Blogiversary | Meredith Against the Wind by Amanda Gale – Excerpt

EXCERPT | MEREDITH AGAINST THE WIND

TITLE: Meredith Against the Wind (The Meredith Series Book Two)

PUBLISHER: Brenda & Cobena Books

PUBLICATION DATE: July 3, 2014

GENRE: Women’s Fiction, Romance

“Ah,” Vince exclaimed, leaning back in his seat and rubbing his belly. “I’m stuffed. Thanks for dinner, Wes.”

“It’s my pleasure. I’m glad I had the chance to meet Meredith’s brother. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Whatever she’s told you, it’s all true,” Vince said, and everyone laughed. Then they passed a moment or two in silence.

“Well,” Vince said then, “I’m beat. I think I’ll head back and turn in. Are you coming, Merry?”

“Yes, let me just help Wes clean up, and I’ll be right there. You go ahead and get settled.”

Vince and Wes shook hands, and Vince crossed the street toward Meredith’s house.

Wes and Meredith chatted as they cleaned up from dinner. When they were finished, Meredith dried her hands on a towel and looked about the kitchen, pleased.

“That was great, Wes. Thanks so much for entertaining my brother.”

“As I said, it was my pleasure.” He looked at her with a curious expression. “Meredith, I’m going to ask you a question, and I want an honest answer.”

Meredith instantly felt nervous, her heart thumping in her chest. She willed her face not to flush, suspecting she knew what this was about.

“What is it?” she asked, trying to sound calm.

“I need to know if you still have feelings for Nick,” he said. “I’m not blind, Meredith. Whenever he comes up in conversation, you turn red and get all giddy.” Suddenly his eyebrows furrowed. “He doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that you haven’t accepted my proposal, does he?”

“No,” Meredith asserted, meaning it, and grateful that Wes had asked her a question she could answer truthfully. “No, he has nothing to do with that.”

“I don’t mind if you remember him fondly every once in a while, but I won’t be made a fool of, either.”

Meredith wrapped her arms around his waist. “I love you, Wes,” she said, then paused as she fought with herself over what to tell him. “I do sometimes feel burned when I think of him. When he left, there were a lot of unresolved feelings. But I wouldn’t be with you now if I didn’t believe I could have a happy future with you. What happened in the past doesn’t change that.”

He was watching her carefully, trying to pick up on subtle signals. Finally he relaxed. “Okay,” he said. “I guess I can live with that.” He kissed her forehead, then smiled.

“Great,” she said, returning his smile and rubbing his shoulders. “Come on, then. I assume you’re spending the night at my place tonight.”

“You know what, sweetheart,” he said, his fingers sifting through her hair, “I think you should just spend time with your brother tonight. I’ll stay here.”

Meredith looked at him with surprise. “But Vince is going right to sleep.”

“I know, but this way I won’t be in the way.”

“How will you be in the way if he’s asleep?”

Wes’s eyes were deep with thought. Meredith couldn’t read his expression; it was full of an emotion she couldn’t identify.

“Honestly, sweetheart, I’m pretty tired. It’s just as well for me to get a good night’s sleep tonight, without you trying to seduce and harass me all night long,” he said, and grinned. “I’m going to stop by the office after tennis tomorrow and work for a few hours. I’ll meet you and your brother for dinner, and we can pick up then.”

Meredith frowned. “Are you okay, Wes?”

“I’m great,” he said, and kissed her. “One night apart doesn’t indicate a problem—that is, unless you think you can’t handle being away from me for that long.”

Meredith smiled. “Well, I really don’t want to be away from you, but I guess I understand.” She lifted her chin toward him and kissed him, lingering for several moments and relishing the feel of his hands as they caressed her shoulders and back. “I’ll miss you, though,” she said, her head tilted coyly. “I’ll be thinking about you.”

Wes looked both intrigued and amused. “Well, absence makes the heart grow fonder, sweetheart. Go ahead and miss me for a night or two,” he told her, rubbing her backside. “Then I’ll let you beg me for it later.”

THE MEREDITH SERIES BUY LINKS:

AMAZON | B&N

ABOUT AMANDA

A graduate of Vassar College and Boston University, Amanda Gale taught high school English before she began writing women’s fiction. She loves history, classic literature, and quiet nights at home. She lives outside Philadelphia with her family. (Photo Credit: Lisa Schaffer Photography)

AMANDA GALE GIVEAWAY

Amanda has generously provided an e-book copy of the entire series. Her giveaway is running from March 22nd-29th.

Enter here: a Rafflecopter giveaway

STORIES UNFOLDED BLOGIVERSARY GIVEAWAY

Don’t forget to enter the Stories Unfolded Blogiversary Giveaway that’s running from March 1st – March 31st.

(1) Grand Prize Winner

$25 Amazon Kindle Gift Card
(1) Signed physical copy of The End of Feeling by Cindy C Bennett
(1) Audiobook of The End of Feeling by Cindy C Bennett
(1) Signed physical copy of Family Inheritance by Terri Ann Leidich
(1) Signed physical copy of From a Grieving Mother’s Heart by Terri Ann Leidich
(1) Signed physical copy of For a Grieving Heart by Terri Ann Leidich
(1) Physical copy of Finding Zoe by Brandi Rarus and Gail Harris
(1) E-Book copy of the Off The Map Series by Lia Riley (Upside Down, Sideswiped, & Inside Out)
(1) E-Book copy of any Ginger Scott book
(1) E-Book copy of Cemetery Tours and Between Worlds by Jacqueline Smith
(1) E-Book copies of three children’s books by Alva Sachs (Circus Fever, I’m 5, & On Your Mark, Get Set,Go!)