Until You
Jeannie Moon
Until You
Copyright © 2015 Jeannie Moon
The Tule Publishing Group, LLC
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ISBN: 978-1-942240-33-4
“Jeannie Moon writes a sweet, sexy escape.”
~New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis
“Jeannie Moon is a rising star in the romance world. Don’t miss her books.”
~New York Times bestselling author Kristan Higgins
“Jeannie Moon always delivers a feel-good, warm-your-heart, can’t-stop-turning-the-pages story!”
~New York Times bestselling author Carly Phillips
Dedication
This book is dedicated to all the moms out there who love unconditionally, sacrifice endlessly, and risk everything for their children.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Praise for Jeannie Moon
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
This Christmas
About the Author
Acknowledgements
Until You is a book that’s been a long time in the making. I began writing it over ten years ago as a flash fiction challenge. The scene I wrote initially evolved into a very complex and beautiful love story between two people who didn’t know how much they needed each other.
And isn’t that often the way?
I didn’t know what my story needed until it landed in the very capable hands of Kelly Hunter and Jane Porter at Tule Publishing. Jane has created a haven for writers at Tule; a place where we can stretch our wings, and try new things. I will be forever grateful that she welcomed me into this community of artists, believed in my vision for this book, and gave it a home.
My editor, Kelly Hunter, has a gift for finding the heart of a book and helping a writer exploit all that is pure and beautiful in the story. Kate and David’s journey became something truly special under Kelly’s guiding hand. It’s a wonderful feeling for an author when her editor truly “gets” a book. Thank you, Kelly, for all you’ve given Until You, and to me in the process.
So, it takes a village, right?
Many thanks to my writing sisters at Tule for all your wisdom, and special thanks to my #Fab4 girls, Jennifer Gracen, Patty Blount and Jolyse Barnett. May we have long careers and continue to talk each other off those ledges. To my plotting buddies, Myra Platt, Liz Slawinski, Lisa Guilfoil, and Maggie Van Well—thank you, girls. Love you tons.
Big hugs to CTRWA, your rock; extra love to some of the best beta readers ever, Donna DeLuca, Danielle Giambrone, Jennifer Carberry and Clara Antunes.
Thank you to everyone at Tule, especially Meghan Farrell and Lindsey Stover, who make everything right in this writer’s world. Lee Hyat designs the most beautiful covers and she outdid herself with the one for this book. Endless thanks go out to BookSparks PR for getting the word out, and to my agent Stephany Evans for her friendship and guidance.
My street team, The Moonpies, are the absolute best people in Romancelandia. You have no idea how much I appreciate each and every one of you. Thank you, ladies.
Last but not least, I couldn’t do this job, and love it the way I do, without the support of my family. I’m truly blessed.
And to you, my dear reader friends, you make this fun. Thank you for joining me on this journey and I hope you enjoyed Until You. I’d love to hear what you think, so feel free to drop me a line through my website, www.jeanniemoon.com.
Chapter 1
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October
Kate spent her fortieth birthday in a hotel bar overlooking the Pacific Ocean, celebrating the milestone with a bottle of red wine and her divorce papers. Fiddling with the stem of the wine glass, she stared at the bulky package. The documents had arrived right before she’d left on her trip to California, and for the life of her, Kate didn’t know why she’d brought them with her. Maybe she needed a dose of reality. Maybe she needed to work up a good mad. Maybe she was using them as an excuse to feel sorry for herself. It really didn’t matter.
Her life was changing faster than she could keep up.
The events of the past ten months were a blur. Her ex-husband was going on a trip as well, taking his fiancée to Europe. Richard’s paramour was a thirty-five-year-old adjunct English professor and sometimes writer who sprinkled her casual conversations liberally with academic drivel and spouted pretense wherever she went.
The woman pushed every one of Kate’s buttons. Tall and exotic looking, Marie professed to be a literary novelist. What bullshit. Kate was the novelist. Kate was the one who, surprisingly, had over two hundred and fifty people show up for her last book signing. Though Marie what’s-her-name did do the whole intellectual artist thing well. Always in black and unimpressed by the world around her, the woman was a cliché. She walked the walk and talked the talk, but who the hell read her books?
Kate swirled the last of the wine in her glass and took a deep breath. Cliché or not, the “other woman” had forced Kate to see what a mess she’d allowed her life to become. A million best sellers wouldn’t fix that.
Biting her fingernail, Kate poured the last few drops of wine into her glass. Where did the bottle go? An expensive bottle of Shiraz was gone and she didn’t even feel like she had a good buzz. Boy, that sucked. She wanted to get drunk on her birthday and couldn’t even do that right.