The Other Side of Someday (33 page)

I shrugged. The truth was, I had been thinking about that a lot lately. That list had been my compass the past year of my life. I worried I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I didn’t have it guiding me toward my next adventure. But the more I thought about it, the more I knew that list was just a start. “I guess it’s time for me to find my next big adventure.”

“Any ideas what you think that may be?”

I shook my head. “No. But I’m sure it will come to me.”

“I have an idea.”

“And what’s that?” I asked, eyeing him.

Turning from me, he grabbed the bag and rummaged through it, his back toward me.

“Me,” he said, turning back around. My heart jumped into my throat when my eyes fell on a small velvet box containing a stunning round-cut diamond solitaire with diamonds embedded into the double band. “I want to be your next adventure. Together, we’ll create our own new adventures. From the minute we met, I knew you were someone worth getting to know, and I’m sorry I was such a dumbass for the longest time.”

I laughed, rolling my eyes. “You definitely were. I told you men and women couldn’t just be friends.”

“They can, but that’s beside the point. I want to make up for all the time I lost with you because of our little misunderstanding. When I picture my future, I see you. And I know you see me. So please, Baylee Grace…” He grabbed my left hand and slid my glove off. Bringing the ring up to my finger, he said, “Marry me. Be my next adventure.”

For the longest time, I had been hesitant to even consider marriage after my previous failed one. But as I sat there, staring at the pleading look on Sebby’s face, I knew this time would be different. I thought about everything I had been through since leaving North Carolina and moving to California. I no longer recognized the girl I was back then and I knew I had Sebby to thank for that. He had opened my eyes and my heart to what could be. He did what he promised he would. He had shown me how to live.

My heart full of gratitude, I nodded. “Yes.”

“Yes?”

“Of course! What did you think I’d say? Fuck off?” I flung my arms around him, clumsily hitting his nose in my excitement.

His hand covered it immediately as blood poured down his face. My jaw dropped in horror before we both burst out laughing.

“I love you, Dixie,” he declared, clutching my cheeks in his blood-covered gloves.

“And I love you, Nosebleeder.”

We sat and watched the snow fall, blood continuing to trickle from Sebby’s nose, and talked about everything and nothing. It reminded me of the early days when I didn’t even know he was my neighbor. Our love didn’t happen overnight. It grew with each encounter, each joke, each smile. As the clock struck midnight and the year came to a close, I couldn’t wait to see what the future held…now that I had found my other side of someday.

The End

P
LAYLIST

Gonna Get Over You
- Sara Bareilles

Blue Eyes
- Cary Brothers

Mr. Night
- Kenny Loggins

Backtrack
- Rebecca Ferguson

Like A Virgin
- Madonna

Don’t You (Forget About Me)
- Simple Minds

Red Headed Woman
- Bruce Springsteen

Girls Chase Boys
- Ingrid Michaelson

Time Warp
- Rocky Horror Picture Show

Feel Again
- OneRepublic

I Love L.A.
- Randy Newman

Carolina
- Matt Wertz

The Rebound
- Tristan Prettyman

Forget About Joni
- Eric Hutchinson

The Bitch Is Back
- Elton John

Killer Queen
- Queen

Keep It Gay
- The Producers

Let’s Get It On
- Marvin Gaye

Fade Into You
- Mazzy Star

Someone New
- Hozier

El Camino
- Amos Lee

Grey In L.A.
- Loudon Wainwright III

Boys With Girlfriends
- Meiko

Someday
- Alan Jackson

Manhattan
- Sara Bareilles

Sparks
- Coldplay

I Hope You Dance
- Lee Ann Womack

My California
- Beth Hart

Manhattan
- Ella Fitzgerald

Hello Sunshine
- MoZella

I’m In Love Again
- MoZella

B
OOKS
B
Y
T.K. L
EIGH

The Beautiful Mess Series

A Beautiful Mess

A Tragic Wreck

Gorgeous Chaos

The Deception Duet

Chasing The Dragon

Slaying The Dragon

Stand Alone Titles

Heart Of Light
 

Heart Of Marley

The Other Side Of Someday

For more information on any of these titles and upcoming releases, please visit T.K.’s website:

www.tkleighauthor.com

C
OMING
S
OON
FROM
T.K. L
EIGH

Vanished

It's not over yet…

A new Beautiful Mess series novel is coming your way in late 2016!

Rayne Kilpatrick has everything. A job she’s dreamed of since she was a little girl. The perfect house. And a man she loves and is about to marry… Until he never returns from a humanitarian mission.

Gone. Disappeared. Vanished.

When footage of his gruesome murder by a Muslim extremist group is shown across the country and around the globe, she wants the person responsible for the disappearance of the man she loves to pay. She wants him to lose the one person who means the world to him, too, and she won’t stop until he does.

Alexander Burnham has everything… Finally. A job he enjoys where he can actually make a difference in the world. The perfect woman who he’s loved his entire life. And the most beautiful daughter a father could ask for… Until he wakes up one morning and her bedroom is empty.

Gone. Disappeared. Vanished.

It’s a race against the clock for Alexander to put the pieces together and find out who has taken his daughter and what they want from him. As information comes to light, he is forced to bury the guilt he feels after losing his fellow team member and focus instead on finding and saving his daughter… Before it’s too late.

A
CKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I started writing this book back in Spring of 2014. My editor was working on
Gorgeous Chaos
and I was close to finishing my rough draft of
Heart of Light
. Up until that time, all I had written were emotionally heavy romantic suspense stories. I love suspense, don’t get me wrong, but I wanted to be able to spread my wings and write more than just romantic suspense.

Of course, as happens, other books got in the way of my ability to work on this one.
Heart Of Light
spawned a companion novel,
Heart Of Marley
. Then I switched gears to write my Deception Duet. But this cute, fun, sweet romance about a girl who leaves home for the first time and enters the dating jungle of LA was in the back of my mind even when I was working on other projects. Finally, after publishing
Slaying The Dragon
, the second book in my Deception Duet, I was able to return to this story and give it the attention it needed.

This book was something completely different and new for me. Writing a romantic comedy is vastly different than writing a romantic suspense. Sure, I didn’t have half a dozen white boards scattered around my office, making sure all the pieces connected to the big convoluted puzzle I had concocted to keep the reader on edge. Instead, I was charged with the daunting task of injecting humor into a story, something I had only had to do sporadically up until now.

The old adage that you write what you know is absolutely true. While this is certainly a piece of fiction, the humor is real. I pulled from conversations I’ve had with the people in my life, most notably my own North Carolina transplant husband. Since the idea for this book came into being, I had a readily accessible notebook on me at all times, ready to capture whatever snarky or country humor spilled out of his mouth. So Stan, thanks for your folksy sayings. You’re the most amazing support system a girl could ever ask for. Thanks for everything you’ve done to support me in releasing these past eight books. And I’m sure you’ll be there to support me for the next eight, and there after, good lord willing and the creek don’t rise. (See what I did there?)

Next, I need to thank my fabulous group of beta readers for always dropping whatever they’re currently reading to tackle my book and send me feedback pretty much overnight. Thanks for always being there for me… Lynne, Sylvia, Melissa, Karen, Stacy, Karen, Natalie, Victoria, and the other Stacy.

Also a big thanks to the only editor I’ll ever allow to touch my babies, Kim Young. I’m so glad we share a brain and that you’re able to figure out what I meant when my brain didn’t. Your talent knows no bounds.

Thanks, as always, to my admins who help me manage my social media presence: Melissa, Victoria, Lea, and Joelle — you girls are my rockstars.

I wouldn’t be where I am today without my ever growing group of women who volunteer their precious time to help spread the word about my books online and on the street. When I first started this book adventure, I had no idea what a street team was. I’m glad I found out. My angels aren’t just my street team. They’re some of the best friends I have. My advisors. My shoulders to cry (bitch) on. My support group. Everyone needs a street team, even if they’re not an author.

A special shout out to my #BurnhamBitches. You girls make me smile every day and I’m so glad to be able to call you all my friends.

Last but not least, thank you to YOU, my readers. Thank you for taking a risk on an indie author who, just three years ago, had absolutely no idea what she was doing. Thank you for picking up that first book of mine and joining me on this journey. And for those who are just finding me, welcome! Thanks for taking a risk on me. I hope you have all enjoyed this ride I took you on. I’m not done yet. I had so much fun writing this first romantic comedy, I’ll be doing it again, say in 2018 perhaps?

To the moon and back, y’all…

~T.K.

A
BOUT
T
HE
A
UTHOR

T.K. Leigh, otherwise known as Tracy Leigh Kellam, is a
USA Today
Bestselling author of the Beautiful Mess series, in addition to several other works. Originally from New England, she now resides in sunny Southern California with her husband, dog, and three cats, all of which she has rescued (including the husband). In late 2015, she gave birth to her first (and only) baby. When she’s not planted in front of her computer, writing away, she can be found training for her next marathon (of which she has run over fifteen fulls and far too many halfs to recall) or humming
The Imperial March
from
Star Wars
to her daughter, who giggles every time she hears it.

T.K. Leigh is represented by Jane Dystel of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. All publishing inquiries, including audio, foreign, and film rights, should be directed to her.

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