Coming Soon: Courage in the Kiss

With Courage in the Kiss with the editors at Simply Sexy Reads, I thought it was time to introduce you to the story, in a little more detail.

The cover will be revealed closer to the release.

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Hadley has been a member of the Williams household her whole life; she's practically one of the family. Younger son, Micah, is her best friend, who knows all of her secrets. Particularly her secret crush for his brother, Maxx.

Though Hadley accepts that he doesn't return the feeling, a shock rocks her stable world and threatens to expose her secret feelings. With her world turned upside down, Hadley must make a choice; tell Maxx the truth or move on with her life.

No matter what she chooses, the biggest question of her life dangles before her eyes:

Can she stick to her moral compass and remain a dreamer, even if that means she'll be alone? Or will Maxx and his natural charm have her in the palm of his hand, compromising everything she's ever held dear?

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Hadley couldn't help but wonder if he regretted staying with her, looking after her, letting her see his softer side. Was it all one giant mistake, because he thought she was too sick to remember?

“What will you do, if you leave?” Maxx asked, as though there was still a chance that she might stay.

She wanted to smack some sense into him, but didn't bother. She took a deep breath and thought about his question properly. What would she do with herself?

“Maybe go to school,” she admitted, since she'd never been to a proper school. As soon as Emerson took her in, she'd been home schooled, along with Maxx. Micah got the special treatment and went to a public school. By the time Maxx went off to college or work, she'd already spent a few years working for Emerson.

He'd never insisted on it, but she felt indebted to him. There had been no one else to take her in, after her parents died, and Emerson only did it because her father was the son of one of his old, long dead, friends. He insisted that it was his duty to care for her as his own child, but she'd never been able to accept charity. Not even from Emerson.

“I might go to art school. Finally,” Hadley decided, since that was something that had always interested her.

Maxx scoffed and she looked up sharply, ready to tell him to shove off, if he was going to degrade her dreams. “You don't need art school. You could probably sell your work the way it is, to some big collector in New York,” he claimed, with a faint smile.

She blushed, as she realised he was paying her a compliment. But it didn't change anything. It was too little, too late and it wasn't as if his kindness meant anything. “I could volunteer at the local museum. They're always looking for help and it would be something to put on a CV,” she admitted, thoughtfully. “Then, once I've saved up enough, I can try to repay your father for being so kind to me.”

“You intend to pay him back? For the last twenty years? Why? You don't owe him anything,” Maxx argued, as though she was wrong to feel the way she did. Well, he could take his father's money and everything Emerson had built at work, to use as his own, but she wouldn't.

“I owe him everything,” Hadley corrected him.

Maxx went quiet for a moment, with a look that said he was reluctantly accepting that she might be right, but that he didn't have to like it. “How would you like to have a paid job, right away?” he offered, out of the blue.

“Working for you or your father's company?” Hadley guessed, shocked that he would even consider it. What the hell was he thinking?

“Yes. I’m desperately in need of a PA. I’m sure you’d do quite well in the position,” he claimed, with a faint hint of a smile.

She guessed there was a deeper meaning there, but she was too tired and too drained from her migraine to understand it. And she was too pissed at his presumption, to cater to his selfish whim. “So, I leave this house, where I'm stifled and held prisoner, working for your family, so that I can work for you, to be stifled and held prisoner, working for your family? Gee, what a great idea,” she mocked him, as she got up and headed for the door.

Maxx caught her wrist, before she could touch the handle. “That's not what I meant.”

“No, you meant that it would solve your problems and give me an excuse to get out of this house. That's not what I want,” she argued, ready to start a screaming match, if he kept this up. She didn't know what he was playing at, but this constant back and forth was making her dizzy.

“You're so damned stubborn!” he bit out, letting go of her, in anger.

Hadley was in no mood to take it. “I wonder where I get that from!”

“You're infuriating. I can't even talk to you,” Maxx complained, bypassing her and grabbing the door handle. He stormed out, leaving her feeling weak and frustrated.

She put her hand to her head and realised how royally she'd just fucked up. Why couldn't she keep her mouth shut? He was just beginning to show affection for her, even if it was mild and not the kind she wanted. He'd opened up, to actually talk to her like a human being and she'd gone on the defensive.

Letting out an aggravated groan, she fought back the tears and tried to compose herself. Why did she always sabotage herself?

It was pointless.

She cried freely, in the comfort of her own room, holding her head in her hands. She was so fed up with crying all the time and half the time not knowing why. This time was obvious.

She hated her life. She hated loving Maxx. She hated that she couldn’t hate Maxx. She hated that anything she did, for someone else, was always wrong. She hated that she had no friends and no family. She hated that her parents were dead. She hated never feeling good enough for anyone.

She forced herself to stop.

Getting up from the floor, Hadley spotted the painting of her and Conway sitting on the dressing table. She crossed to it and thought about the lies and deception behind it. Distraught, she threw it across the room, only just missing Maxx as he walked in.

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Elaine White grew up in a small town on the east coast of Scotland. She is an author of paranormal romance, crime and MM romance.
Fighting cancer in her early teens taught her that life is short and dreams should be pursued. She lives vicariously through her independent, and often hellion characters, while living comfortably at home with a pack of wolves cleverly disguised as one standard poodle.
A self-professed geek, Elaine has fallen in love with the research linked with her novels. The more obscure the better. She has recently delved into reading and writing MM romance/erotica and is now a happy addict of the genre.

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