Picturing Perfect (37 page)

I'm really lucky. I'm surrounded by some of the most incredibly supportive people out there. Family and friends who are happy to give their input, brainstorm ideas and offer encouragement when I hit a stumbling block in the road…and that is not lost on me. Not at all. I'm going to do my best to remember every single person who supported me throughout the writing, editing, marketing of this book, and I really hope I remember everyone. Because every single one of you deserves to be acknowledged.

Maggi Myers
and
Janna Mashburn
, thank you both so much for helping me to sort through this story when it was just a couple of ideas. All of our conversations before I'd written anything at all helped me to make the story what it is. You are both responsible for the light bulb above my head that said, "Those two ideas could make
one
good story!" Thank you also for countless conversations of brain storming, plot elements and characters. I appreciate you both so much.

Deb Bresloff
, you had some absolutely fantastic ideas that helped to shape a very important aspect of the story, and I can't thank you enough!! I loved our chats and your, "what about this?" questions that pushed me to take the plot further! Thank you so much!!

Lori Sabin
, my wonderful editor. You are amazing. Such fantastic suggestions combined with a sharp eye make you absolutely fantastic!!! Thank you for all the time and energy you put into making this manuscript beautiful!

My amazing beta readers:
Melissa Perea, Shelly Pratt, Kate Mathias, Erin Roth, Lindsay Sparkes, Lisa Rutledge, Nina Gomez, and Amy Burt.

Calia Read
, my critique partner. Thank you for pushing me to challenge myself. And thank you so much for gifting me formatting by the awesome
Angela
at
Fictional Formats!
You do such beautiful work and it was so fun to pick out cute fonts and symbols!
Thank you
, Angela!!!!

Lisa Jordan of Lisa Jordan Photography
, thank you, thank you, thank you for the gorgeous cover photo, as well as all the time and energy you put in into making this photo available to me!! You never gave up, even when roadblocks got in your way. I appreciate that so much!!! Also, thank you to the beautiful model,
Kate
, who captured the feel of Hadley so beautifully.

Michelle Preast
at IndieBook Covers. Thank you for creating the stunning cover. You made it all come together so beautifully!!!! I love it so much!

Thank you so much,
Natasha Tomic
, from
Natasha is a Book Junkie
, for organizing my blog tour. I am so lucky to have you in my corner. You amaze me at every turn!!!! And thank you to all of the fabulous blogs who are participating!!!
Angie's Dreamy Reads, Flirty and Dirty Book Blog, The Indie Bookshelf, Beauty, Brains and Books, Morning After a Good Book Shh Moms Reading, TalkSupe, First Class Books, Bridger Bitches Book Blog, The Book Avenue, Reading Books Like a Boss, Always A Book Lover, Mommy's Reads and Treats, My Secret Romance, All Aboard the Book Blog, Three Chicks and Their Books, Becca the Bibliophile, Sugar and Spice Book Reviews, A Love Affair With Books, The Little Black Book Blog, Book Bitches Blog, Into the Night Book Reviews, The Autumn Review, Devoured Words
and
ToBeThode
. I am so grateful to all of you for taking the time to read, share, review, etc. on your blogs!!!! I love you, My Natasha!!!

Pamela Carrion,
your enthusiasm, support and creativity mean the world to me. Thank you for running Brownie's Book Buddies as well as the Release Day Party. You are such an amazing person whom I am so lucky to call friend. I will forever be grateful for every bit of time that you have devoted to my books and to me!!! And thank you to
Sharon Cooper
for all of your fantastic posts about the books, your help with the release day party and all of your enthusiasm about my writing.
Denise Tung
and
Lisa Kowalski
, thank you for all of your help with the Release Party, as well. It would not have been the same without you ladies!!!!

Leslie Fear
, thank you for creating the title of this book. It's such a great fit and I'm so grateful to you for thinking of it for me!!!

Thank you to my indie "co-workers" who were always there for encouragement, brainstorming, and feedback. You are all so awesome!!!! I would attempt to name everyone, but then I know my brain would leave people out. Just know, that I appreciate every single one of you!!!

Thank you to the readers. I'm so lucky to have readers who "get me"---who get my style, my voice and my optimism. It means so much to me. Thank you to everyone who took a chance and pushed the "one click" button on this book as well as the first two. I am so, so, thankful for each of you!!

And finally, thank you to the clients of Countryside Association in Palatine, Illinois. You taught me so much more than I could have ever taught you. You will always have a very special place in my heart. And I treasure the time I spent being a part of your day to day lives. Thank you so very much.

Melissa Brown is a hopeless romantic living in the Chicagoland area with her husband, Chris, and their two children. She loves baking, travel, and 80s pop culture. She speaks fluent movie quotes and loves to laugh. She has an addiction to Facebook and a slight obsession with Henry Cavill.

Connect with Melissa:

Blog:

http://melissabrownauthor.blogspot.com/

Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/MelissaBrownAuthor

Goodreads page:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6457549.Melissa_Brown

Twitter:

@LissaLou77

Auden's story continues in…

Hello, my name is Auden Kelly and I'm
dramatic. Isn't that nice? Dramatic. I seriously despise that word…it's always been the thorn in my side.

Everyone in the Kelly family is
artistic
. Everyone but me, that is. My brother, Jason writes novels, my mom is a master with poetry, my dad paints and my older sister Maya sews ridiculously cute dresses for my niece. But me? I'm 'dramatic.' No, I'm not an actress in the traditional sense. People just think I overreact…to everything. I've been called a brat, self-centered, melodramatic, as well as a slew of other shit. It makes no sense to me. If someone does something stupid…I'm going to tell them. If someone screws up, I'm going to tell them. And if someone pisses me off…I'm sure as hell going to put them in their place.

Case in point: The day four months ago when I told my parents I was leaving to be a tour guide in Europe for one year. My mom scowled, my dad huffed, and I got angry…like really angry.

"I'm twenty four goddamn years old. When do I get to make decisions for myself?"

"Auden, we haven't said a word." Mom's eyes widened in fake surprise. And she says I'm the dramatic one.

"I can read you like a book, Mom. You don't want me to go."

"I didn't say that," she said with a disapproving shake of her head. "I just want to make sure you've thought this through."

"Well, I have. I've thought about it for months."

"How many months?" My analytical father asked, looking at me above his wire-rimmed glasses.

"I don't know! How on earth am I supposed to remember exactly how many months I've been planning this…what, would you like to know the exact date on the calendar? Here, let me grab it from the den."

"Enough, Auden!"

That's how a lot of conversations end in the Kelly home. Those two words:
Enough, Auden
. I hate it. What my parents don't get is that I'm just being myself. I shouldn't have to pare my personality down just to fit in with our perfect little artistic family. I shouldn't have to change anything about who I am.

Sure, okay…yes. I do get dramatic sometimes. Sometimes I
do
stomp up to my bedroom and slam the door behind me when someone pisses me off. My father may or may not have it timed down to the second, knowing exactly how long it will be until he hears the harsh slam of the door. But, that doesn't make my feelings insignificant. Sometimes I have a right to be pissed off.

I have two older siblings. My sister, Maya, who can do no wrong, has had a chip on her shoulder since I was born. I have a feeling she's always resented me for being a girl…like she wanted to be the only girl in this family. She's made me pay for my gender my entire life. We've gotten to the point where we just ignore each other unless we have something important to say.

My brother Jason is okay. Sometimes he treats me like I'm still the fourteen year old brat who told him to stay away from my best friend. It's like he's had this grudge and he's been carrying it around like a weight, dragging it behind him. My best friend is his fiancé, and you would think that would change things. But, it doesn't. There's a gap between us…one I can't quite figure out. But, at least he was happy for me when I gave him my news. Thank God for that. He's the only member of the family who was.

Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I made my way from baggage claim and prepared to catch a bus to my hotel, dragging my hot pink suitcase behind me. A woman with a thick British accent made an announcement over the loud speaker. I took in a deep breath, enjoying the intelligent sound of her voice. What is it about British accents? I swear, everyone in Great Britain sounds so ridiculously smart. I'm prepared for quite a lot of ridicule from my co-workers. The Chi-caaa-go accent of mine will grate on many people's nerves. I'll do my best not to get too defensive, but it might be hard. For the last two months, I've been watching the News a lot…trying to get that non-regional accent down. So far, it seems to be working. But, for whatever reason, I can't control my "A"s. I guess I'll just have to avoid words like happy, damn it and asshole. Hmmm, I may need to rethink that.

After I checked into my hotel room, I was able to take a quick nap before meeting with my supervisor, Michelle. Michelle is also American. During our phone interviews, I immediately knew she was from "New Yawk", Brooklyn to be exact. She moved here three or four years ago to be a guide for Jordan Tours and loved it so much she pursued a career with the company. I'm hoping she'll be a cool supervisor without being too strict or harsh. I've been studying my ass off to learn all the great stories about the different sites we'll be visiting on the tours. But, c'mon…I haven't been to any of these countries since I was a teenager. It's going to take some time for me to get reacquainted with Europe. I can't freaking wait, though. I need this badly.

"Have a seat," she said, flipping her long hair behind her shoulder.

Michelle's hair is really dark, almost jet black. She has deep, thick eyebrows and puffy lips. And in my opinion, a little too much eye make-up. She totally looks like she could be on that Jersey Shore show. I had to keep that bit of info to myself, though, because I'm pretty sure it would not be appreciated.