The man she can never have . . . 

Kerris Moreton should be the happiest woman in the world: She has a successful business and is about to start the family she's always wanted. But the man of her dreams-the one whose green eyes see straight into her soul and whose gentle hands make her body hum with pleasure-is not hers.

Each secret moment with Walsh Bennett serves to remind Kerris of what she's missing. And every stolen hour makes it harder to see her future without him. But being with Walsh would betray a sacred promise and upend her perfect life. When tragedy strikes, the razor's edge between love and loyalty grows sharper than ever. And Kerris must decide where her heart will fall

A Message from Kennedy Ryan…

Hey, everybody! I’m so excited to partner with these four amazing blogs today and share chapter one from LOVING YOU ALWAYS. Some of you may have read an early version at the end of WHEN YOU ARE MINE. It has been edited some, so you should read again! 🙂

If you haven’t read WHEN YOU ARE MINE, this chapter is a major spoiler, and you probably want to skip it! BUT we still have goodness for you! There’s a rafflecopter for an e-copy of WYAM or LYA. And for those of you ready to read LYA, I’m hosting a week-long book party/group read with a grand prize of $100 VISA Gift card, guest authors swinging through, and daily giveaways. Just join the read along to qualify!

 

Thank you! Enter and enjoy! 🙂

Kennedy Ryan

Please join us for the LOVING YOU ALWAYS release party on October 9th!

Want to join the read along for LOVING YOU ALWAYS on October 13th? Click here!

Pre-order your copy of LOVING YOU ALWAYS now for the currently discounted price of $2.99!

Follow along the Chapter 1 Blog-Hop using the schedule below! Enjoy!!!

Part 1: Schmexy Girl Book Blog

Part 2: True Story Book Blog

Part 3: Cocktails and Books

Part 4: Shh Mom’s Reading

“Yeah, babe. Think about it.” Cam came up behind her at the sink to wrap his arms around her. “The three of us in Paris, where some of the greatest artists did their best work. I could study at the Sorbonne. If I apply now, I could be accepted in the next six months.”
“Six months.” Kerris turned to face him, her back against the sink. “I’m only six weeks pregnant. Déjà Vu is just getting off the ground. I want to have our baby here in the States with a doctor I trust, surrounded by our friends. Our life is here.”
Cam’s smile dissolved into a straight line.
“Working that dead end job isn’t much of a life. This money from Kristeene is a godsend. It’ll give me the freedom to pursue my dream.”
“I’ve always been your biggest cheerleader, you know that.” Kerris evened her tone and placed a calming palm against his chest. “I’m just saying the timing may be a little off. Maybe in another eighteen months or so?”
“Eighteen months.” Cam stepped back and stalked over to lean against the granite countertop, facing her with arms folded across the muscles of his chest. “You expect me to stay in Rivermont for eighteen months when I’ll have money in the bank to pursue my dreams?”
“And my dreams?” She deliberately quieted her voice, not wanting this to explode between them. “What about the things I want to do? The business I just started? The family we’re just starting? Are you considering any of that?”
“You know, maybe I’m missing something.” Cam leveled his creased brows, his face giving nothing away. “Maybe there’s something else you want to stay in the States for. Or should I say someone.”
Kerris reached behind her to clutch the rim of the sink. She turned her back to him, rinsing out the dishes she had left there. The muscles of her back tightened under the unrelenting burn of Cam’s stare. They hadn’t spoken of that moment again since that first night, but she knew it was still between them. He was a wounded animal secretly nursing his hurt.
“Cam, do we need to talk about Walsh again? I always thought we should have. We can’t sweep it under the rug and pretend it didn’t happen.”
“Oh, I know it happened.” His voice frosted over with fresh bitterness like new snow. “Do you think I will ever forget seeing you in my best friend’s arms?”
“I told you it was only a kiss,” she whispered, knowing that he would hear it in the eerie silence surrounding them. “We got emotional talking about Haiti—”
“Don’t give me that shit again!” His voice erupting into the quiet made her jump. “Do you think I don’t see how Walsh looks at you?”
Kerris, the way my son looks at you is like a starved man. It’s like he can’t bring himself to look at anything else in the room.
Kristeene’s words in the hospital room that last day before she went home for good drifted back to Kerris. It had been months, but it felt like yesterday. Kerris tunneled her hands into the dark hair on either side of her head before turning to look directly at her husband. She clasped her hands together over the tightly coiled dread in her belly.
“And how do I look at him?” She braved the question, refusing to even blink until he had answered; determined to be as honest as he would allow.
“Most of the time you don’t, which I think says just as much as the way he eats you up every time he looks at you. The two of you—”
“There is no two of us!” The volume of her own voice surprised her, reverberating in the solitude of their cottage.
“I’m out.” He didn’t acknowledge her statement, unfolding from his deceptively indolent stance against the counter and leaving the kitchen. “I’m gonna be late for this job you want me to stay stuck in for the next eighteen months.”
Kerris charged out after him into the living room, ignoring the gibe about his job.
“There is no two of us.” She stopped to stand in front of him at the door. Cam turned to her, his face tight, eyes hard.
“You think I’m stupid, Kerris? Is that it? You think I don’t know how you feel about him?”
“What do you want me to say?” The words heated up in her mouth and boiled over. “I’ve told you that I love you. That it was a mistake. I’m not going anywhere. We’re having a baby together.”
“But is that enough?” Emotion chipped away at the hardness in Cam’s eyes until they were a little softer, a little sadder. “What if it isn’t enough? Then what do we do?”
And there it was. The fear that had skulked around in her heart since Cam first approached her about marriage that night so long ago. That what she felt for him wouldn’t satisfy. Would they have ended up here anyway, or had those few moments with Walsh cost her everything she’d thought would make her happy?
“I gotta go or I’ll be late.” Cam’s eyes scanned her face, and Kerris wondered what he was searching for. She wondered if he found it. “Think about Paris, Ker. Maybe all we need is a fresh start somewhere new.”
He leaned down to whisper something against her stomach; something she couldn’t hear. Something between him and the child they had made. He looked up and hesitated before standing and dropping a kiss on her cheek. And then he walked away. –

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