Release Date: August 6th, 2013
SYNOPSIS: Present Perfect by Alison G. Bailey
I’ve been unsure about many things in my life except for one thing, that I have always loved him. Every single minute of every single day that I have been on this earth, my heart has belonged to him. It has never been a question, never a doubt. The love had taken on many different forms over the years, but it had always been a constant.
Everyone has their definition of love. There have been countless songs sung about it. A gazillion books, articles, and poems written about it. There are experts on love who will tell you how to get it, keep it, and get over it.
We’re led to believe love is complicated. It’s not the love that’s complicated. It’s all the crap that we attach to it and put in front of it that makes it difficult. If you’re smart, you’ll realize this before it’s too late and simplify
Amanda Kelly spent her entire life trying to control every aspect of it, while striving for perfection. Her obsession with being perfect, along with her feelings of worthlessness, consumed her. The one thing she thought was perfect in her life was the bond she shared with her best friend, Noah.
Everything was going according to her life plan until she woke up one day and realized she had fallen in love with him. The one thing she couldn’t control was the affect he had on her. Noah had the power to give her one hundred lifetimes of happiness, which also gave him the power to completely devastate her. He was the one thing in her life that was perfect, but she couldn't allow herself to have him.
Present Perfect by Alison G. Bailey
New Adult Contemporary Romance
Amazing Book Cover by artist Robin Harper of Wicked by Design
DREAM CAST
EXCERPT
Subject to editing/final changes
Tweet and Noah age 15
We
were all sitting around the table eating by the time Noah joined us. He sat in
the only empty seat left which happened to be next to me. Dad and Mr. Stewart talked about work while
Mom and Mrs. Stewart shared the neighborhood gossip. I was trying to recover from
the intense moment in my room earlier. I would have been able to do that if
Noah hadn’t been sitting right next to me. That was bad enough, but he kept
finding subtle ways of touching me. What happened in my room was a mistake,
even though it didn’t go very far, it went far enough. I had to be strong and
put a stop to things happening between us.
Noah
put his arm around the back of my chair and reached across me for some bread,
which brought his face so close to mine his lips were almost touching my cheek.
Keeping
my voice low, I said, “I know what you’re doing.”
“I
do too, I really like garlic bread.”
“I
could have passed it to you if you had asked.”
“Yeah,
I know, but my way I get to look down your dress.” My eyes shot immediately to his. ”Oh, by the
way, your bra selection tonight…Excellent.”
I slapped my hand to my chest trying to close the gap he had been peering down.
“Please
tell me your panties match,” he said, and then leaned back slightly, glancing
down. When I looked at him, I was met with a wink and a smirk before he went
back to eating.
“Noah,
congratulations,” my dad said.
Just
then I felt a hand on my knee and fingers creeping under the hem of my dress.
My breath hitched and my eyes darted over to Noah. I’d be completely pissed at
him if his hand didn’t feel so incredible on my naked leg.
“Thank you, sir.”
How
he could remain so calm, cool, and collected in front of our parents while his
hand rubbed over my knee was beyond me.
“It’s
pretty rare that a sophomore gets asked to join the varsity team. We’re proud
of you.” My dad always thought of Noah
like a son.
“His
mom and I are extremely proud of him. He’s a chip off the old block,” Mr.
Stewart added.
The
dads laughed as if the comment was hilarious. Noah smiled at his dad while his
hand began to move up my thigh. I slapped it away and inadvertently hit the
table, causing it to shake.
“Amanda,
are you okay?” Mom asked.
‘Yes.
I’m fine.” Noah snorted as he tried to contain a laugh. “I was swatting a fly
away.”
My
mom looked at me, slightly annoyed, but maintained her cheery voice, and said,
“That’s ridiculous. We don’t have flies in this house.”
“My
bad,” I said.
Noah’s hand landed back on my knee. He
squeezed slightly, causing a loud gasp to escape me. All four parental heads
turned to look in my direction.
“Um…
Mom would you please pass me the…um…”
Noah
touching was relentless. He would squeeze my knee then rub the inside of my
thigh. It was impossible for me to think or form a coherent sentence.
“The
stuff in the bottle, that you…um…pour on…um…lettuce?” My pitch grew higher and
higher with each word.
“You
mean salad dressing?” Mom said,
sarcasm flowing from her words like a torrential rain. I nodded. “You already
have some on your salad.”
“I
need more. Please give me more.”
She
looked at me like I didn’t belong to her before passing me the dressing.
“How’s
Emily?” Mrs. Stewart asked while I doused my salad.
A
prideful smile appeared across my mom’s face. “She’s wonderful. She’s loving
college.”
“That’s
fantastic,” Mrs. Stewart said.
“In
fact, she joined the debate team. She’s
an extremely articulate young woman.”
Mom glanced over at me. If she had any idea what was taking place under her
dinner table, she might cut me some slack.
I
was so out of sorts, I dropped my fork just before loading it up with salad.
“I’ll get it, Tweet.”
Noah’s
hand disappeared from my leg. I took the opportunity to take a drink of water
trying to calm down. Noah scooted his chair back and then bent down to grab the
fork.
“Dead
horse!” Dad announced while holding up the empty wine bottle.
All
of a sudden, I felt a pair of lips on the outer side of my thigh right above my
knee. I almost did a full blown spit-take at the exact same time my dad asked,
“Are we game for another?”
Noah
sat back up and I had four sets of eyes staring at me, wondering what had
gotten into me.
“I’ll
go get you another bottle of wine. I’m done eating, anyway,” I said, as I wiped
the spray of water from my face.
I
quickly rose from the table and made my way to the kitchen to put my plate in
the sink. Without stopping, I headed to the garage where we had an extra
refrigerator that my parents used for their wine collection.
Standing
in front of the open fridge, I realized I didn’t know if they wanted red or
white. I took a bottle of each to be on the safe side. I closed the fridge and
turned around coming face-to-face with a grinning Noah. I took a step back. He
placed his hands against the fridge on either side of my shoulders, caging me
in. He really liked caging me in.
“What
the hell do you think you’re doing in there with all the touching and the
kissing? You kissed my thigh under
the table. The family dinner table, for god’s sake.”
“I
couldn’t resist. You’re mighty tasty.”
He waggled his eyebrows and moved in closer.
Holy crap on a cracker, tingles were taking over my
body.
“Leave
me alone for the rest of the night.” I tried to sound mad, but even I could
hear the smile in my voice. It was hard to be mad at Noah, especially when what
he was doing felt so amazing.
“Ok.
I will.” He dropped his arms and stepped back giving me room to get by.
“Thank
you.”
As
I passed him going back toward the door I felt the hem of my dress rise up
behind me. I quickly stepped to the side out of his reach. “Dammit, Noah! Stop
it! I can’t defend myself with these bottles in my hands.”
Holding
his hands up in surrender, he said, “I thought you had a speck of something on
your dress. I was just trying to help is all.” I narrowed my eyes at him before
heading back into the house.
PLAYLIST
Author BIO:
Alison G. Bailey,
Author
Alison was born and
raised in Charleston, SC. As a child she used her imagination to write
additional scenes to TV shows and movies that she watched. She attended
Winthrop University and graduating with a BA in Theater. While at Winthrop she
began writing one act plays which she later produced. Throughout the years she
continued writing and producing several one act plays, but then life got in the
way and she hung up her pen for a while. On the advice of a friend, she started
writing again. In January 2013, Alison sat down at her computer and began
writing her first novel, Present Perfect.
Alison lives in
Charleston, South Carolina with her husband, Jef, and their two furry children
(dogs). She’s addicted to Diet Pepsi and
anything with sugar.
Alison's
philosophy: Don't let your obstacles define you, let them refine you. At times
life can get pretty overwhelming, but with a great support system and a lot of
humor you can get through it. If you have humor in your life your spirit stays
strong and you can tackle anything.Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/alisongbailey/present-perfect-by-alison-g-bailey/
Blog http://alisongbailey.blogspot.com/2013/05/heres-little-treat-to-get-you-geared-up.html
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alison-G-Bailey/223772144436171
Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7032185.Alison_G_Bailey
Twitter: @AlisonGBailey1
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