Blog Tour Review, Excerpt and Giveaway: Forever With Me by Kristen Proby @handbagjunkie @InkSlingerPR

Blog Tour Review, Excerpt and Giveaway: Forever With Me by Kristen Proby @handbagjunkie @InkSlingerPRForever With Me by Kristen Proby
on Dec 02, 2014
Genres: Romance
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From the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the With Me in Seattle Series comes the end of a saga…

Dominic Salvatore seemingly has everything a man could want. He’s found a new relationship with his father and the entire Montgomery family. His vineyard, Cuppa di Vita, is a success. There’s only one thing that eludes him: a certain driven, intelligent, and sexy as hell blonde named Alecia.

Alecia works tirelessly building her event planning business. It’s the most important part of her life. Despite the beautiful, lavish weddings she organizes, Alecia is convinced that the idea of true love is a myth. While Dominic is a sexy, intriguing man, welcoming the handsome Italian into her bed, and her life, is a risk she’s not so sure she’s willing to take.

However Dominic isn’t used to taking no for an answer, and it’s not long before these two are burning up the sheets and discovering a connection that neither can deny. But will it be strong enough to last forever?

“I’m going to eventually make you understand how amazing you are, tesoro.” – Dominic Salvatore


review

“I’m going to eventually make you understand how amazing you are, tesoro.”

Epic endings are hard to come by but Kristen Proby was able to capture eight books worth of incredible into one hell of a goodbye. It’s fitting that she ends this journey with a wine connoisseur and his party planning treasure. Just as fine wine ages to perfection so do Kristen’s words. Sinfully delicious, this top shelf romance is a treat for the Seattle lovers word palette.

It has been two years since I started this love affair with my Seattle families. The sugary sweet love I found within these pages may not be real but to me it was home. The journey has been anything but easy. These characters fought, played, rocked, found safety, and caught breathe all to find their forever. Saying goodbye wasn’t easy. The growth throughout all eight books was exciting as well as entertaining. Laughing at inside family jokes and shedding tears celebrating engagements, weddings, and babies made this family saga something to talk about.

Hints of Dominic and Alecia’s game of cat and mouse were alluded to in prior books. Really, who was sure about the “damn sexy Italian” anyway? Alecia has been a staple of the Seattle gang since the beginning and although a secondary character for most of the series I still fell in love with her. Insert Dominic, all hot and very, VERY alpha male Dominic. The family shake up was all but easy, but soon Dominic took his rightful spot with the Montgomery clan. Head strong Alecia may want to fight but remember that was book two. So what’s a girl to do but fall… forever.

From the “Dear Reader” letter to the epilogue, Forever With Me, was more than a book it was an experience. I love this series. All eight books pave the way to one of my favorite epilogues of all time. On November 8, 2012 I one clicked a book that helped shape my love of reading and I will be forever grateful. Only good things are coming from Kristen Proby and I am excited to see what she has up her sleeve.

pam


The Lake and Dock

Mark and Meredith grew up near Lake Washington, not far from Seattle. It’s a beautiful lake, and their “special spot” has been the same for more than ten years. It’s a private dock, right across the water from the city, where they would sit for hours, talking, and doing whatever it is that teenagers do when they find a quiet place to be alone. I love that when they reunited in BREATHE WITH ME that Mark brought Mer back to their special place.

LakeDock

excerpt

“What’s wrong?” she asks as she clutches her black handbag tightly in her lap, as though she’s as nervous as I am.

“Nothing at all,” I reply with a shake of my head and pull out into traffic toward our old neighborhood. We drive in relative quiet, both lost in our own thoughts, and maybe a little nervous about what we should say. I have so many questions, but for now I’m content to have her next to me as I pull into our special place and cut the engine.

“Our pier,” she whispers softly.

“Yeah,” I reply and turn to her. “I brought dinner. I thought we could sit out here and talk, if that’s okay.”

“It’s going to get cold,” she begins, but I cut her off with a shake of my head.

“I brought extra blankets. We’ll be warm.”

She bites her lip, looks out at the water and the homes along the lake and then back at me with a watery smile. “I love it.”

I brush my knuckles down her cheek and then reluctantly pull away.  Jesus, I just want to keep touching her. Everywhere.

I grab the cooler full of dinner from the back and lead her to the end of the dock that we sat on for hours on end more than ten years ago.

“God, how many hours did we spend out here?” she asks, mirroring my thoughts.

“Hundreds,” I reply and spread a thick quilt over the wooden pier, right at the edge and gesture for her to sit. It’s just starting to get dark and the lights around the lake are twinkling. A sailboat drifts by slowly and we wave at the captain. “Are you hungry?”

“Starving,” she says with a smile. “What did you bring me?”

“Salmon with salad and water and chocolate cupcakes for dessert.”

“Gimme.”

I chuckle and plate her meal, then my own and we eat in silence, watching the water.

“Still quiet out here,” she says.

“Mm.” I nod and watch her as she finishes her fish and salad and sets her plate back inside the cooler then takes my empty plate to join hers. “How are you, M?”

Her hands still for a moment, then she turns to me, pulls her knees to her chest and wraps her arms around her legs. “I’m getting better. It’s been a rough few months.”

I nod and frown. “I miss her too. Did she ever tell you that I still came to see her over the years whenever I was in town?”

“No.” She shakes her head sadly. “She knew that talking about you hurt me, so she never brought it up.”

I blink and watch her beautiful face. “I saw her at least once a year. I’d make repairs on the house and help her out in any way I could.”

“Thank you for that,” she whispers. “Mark, I’m sorry for the way it ended—”

“Stop.” I take her hand in mine and kiss her knuckles. “There’s nothing to apologize for, M. It was a long time ago.”

She nods and bites her lip but then shakes her head and presses on. “No, I need to say this. It’s important to me.” She squares her shoulders and clears her throat and I just lean back on my hands and listen. “I know it’s been a long time, but we never talked after that day, M. I didn’t want to break it off. I knew that that’s what I was doing, but it killed me. I’d been in dance class one day, and I wasn’t concentrating, and the teacher called me out on it. She knew I was daydreaming, and explained that I needed to get my head in the game.” She frowns and shifts like she can’t get comfortable, then shrugs. “I just knew that we were so young, and that if dance was what I wanted, I had to go for it.”

“I get it, Mer.” I push a piece of hair that’s fallen out of her bun behind her ear. “We were young. Chances are we would have broken up eventually. It hurt like crazy at the time, but hindsight is 20/20, right?”

She nods and releases her legs, crossing them in front of her.

“Tell me about New York,” I say unexpectedly, surprising us both, but I realize, I want to know everything about our time apart. Every detail. “Start at the beginning and tell me everything.”

“Really? You want to know?”

“Absolutely.” I let her hand go and take a sip of my water as I watch her gather her thoughts.

“I didn’t want to get on that plane,” she begins softly, her eyes off in the distance, watching the lights of the boats on the water. I can’t look away from her. Fuck, I’m still pulled to her in a way I’ve never been able to explain. It was there when I was seventeen damn years old, and it’s just as strong now. “It was torture, knowing I was leaving you. The first week was scary and so much harder than I ever thought it would be.”

She swallows and glances at me, then back at the boats, like she’s nervous, so I scoot next to her and link her fingers with mine.

“I found an apartment and started dancing right away. From day one, it was twelve to fourteen hour days, dancing pretty much nonstop. I met Jax that first week too.” She smiles as she thinks back on that time. “He was a couple years older, but also new to the area, so we bonded. He has quite the story to tell.” She frowns suddenly and then turns those baby blues up to mine. “Maybe someday he’ll tell you about it. Anyway, we worked pretty much all the time. Classes went late into the evening, so sometimes we’d just sleep there at the studio and then get up in the morning and start all over again.”

Holy shit. I knew it would be a lot of work, but I had no idea it was all-encompassing. Is this what she tried to tell me that day on her porch?

“I thought my body was conditioned for it, but I hurt everywhere for a year solid. My feet, my joints, my mind. I was constantly exhausted. The auditions were nerve-wracking. I ended up in some small parts in shows. I did the Grammys and Tonys and began to make a name for myself in the community.” She smiles proudly and I squeeze her hand.

“I’m so proud of you, M.”


And don’t forget the rest of the
With Me in Seattle Series…

 COME AWAY WITH ME
UNDER THE MISTLETOE WITH ME (Novella)
FIGHT WITH ME
PLAY WITH ME
ROCK WITH ME
SAFE WITH ME
TIED WITH ME
BREATHE WITH ME

 

About Kristen Proby

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Kristen Proby is the author of the bestselling With Me In Seattle and Love Under the Big Sky series. She has a passion for a good love story and strong, humorous characters with a strong sense of loyalty and family. Her men are the alpha type; fiercely protective and a bit bossy, and her ladies are fun, strong, and not afraid to stand up for themselves.
Kristen lives in Montana, where she enjoys coffee, chocolate and sunshine. And naps.

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About Kristen Proby

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Kristen Proby is the author of the bestselling With Me In Seattle and Love Under the Big Sky series. She has a passion for a good love story and strong, humorous characters with a strong sense of loyalty and family. Her men are the alpha type; fiercely protective and a bit bossy, and her ladies are fun, strong, and not afraid to stand up for themselves.
Kristen lives in Montana, where she enjoys coffee, chocolate and sunshine. And naps.

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