Until Now (Not Yet #2) (23 page)

“What are you doing here?” My fingers tangled in front of me. God, Daisy. Calm down.

He stood so close that his scent surrounded me. He smelled faintly of a masculine cologne, mixed with soap, and the leather of a football. Leaning forward his lips brushed my cheek and I stopped breathing.

Oh God. Kiss me. Kiss me. Kiss me.

He didn’t kiss me.

“Thought you might like some company. Rough days suck.” Jon wrapped an arm around my shoulder and hugged me to his side as we walked toward the store.

I nodded, blinking back my hot tears. Why was I crying? Belinda and Marley no longer made me sad. But Jon caring about me? Thinking about me? That caused a torrent of emotions to bubble to the surface.

Jon stopped walking. He faced me, lifting his sunglasses on top of his head. His warm brown eyes sparkled in the late day sun. “You’re better than them, Daisy. Never forget that. You’re perfect just like you are. Five more days, sunshine. You can make it five more days.”

Sunshine? A nickname? Swoon.

I wiped my tears away furiously. “Of course. Five more days.”

Jon wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug. I hesitated for a second. Should I hug him back? Could I hold him close and not let my body push for more? Whatever. I stopped second-guessing myself and hugged him back. I pulled myself into his embrace, burying my face in his neck and breathing him in.

I could get through five more
years
of high school with a daily dose of this.

Jon’s body became rigid and he moved back quickly. I stumbled with him and he held my forearm to keep me balanced.

“Sorry.” He slipped his glasses back on his face looking to his left and right. “Should we start shopping?”

My stomach dropped. Too much, Daisy. Too damn much.

“’Course. Let’s go pick some asparagus, shall we?”

I turned my attention toward my favorite hobby and forced myself to stop focusing on my favorite guy.

Good luck asparagus. You’ve got your work cut out for you tonight.

Acknowledgements

The first person to thank is my sweet husband who encourages me to fulfill my dreams! Thank you and I love you!

Thank you to my children for understanding when I need to work or travel. Most importantly, thank you for sharing my love of books and writing. You three are the best and I love you more each day.

To my wonderful beta readers: Amanda Rounsaville, Bekky Levesque, Dani Fisher, Pat Rosner, Stacey Lynn, Tamara Debbaut, and Christine Manzari–thank you for allowing me to pick your brains, ask you endless questions and for providing the most helpful feedback.

I would like to give a special shout out to my cousins Matt Krebs and Meagan Lee. Matt talked me through all the football, agents, drafts, and sports technicalities in the book. Meagan read through an early draft to make sure my Bloomington/IU references were spot on. Thank you both so much!

After the first drafts of a book are finished, the real work begins. Luckily I have the best team to help me. Working with Amy Donnelly at Alchemy and Words was invigorating! You are an incredible editor. Thank you for your time and care with my story. Thanks to Victory Editing for proofreading. Your attention to detail is awesome. Regina Wamba at Mae I Design found this beautiful image and created the cover. Thank you! The exceptional formatting in the ebook and paperback versions of this book are because of Julie Titus at JT Formatting. She is amazing! Tamara Debbaut is the creative genius behind my marketing artwork and I appreciate her help so much. Finally, I would like to thank Southern Belle Book Productions for planning my cover reveal and book tour.

While I’m at it, there are a few bloggers who have been instrumental in sharing my books. Thanks to Candy from Prisoners of Print, Erin from Southern Belle, Denise from Shh Mom’s Reading, Gitte and Jenny from TotallyBookedBlog, Jamie and Theresa from Smokin’Hot Reads, Tash from Book Lit Love, Jennifer from Just Me & My Kindle, Jenn from Garden of REden, Stephenee from Nerd Girl Reviews, Alicia from Mean Girls Love Books, and Ethan from One Guy’s Guide to Good Reads.

Tamara Debbaut there aren’t enough way to say thank you to you! You are there for me with any questions, problems, issues, or ideas I have. Thank you for your talent and friendship!

Christine, what can I say? Meeting you, writing with you, and traveling with you has been the greatest blessing I’ve received from this journey. You are the most generous and talented lady I know. Thank you for ALWAYS being there for me.

Finally, to anyone reading this right now–you have made my dreams come true. I’m a writer thanks to you!

About the Author

LAURA WARD is the author of UNTIL NOW,
NOT YET
, and
PAST HEAVEN
. She is also a co-author of
THE PLEDGE
, with Christine Manzari. Their second book in that series will be released this June, THE COLOR OF US. She lives in Maryland with her loud and very loving three children and husband. Laura married her college sweetheart and is endlessly grateful for the support he has given her through all their years together, and especially toward her goal of writing books. When not picking up toy trucks, driving to lacrosse practice, or checking spelling homework, Laura is writing or reading romance novels..

Contact Laura at:

www.facebook.com/LauraWardAuthor

Twitter—
@laurarosnerward

Instagram—
_Laura_Ward

Email—[email protected]