Tease me, Thrill me: Holding on Forever

So, I have this little love story releasing in December 13th, Holding on Forever,  the second book in the Truly Madly series, and follows Liese and Frey lives. I'm sooo excited to share this with you, as it has a truly Honest-to-God happy ever after. I had so much fun writing their story. 

Soo.... here is the teaser. : ) Enjoy!

Satisfied with his decision, Frey shifted to focus his attention to the men lounging on plastic chairs in the sun, with beers in their hands. He leaned forward and grabbed a blueberry muffin from the tray on the low wood table to his right. The host always prepared goodies for the group and in Liese’s case, he almost always helped her out when he was in town. The girl couldn’t bake if her life depended on it.

He bit into the warm, crumbly goodness in his hands, murmuring to one of the boyfriends whose name, if he could remember, was Leo. Some of the men already had children, and one in particular felt it was his responsibility to give advice to Jessica’s husband, Michael, about the best child-rearing books to read, and beyond. Frey’s mind wandered off to other things, and when he pulled himself back to the conversation, he thought they were talking about a dairy farm, what with the way they kept talking about milk and pumps. He exchanged a look with Leo, who clearly indicated he’d rather chop off his ear than hear another word. Then the topic shifted to water breaking and the graphic details of giving birth. Leo’s face turned green. What was this, a maternity ward? Oh, for shit’s sake! They were men. Wasn’t there supposed to be manly talk going on, and back-thumping?.

Enough was enough. This was torture of the highest order. He excused himself and sneaked back in and sat next to Liese. Her fingers holding the needles flew with expertise, her eyes hardly checking her progress.

He leaned in to whisper in her ear. “What are you knitting?”

She turned to look at him and smiled. “A scarf for dad.”

“Did you bring along an extra pair of needles?” He peeked inside her basket.

She cocked her eyebrow with a slight jerk of her chin in the direction he’d come from.

“I’d rather poke myself in the eye than listen to details of labor pain, and other…unmentionables.” He shuddered.

Her gaze darted around the room before coming back to him, her shoulders shaking in silent laughter. She dug inside her basket, grabbed a ball of tangled yarn, and shoved it into his hands. “You can work on this.”

He frowned at it, running the plies between his fingers, and sighed. It was so soft. No wonder Liese loved knitting. “What am I supposed do with this? Hug it?”

“Untangle it for me, please.”

“With pleasure.”

“So, Frey.” He jerked his head up at the soft voice, and met Jessica’s gaze. “Are you and Liese preparing for, you know…” She rubbed her huge tummy.

Liese’s eyes widened. Her breath hitched and her hands froze, before she picked up a very fast knitting pace. Her flying fingers were a blur. Frey dropped the ball of yarn back in the basket and slid his hand to cover hers and immediately she stopped, her eyes on her lap. He wasn’t sure she was breathing anymore. He wrapped his free hand around her waist and squeezed lightly.

“We’re dedicating some time just for us right now.” He kissed her knuckles, and she lifted her gaze to his, a smile hovering at the corners of her lips. One of the women sighed loudly but he couldn’t tell who it was because his gaze was on Liese, watching as the panic faded away in her eyes.

“You okay, Sweet?” he murmured as he leaned in to kiss her hair.

She nodded, blinking away the hovering tears, and mouthed “thank you”.

It was late when they finally left for Frey’s flat. They spent part of their early evening inside a bathtub, which was fine by Frey. It kept Liese from over-thinking the conversation from earlier.