Georgiana: Good morning.

  Bailey: How’s it going? And by ‘it’ I mean yo chocolate. And by chocolate, I mean, yo man.

  Georgiana laughed.

  Georgiana: It’s going good.

  Bailey: How was the weekend?

  Georgiana: It was perfect. We took Ruby to the park.

  Bailey: Sounds like everything’s falling into place…

  Georgiana: Yes. Finally. We’ve come to an understanding.

  Bailey: You finally gettin’ some action, huh?

  Georgiana: Bye, Bailey << smiley face emoji>>

  Georgiana put her phone on the desk when she heard a knock at her door. It was her assistant holding a bouquet. All smiles, she said, “These are for you?”

  “For me?” Georgiana asked, beaming with excitement because she knew who they were from.

  She thanked her assistant, took the flowers and closed the door. She immediately pulled the attached note and read it:

  I appreciate all that you do. Call me.

  -MJ

  She smiled, picked up her cell phone and immediately dialed him.

  He answered, “Did you get the flowers?”

  “I did. They’re lovely, Micah. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Wow…you’ve never sent me flowers before.”

  “I know.”

  “Why’d you send them now?”

  “Because I wanted to make you smile. And I wanted to tell you that I love you, Georgiana Justus.”

  Her hands trembled so bad, she dropped her phone.

  “Hello?”

  She picked up the phone with one hand while using the other to wipe her tears away. “Sorry, I’m here,” she said trying to disguise her voice.

  “Baby, are you crying?”

  She sniffled. “No. No, I’m not crying,” she lied, but the tears steadily rolled down her face.

  When she heard a noise at her office door, she looked up and saw her husband step into the room wearing a dark gray suit. He hung up the phone, ending the connection he’d had to her since it was no longer needed.

  She slowly lowered her phone to take in all that he was. Through the tears, she saw the smile on his face. She recognized the love in his eyes. He was hers and she took great pride in that.

  He walked behind her desktop where she was sitting and spun her chair around to him. He placed his hands on her face and angled her head up to him and said, “I love you, Georgiana Justus.”

  Her lips trembled when she said, “I love you, Micah Justus.”

  He clenched her by the shoulders and pulled her up from the chair, then helped himself to her lips.

  “Mmm, stop crying, sweetheart. I never want to see you cry again. You hear me?”

  She nodded.

  “I love you, and I’ll always love you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “What are you thanking me for?”

  “For loving me and being the best father in the world.”

  Micah pulled her into his arms, holding her close to his heart. “Gather your things. We’re out of here.”

  “What? What are you talking about?”

  “I’m taking you away for a while.”

  “You are?”

  “Yes. We’re going to Puerto Vallarta for a week—maybe two.”

  “What about Ruby?”

  “Your mother’s keeping Ruby.”

  Georgiana went into panic mode. She said, “Micah, I’ve never been away from Ruby for more than a day and—”

  “Sweetheart, stop panicking. Look at me. Breathe.”

  Georgiana took a breath and released it slowly.

  Micah said, “I know how much you love Ruby. I love her too, but we need this time alone. Don’t worry. We’ll have plenty of vacations where we’ll bring Ruby along, but for now, it’s important we have this time together. I need you all to myself this week. No distractions. Okay?”

  “Okay.” Georgiana took her husband into her embrace, closed her eyes and took comfort in knowing and trusting that he was hers. That they had a new life together and a new chance to start over.

  Dear Reader,

  I know, I know, I know…

  The general consensus is, Micah Justus didn’t deserve a story, and you’re entitled to your opinion. Honestly, I didn’t plan on writing any additional spin-off stories for How To Love Me, but I’m discovering that the writing process is unpredictable. For Ruby and Weekend Fiancé are both spinoffs of How To Love Me. I never know what I want to write from one day to the next. It changes, comes in waves, and I have to drift with it. Micah and Georgiana had a story. KeShana and Jared had a story. It was my duty to tell those stories.

  With that being said, let’s get back to Micah…

  Life is messy. People screw up. Make mistakes. They move on. If you’re a woman who’s been the victim of infidelity, this story probably won’t resonate with you. You’ll hate Micah, but it’s Micah’s story to be told. It’s his second chance.

  My thoughts: we’ve all been given second chances at some point in our lives. Maybe we didn’t mess up as bad as Micah did, but does one, two, three or TEN screw-ups mean you deserve to be condemned to a life of doom, or can a person learn from their mistakes and move forward?

  I’d love to hear your perspective. Feel free to send me an email or contact me on my Facebook page via comment or private message, and as always, thank you for being a reader.

  On to the next one…

  Tina

  I hope you have enjoyed reading For Ruby. Keep on reading for an excerpt of Weekend Fiancé!

  Also, please take a moment to leave a review For Ruby and connect with me on social media and/or sign up for my newsletter.

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  Weekend Fiancé

  An Excerpt

  Chapter 1

  Jared’s eyes locked in on KeShana as she strolled into Mainstreet Coffee – hips swaying naturally from side-to-side like she was strutting down a runway trying to sell overpriced clothing. He couldn’t turn away even if he tried. If she’d decided to come, he knew she’d show up late. It’s why he got there early – for the show. The struttin’ and her antics. Thirty minutes after waiting solo, he was having doubts that she would come – especially since she’d made a big deal about him asking her out for coffee – insinuating that coffee was code for something else – but here she was in all her take-me-as-I-am glory.

  KeShana Neck-Snapping Taylor.

  He chuckled to himself. He hoped their coffee date would help dissolve the ache inside of him that suggested this KeShana girl was more than just a chick who acted all loud and boisterous. There had to be a much more tamed woman beneath that pretty, chocolate skin, overly long fingernails and her larger-than-life presence. She couldn’t be this way all the time, could she?

  Nah, she can’t be, he decided as he sized her up like he’d done so many women in the past. He couldn’t help it. It came as natural as blinking. As he watched her sashay toward him, he thought about how, in the past, he would’ve never given a woman like KeShana a second look. She was from a different side of town – literally and figuratively. He came from abundance – from a family who owned vineyards all over the country and made some of the best wine in the world. Delarosiere Vineyards was a force to be reckoned with and he would soon be CEO of the multi-millionaire brand. She worked part-time as an office assistant, and he hadn’t the slightest clue what she did with the rest of her time.

  With that being said, when it came to women, Jared rubbed shoulders with the best of them – beautiful, stunning women who were just as wealthy as he was. Not to say KeShana wasn’t beautiful because she was. Goodness, gracious – he couldn’t deny that. Additionally, she had certain features that he found lovely – like her extra-rich mahogany skin that reminded him of his partial heritage. Then there were those dark round eyes curtained with pretty lashes and her lips – she had the biggest, most thickest, delicious-looking lips he’d ever seen on a woman. Whenever he saw her – like now – he had trouble taking his eyes off of them. For a split second, he thought about how soft they might be and how it would feel to kiss those ample lips. Probably felt like the tenderness of a steak cooked medium. The thought made his mouth water. He’d never conquered a set of that size and she had him up to the challenge.

  As for her other features, she was about five-seven. Body curvy how he liked it – thin waist, thick hips. Breasts like melons. And she came with a good dose of attitude. He liked a woman who could hold her own. Who didn’t beat around the bush. He knew his parents wouldn’t. It’s the only reason he wanted to offer her this proposal. If he pretended to get serious with a woman he knew his folks wouldn’t like, maybe they would end their relentless pressuring for him to get married. People acted like marriage was the ultimate goal in life. For him, it was anything but.

  As KeShana neared the small, two-seater table with her hip-swinging, slow-mo walk, he rose to his feet and pulled out her chair.

  She said, “Well, well, well…if it ain’t Mr. Dolce and Gabanna...”

  Jared grinned. “Hi, KeShana. I didn’t think you would make it.”

  “I almost didn’t. I thought about going home several times.”

  “Did you?”

  “Uh…yea-yah,” she answered, then pursed her lips. “I shonuff did.”

  Jared sat down, looking at her nails as she tapped them on the table. They were sharp enough to put someone’s eyes out. “Why would you want to do that?”

  She narrowed her eyes.

  He smiled in response. Women usually didn’t turn him down no matter what the ask was, so he wanted to know her reason for desiring to go home.

  She responded, “First off, I’m not the kind of chick who throws back coffee at night.”

  Jared glanced at his Audemars Piguet. “It’s seven-thirty.”

  “And?”

  “You consider seven-thirty night time?” he asked, amused. She would never know he was tickled. You couldn’t tell by looking at him. Jared could keep a straight face like nobody’s business.

  “Sho do.”

  Sho do. “It doesn’t get dark until around eight-thirty,” he told her.

  She shrugged, quirked up her lips. More attitude. “Your point?”

  “My point is, you need to live a little, KeShana Taylor. Coffee in the evening won’t kill you. I can promise you that.”

  “It won’t, but a sister needs her beauty rest and last I checked, caffeine was the exact opposite of melatonin.”

  KeShana stared skeptically across the table at him. Why had he asked her here with his – with his…his finer than fine self? Sheesh! All she wanted to do was sit there and stare at him. Skip the coffee. He was giving her the jitters every time she connected her eyes to his amber colored ones. And why was he staring so hard? His eyes stayed trained on her like, whatever it was that he wanted, he’d convince her to do it by way of staring – enticing her into a drugging, mind-controlling daze.

  Mercy…

  She broke away from his gaze, making subtle attempts to silence her beating heart as it pounded loudly in her ear. Why was Jared making her feel this way? She’d been around other good-looking men before – well, none as good-looking as Jared Dela-whatever-his-face, but still. The man was giving her heart palpitations and all he was doing was staring. That’s it. If he so happened to touch her, she’d probably crumble apart and die, then and there.

  She glanced at his hands. Those large hands appeared strong. Nails, well-manicured and clean. He had a dreamy, light-skinned complexion but not Drake-the-rapper light skin. He was more like a Russell Wilson brown, about the same height, too. His hair was dark brown and curly. Eyes crisp and extra white to the point that it made his pupils stand out. His nose was so perfectly shaped, it looked like it had been enhanced. His lips were the perfect size for a man and his mustache on point. He was the clean-shaven type. Everything perfect type. What did he want with her?

  “So, what’chu want?” KeShana asked.

  Brows furrowed, he asked, “Excuse me?”

  KeShana looked at him sideways. Did he not hear her or could he not understand her citified, country-style ebonics. She cleared her throat and spoke in her professional work voice when she asked, “I said, what do you want? Why did you ask me here?”

  “You don’t have to alter your voice, KeShana. I heard what you said the first time.”

  “Then why you actin’ like you didn’t?”

  Jared leaned back in his chair. She was going to be more trouble than he needed, but he was willing to put up with it because she was exactly who he needed for his plan. He said, “Be easy, babygirl. This is supposed to be a chill, laid back discussion.”

  Still skeptical, KeShana said, “Then ya girl needs to know the topic at hand.”

  “I’ll tell you after you simmer down.” You freakin’ hot tamale. Jared grinned. She looked like she needed a good cooling off. She acted all big and bad, but she couldn’t handle a man like him. She thought she could, but she couldn’t.

  “What’chu laughing at?” she asked.

  “Nothing.”

  Lawd, you better be glad you’re fine or I would’ve been done bounced. “And FYI, I don’t have to simmer down. I’m already—simmered.”

  The corners of Jared’s eyes crinkled. “If you say so. I’ll go get us some coffee. How do you take yours?”

  “In the mornings,” she said.

  He cracked a smile. “Why are you giving me a hard time?”

  “Because I can.”

  * * *

  Buy Weekend Fiancé now, available at all eBook retailers!

  Discover other books by Tina Martin:

  St. Claire Series

  {Available on Kindle Unlimited}

  Royal | Ramsey | Romulus

  Regal | Magnus | Monty

  Honeymoon With a St. Claire

  Seasons of Love Novelettes

  Hot Chocolate: A Winter Novella

  Spring Break: A Spring Novella

  The Boardwalk Bakery Romance Series

  {Available on Kindle Unlimited}

  Baked With Love

  Baked With Love 2

  Baked With Love 3

  The Marriage Chronicles

  {Available on Kindle Unlimited}

  Life’s A Beach | Falling Out | War, Then Love

  The Blackstone Family Series

  Evenings With Bryson

  Leaving Barringer

  Forever Us: Barringer and Calista Blackstone

  The Things Everson Lost

  Candy’s Corporate Crush

  A Lennox in Love Series

  Claiming You

  Making You My Business

  Wishing That I Was Yours

  Caught in the Storm with a Lennox

  Before You Say I Do

  Winter Wonder

  Winter Wedding

  Mine By Default Mini-Series:

  Been In Love With You, Book 1

  When Hearts Cry, Book 2

  You Belong To Me, Book 3

  When I Call You Mine, Book 4

  Who Do You Love?, Book 5

  Forever Mine, Book 6

  The Champion Brothers Series:

  His Paradise Wife

  When A Champion Wants You

  The Best Thing He Never Knew He Needed

  Wives And Champions

  The Way Champions Love

  His By Spring

  A Champion’s Proposal

  The Accidental Series:

  Accidental Deception, Book 1

  Accidental Heartbreak, Book 2

  Accidental Lovers, Book 3

  What Donovan Wants, Book 4

  Dying To Love Her Series:

  Dying To Love Her

  Dying To Love Her 2

  Dying To Love Her 3

  The Alexander Series:

  The Millionaire’s Arranged Marriage, Book 1

  Watch Me Take Your Girl, Book 2

  Her Premarital Ex, Book 3

  The Object of His Obsession, Book 4

  Dilvan’s Redemption, Book 5

  His Charity Challenge, Book 6

  (Heshan Alexander and Charity Eason)

  Different Tastes, Book 7

  (Tamera Alexander and Preston Michaels)

  As Long As We Got Love, Book 8

  (An Alexander Family Novel)

  Non-Series Titles:

  Secrets On Lake Drive

  Can’t Just Be His Friend

  Falling Again

  Vacation Interrupted

  The Crush

  The Baby Daddy Interviews

  Wasn’t Supposed To Love Her

  What Wifey Wants (Follow-up to Wasn’t Supposed To Love Her)

  Man of Her Dreams

  Bae Watch

  How To Love Me

  Weekend Fiancé

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Tina Martin is the author of over 65 romantic suspense and women’s fiction novels. When she’s not writing, she enjoys watching Hallmark movies, traveling, running, trying new recipes and spending time with her family. She resides in Charlotte, North Carolina with her husband and two children.

  Tina loves to hear from readers. You can reach her by email at: tinamartinbooks@gmail.com

  Visit her website for more information at

  www.tinamartin.net.

 

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