy handwriting, but can’t bring
herself to breach the seal. Ready for what? He was her entire world, and Clare
has accepted a life without him, without love. Until, years later, fate brings
her to an emergency room, and face to face with stormy eyed doctor intent on
changing her mind.
Logan Matthews is the son of a billionaire who has spent his entire life trying
to make his absent father proud. Years of living up to man who more ghost than
father, and a public failed marriage has left Logan cold and emotionless until
he walks into an exam room to discover a woman who stops his heart, makes his
body burn with desire and leaves his entire world altered.
But how far are Clare and Logan willing to go for love? When their love is
tested, is Clare ready to put her whole heart on the line again? Can Logan
learn the true meaning of love, even if it means sacrificing his own happiness?
When a second chance at love is given, Clare and Logan learn you never know you
are truly ready until you’re ready to risk it all.
Buy Links (Will send rest once received)
Amazon ---> http://amzn.to/169jEwM
Amazon UK ---> http://amzn.to/134Detz
Barnes and Noble ---> http://bit.ly/13DCXxu
Add to Goodreads Shelf:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17906490-when-you-re-ready
Author Info
I’m a
California native, who lives in the South – Virginia to be exact. I still
prefer sushi to fried chicken, avocado to okra, and I absolutely loathe
humidity, but I love watching the seasons change. My husband and I have
been here for ten years, and I still get giddy like a school girl every time it
snows.
I’m married
to my high school sweetheart. We were married young, barely out of high
school, when everyone told us we were crazy and stupid. We’ll be
celebrating 12 years of marriage this year, and I love him more every single
day. We’re living proof that true love knows no age limit.
We’ve been
blessed with two beautiful daughters who continue to amaze and inspire me, and
are probably making me go a bit insane. I’m obsessed with yoga and
pilates and am a complete chocoholic. I apologize in advance
for the amount of sweets in my book.
I’m
absolutely obsessed with romance novels (duh) and probably could have built a
vacation home with the amount of money I’ve invested in them over the years.
Romance novels take you to another place, making your heart race,
emotions swell, passion run free. After so many years of meeting hundreds
of fictional characters and discovering their worlds, I found myself creating
my own.
My debut
novel, When You’re Ready, a novel about about finding love after loss,
will be released August 1st!
Author Links
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7084780.J_L_Berg
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a Rafflecopter giveaway
OR,
Excerpt
*Contains Adult Content*
A knock on
the door marked the entrance of yet another person. As I turned my head, I
found myself face to face with the real-life version of Dr.McSteamy entering
the exam room. Is this our doctor? Holy hell, I think I just whimpered a
little.
Tall and
built like a swimmer, he was sexiest thing I’d ever seen in a pair of scrubs. Like
the sky right before a summer storm, his eyes bordered between gray and blue,
and I couldn’t help but stare into their thunderous intensity. His hair was
dark brown that edged near black and had that “just fucked” look to it. The
kind of hair that made you want to run your hands through it. How did guys do
that? Did they spend time creating that look in a mirror, or was it really a
product of being fucked? I suddenly wanted to know. Oh shit, was I drooling?
Did he say something?
He was
looking right at me, waiting
“Are you
the mother?” he asked. His eyebrow arched in question. A really hot question.
Seriously,
Clare…get your mind out of the gutter.
“Uh, yes.
I’m Clare Murray. This is my daughter Madilyn, uh, Maddie,” I said, trying to
cover up the fact that I had probably been standing there for an ungodly amount
of time, lamely staring at him and forming my own mini puddle of drool, while
he tried to get my attention back on my sick daughter.
Yup, best
mother ever.
“Nice to
meet you Ms. Murray, I’m Dr. Matthews.” Turning to Maddie, he said “And this
must be the princess.”
Calling
Maddie a princess earned him major brownie points, and I think I even heard a
faint giggle. She immediately looked up, her big brown eyes connecting with his
as he began the examination.
Dr.
Matthews bent down, leaning over her tiny frame and ran his hand over Maddie’s
head. I knew he was checking for any bumps or abnormalities, but his gesture
seemed protective and my heart did a little flip flop seeing my daughter in the
arms of another man.
Done with
his physical exam, he settled himself at the end of the hospital bed and
motioned for me to take a seat in the chair positioned next to Maddie. It was a
small room, making us all very cozy. I could feel the heat radiating off his
body. His really, really hot body. His eyes lingered on mine briefly, and I
felt the blush s
tart to creep up my cheeks. A quick smirk flashed across his
face before he began speaking.
“Well, your
nurse already gave me some of the details on what lead to Maddie’s injury this
afternoon. Sounds like you had an eventful day,” he said, giving Maddie a
gentle smile. She looked up at him like he’s the king of the world, which
surprised me. Maddie’s generally not a fan of men, having not been around many
in her life.
“But it
looks like a classic concussion. Her skull feels normal, and I don’t see any
signs of swelling or bleeding. I’m going to go ahead and order a CT just to
rule out anything major and make sure we’ve covered all of our bases. But more
than likely she’ll be back to her old self in a few days,” he said, offering
reassurance.
I nodded
absently, those stark white walls starting to tighten around me. It’s not the
fact that he wanted a test that sent me into an instant panic attack. I
understood the precaution. I was glad Dr. Matthews was taking the time to do
so, and I appreciated his thoroughness. It was the way in which he said it. The
exact phrasing. One sentence, and the memory came back to haunt me, flooding my
mind and taking over my senses.
Ethan sat
down next to me on the bed. He looked at me with those dark brown eyes and
concerned, loving look. He knew I always worried about everything.
“Baby, I
don’t need any more tests. The doctor says they’re only migraines,” he said.
“The CT came back normal which rules out anything major. I don’t want to fight
with the insurance company to get an MRI. You know they aren’t going
to pay for it, so why bother?” He pulled me down onto our bed so that we were
laying side by side.
“It’s going
to be fine. So please, stop worrying.” He pleaded, leaning in to kiss me
slowly, desperately trying to change the subject. He pulled away, looking at me
with a devious grin plastered on his face. “Besides, we have more important
things to think about right now,” he whispered, looking down my body slowly
and appreciatively.
“Oh, yeah?
I can’t think of anything,” I said, faking a yawn and stretching my arms out
wide. “I think I’m going to go to sleep. Night!”
I tried to
keep my face steady, but I couldn’t help the grin that escaped, and before I
could cover my mouth to hide it, he attacked and I squealed with laughter. He
straddled my body, pinning me to the bed with his knees, and trapping my wrists
above my head in his tight grasp.
“Shhh! This
is the first night in weeks the baby has been asleep for more than an hour, and
you’re going to ruin it with your squealing horse laugh!” He leaned
down to kiss me, chuckling.
“I do not
laugh like a horse!” I pouted.
The
annoyance in my voice melted as his trailing kisses reached my neck and
meandered down to my shoulder, taking the strap of my nightgown with him. He
pulled my body firmly against his and slowly made his way back to my mouth,
kissing me so fiercely that every other thought melted away. Tests and
headaches were left in the past.
If only I
had been more persistent, more demanding…taken him to more specialists…
“Are you
sure the CT will be enough? Nothing will be overlooked? I asked, escaping from
the memory that had held me captive. Fear was evident in my voice. I knew
everything was fine, and what happened with Ethan had been rare, but the
irrational panic was there nonetheless.
Maddie is
not Ethan. Maddie is not going to die. I silently chant, feeling the calm
beginning to return.
I looked up
at Dr. Matthews, and he was watching me with concern and confusion painted all
over his gorgeous face.
Awesome. Good job, Clare.
Now the hot doctor thinks you are crazy.
Sarah's Review:
Thanks to Tasty Tours for allowing me to be part of this blog tour and to J.L. Berg for the opportunity to read this story! I probably wouldn't have found this story otherwise.
This story was gut wrenching a few times, but such a wonderful story about grief and love. Above all, this story is about love. Clare and Logan have pasts that can make even the most positive people feel negative. It's amazing how instant the connection with Logan and Clare, as well as Logan and Maddie's was and I wondered the whole time if Ethan was behind it. I truly believe that we have guardian angels that find a way to put us on the path that we are meant to be on.
There was a point that I almost threw my 10 day old Kindle Paperwhite across the room because I didn't like what was happening and I was mad at the author. Fortunately, I pushed through and I am glad I did.
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