LITMIR.BIZ

      Starting over sounds good…in theory!

      The reality? Well, Gabriella Haines isn’t enjoying that so much. Once a top-rated TV host, suddenly becoming the junior editor at a publishing house isn’t playing to her strengths. She does have one chance to fast-forward a few career steps, however. If she can manage the impossible—convincing former American hero Jamison Hunter to finish the autobiography he owes them.

      Too bad he’s resistant to all her tactics. Worse, that little star crush Gabby had on him before his downfall? She isn’t quite as over it as she thought. In fact, the more she knows the real him, the more she wants to uncover the truth about what happened. Because restoring him in the public eye may be the best chance they have at a future together.

      “Tell me I’m wrong.”

      Jamison was smiling like he’d won a small victory, but the muscle in his cheek was twitching as though he was trying to hold himself back. “Tell me you don’t want me to move closer. That you don’t want me to reach my hand around your neck and pull you into me so I can kiss you.”

      Jamison Hunter wanted to kiss her.

      She wanted to kiss Jamison Hunter.

      And the problem was…?

      “What if I’m not big enough for you?” It shouldn’t have been a question, she thought. It should have been a statement, because it was true. Gabriella Haines was not big enough for Jamison Hunter. Not even close.

      He scooted closer along the bench seat until their thighs were touching. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tugged her more tightly against him. Then he leaned back and looked out the windshield into the blackness. His relaxation made her relax by default. Not all of the tension dissipated, there was still the sexual kind, but the awkwardness of the date was finally behind them. Like they were starting again at a drive-in theater, watching a movie and it was the moment when the screen went blank right before all the action began.

      Dear Reader,

      People who know me, know I’m a huge golf fan. In particular, I’m a Tiger Woods fan. So on that fateful Thanksgiving day when his car crashed…or his wife took him out with his own golf club…I, like everyone else, was shocked and not a little heartbroken that my golf hero proved to be not very heroic.

      In the years since, I’ve watched the greatest player in the game fall from the very top to the very bottom, and watching that fall of course made me consider all the ramifications of it.

      Now, I’m certainly not justifying Tiger’s actions, yet I couldn’t help but imagine what a person would go through after such a collapse. More importantly, how a person might find it in himself to make his way back. This story is my spin on how sometimes the best thing that can happen to a person is to lose everything and try to earn it back. Including love.

      I love to hear from readers! I can always be reached at www.stephaniedoyle.net.

      Enjoy!

      Stephanie Doyle

      The Way Back

      Stephanie Doyle