Release Day Blitz
Cherished by You
(Love in the City #4)
(Love in the City #4)
by
Steph Nuss
Steph Nuss
 |
Release Date: October 7, 2015
|
~ Synopsis ~
“Move
in with me,” he said.
Being cherished is how Tessa Wilder always imagined falling in love. But for years, she’s always gone for the wrong guys. Now that she’s fallen for one of the good ones, she fears rejection.
“I can’t,” she replied.
Justin Jameson quit looking for a woman after being used so many times for his brains. A bit of an introvert and completely oblivious to women’s advances, he can’t even see that his friend cherishes everything about him.
When Tessa needs a place to stay, Justin’s the first to offer her a room. Hearts are opened; feelings are ventured. They’ll finally know what it’s like to be cherished in the city until one moment threatens the relationship they’ve built.
“I can’t lose you.”
Being cherished is how Tessa Wilder always imagined falling in love. But for years, she’s always gone for the wrong guys. Now that she’s fallen for one of the good ones, she fears rejection.
“I can’t,” she replied.
Justin Jameson quit looking for a woman after being used so many times for his brains. A bit of an introvert and completely oblivious to women’s advances, he can’t even see that his friend cherishes everything about him.
When Tessa needs a place to stay, Justin’s the first to offer her a room. Hearts are opened; feelings are ventured. They’ll finally know what it’s like to be cherished in the city until one moment threatens the relationship they’ve built.
“I can’t lose you.”
~ Excerpt ~
I spent the morning at work
searching online for apartments, which caused a ball of anxiety to tighten in
my stomach as reality smacked me in the face. I knew living in the city was
expensive, but I didn’t think it was that expensive. I’d found studio
apartments, where the bathroom and kitchen were practically in the same room,
and I still couldn’t afford them. I was one second away from a cry fest when
Justin Jameson and Carter Jennings walked into Elly’s psych clinic for lunch.
Just the sight of Justin in his professor ensemble brightened my day. He paired
brown loafers with khaki pants that hung from his lean hips. The navy blue
sweater vest over his light-blue plaid button-down highlighted his wiry frame
and made his hazel-blue eyes pop against his tan skin. His long, sandy blond
hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, his normal work style. To some, his
appearance probably wasn’t sexy in the slightest, but it was one of my
favorites.
Ever since Carter had moved
back to the city last year, he and Justin spent most of their lunch breaks at
Elly’s clinic. It wasn’t too far away from NYU, where they both taught. Now
that Carter and Elly were married and expecting their first child together, not
a day went by that he missed having lunch with her.
“Hey, Tessa,” Carter said,
placing their bags on the table in the lobby.
“Hey, guys,” I said, smiling
politely. I was in no mood to have lunch with anyone, even my friends, so I
decided to forgo the sandwich I’d packed and continue apartment hunting.
“Elly’s last patient just left, so she should be out in a minute.”
“Okay,” Carter said, taking a
seat. He started unpacking the lunch he’d brought, a smile proudly stamped
across his face. Justin sat across from him, doctoring his sandwich with
dressing.
Elly soon appeared in the
lobby, rocking an adorable black dress that slightly hid her baby bump. “Hey,
guys!”
“Hey, babe,” Carter said, as
Justin offered her a silent nod.
She immediately greeted Carter
with a kiss and plopped down in the seat next to him. “What’d you bring us
today?” she asked, rubbing her belly.
“A turkey sub without mayo
this time,” he replied.
“Oh good, because Baby
Jennings is not a fan of mayonnaise,” she said with a cringe as she unwrapped
the paper. “Did you get the vinegar and oil and oregano?”
Carter laughed. “Of course.”
“I love you,” she said,
offering him another kiss. She turned her attention toward me and smiled.
“Tessa, are you going to eat with us?”
I sighed and shook my head.
“Nah, I’m not really hungry.”
“How are you not hungry?” Elly
asked, before taking a bite of her sub.
Well, I wasn’t eating for two,
and the reality check of apartment hunting had completely stolen my appetite.
“What are you looking up on
there?” Carter asked, nodding toward my computer.
Leaning back in my chair, I
gazed over at my friends and confessed. “Trey wants to move out and get a place
with a friend, but I told him they could have my place and I would find
something. So, I’m apartment hunting now.”
“Are you having any luck?”
Elly asked.
“Not really,” I said gravely.
“Even the crappier places I’ve found are on the higher end of my budget. I had
no idea how expensive apartments were now. Living under rent control will do
that to a person.”
“You know, I could give you a
raise,” Elly said, smiling genuinely. “But you’ll probably just say you don’t
need one, so why don’t you move in with us for the time being?”
“No, I don’t deserve a raise,
and I couldn’t do that to you guys. You just got married a few months ago, and
you have a baby on the way. Thanks for the offer, but I just can’t.”
“Okay,” Elly said, rolling her
eyes. “But the offer still stands. You’re always welcome.”
“I know,” I said, turning my
attention back to my computer screen. I decided to widen my search to other
boroughs, so I began looking there while they ate in comfortable silence.
“What about Paige?” Elly
asked. “She has a spare bedroom at her place.”
“You lived with Paige back in
college,” I stated. “You really think she wants a roommate now? She couldn’t
wait to find her own place once you guys graduated.”
“True,” she said.
“Speaking of Paige,” Carter
said. “Where is she? She usually has lunch with us.”
Paige had texted me earlier,
saying she had a lunch meeting for work. Elly and I shared a glance, and then
she turned to Carter and sighed. “She had a work lunch she had to attend today,
and she’ll probably have them until the baby arrives. She’s avoiding me now
that she knows I’m pregnant.”
“Are you serious?” Carter
asked, brows furrowed.
“Carter,” Elly warned, shaking
her head.
“Whatever,” he stated, taking
a bite of his sub. “She needs to get over whatever issues she has with babies.
Everyone loves babies.”
“Some people prefer a
child-free lifestyle,” she continued. “We’ve talked about this.”
“I know, but she’s one of our
friends,” he argued. “All I’m saying is that she shouldn’t feel the need to
avoid us for nine months.”
Elly smiled at him and then
playfully took a bite of her sandwich and asked with a mouthful, “Can we please
drop this so I can go back to enjoying my lunch?”
“Yes,” he laughed, placing a
chaste kiss on her cheek. “Fuel up, babe.”
I laughed as I scrolled
through the apartment listings. I’d been spoiled for too long, and now I was
paying for it. I worked full-time as Elly’s receptionist, and I still couldn’t
afford any of these places. I couldn’t imagine what dump Trey and Josh would’ve
ended up finding on their measly part-time paychecks.
“Move in with me.”
Turning my head back toward
the table, I looked up in shock and found Justin staring back at me. “W-what?”
“I said, you can move in with
me.”
I couldn’t possibly live with
Justin Jameson, especially not after the sex dream I had starring him the night
before. I had the world’s biggest crush on him, and it’d somehow moved into wet
dream territory. How the hell was I supposed to live with him?
“I can’t,” I said shyly,
shaking my head. “I-um-I don’t know if I can aff—”
“I have an extra bedroom,” he
explained. “I’ve never had a roommate before, but I think we could make it
work. Plus, I think I speak for everyone when I say I can’t let one of my
friends live in a box just because it’s in her budget.”
Great. Now, I’m his charity
case.
“Thanks, but I don’t think I
can afford even half your rent.”
Justin lived in a nice condo
near Washington Square. The building had a doorman and included amenities like
a spa and housecleaners. It also had a five-star restaurant and a lounge in the
lobby. I probably couldn’t even afford a third of the rent at a place like his.
“You wouldn’t have to worry
about rent,” he stated, his smile widening. “I bought the condo years ago, so
it’s mine now.”
Of course, he had it paid off
already. Justin came from ridiculously smart, rich parents who authored science
textbooks now. Apparently, they’d
been genius scientists back when he was younger, but they’d since retired to
write. He never talked about them and we’d never met them. All I knew was that
they passed all of their intelligence on to him, which led to Justin entering
college at the age of fourteen. Now, after acquiring several doctorate degrees
in various fields, he was 30-years-old and already tenured at NYU.
I didn’t even graduate high
school.
“I can’t just live with you
for free,” I said, feeling my cheeks heat with embarrassment.
“Why not?” he asked earnestly.
Carter and Elly quietly
watched us as if they were watching a tennis match, back and forth, with
considerable interest.
“I-I don’t know,” I stuttered,
nervously playing with the buttons on my keyboard. “I would feel like I owe
you, and I don’t want to be some charity case.”
Justin sat back in his seat
and gave me a smirk. “You’re no one’s charity case. You’re my friend.”
My heart sank at the mention
of our friendship. Sadly, friends were all we’d ever be.
Get over it already, Tess.
“If it makes you feel better,
we can split the utilities or groceries or whatever,” he said, before popping a
chip in his mouth.
I watched as he chewed,
smiling back at me, and the knot of anxiety that had settled in my stomach
quickly crawled up into my throat. His sweetness was one of the things I loved
most about him. He would do anything to help anyone. He didn’t have a mean bone
in his body. But God, it would be impossible to live with him, feeling the way
I did about him.
Justin was a man of habit: he
wasn’t too keen on change. So, the fact that he even offered me his guest
bedroom was a huge step for him, especially since he’d never had a roommate. We
were opposites in almost every way. He came from money and intelligence; I came
from parents who abused drugs and alcohol. He had several academic degrees; I
only had my GED. Where he was the silent observer of our group of friends, I
was our social butterfly, always chatting away and eager to go out and have
fun.
For years now, I’d believed he
deserved a woman more like himself, but my beliefs couldn’t deter my feelings
for him. He had no idea how I felt about him, and I chalked it up to his
obliviousness to women and the effect he had on us.
“I think this is perfect!”
Elly cheered. She gazed over at me excitedly, and I sent daggers her way. She
knew how I felt. She knew he favored consistency. Yet, she was encouraging this
living arrangement.
“What do you say, Tessa?”
Carter asked with a smile.
The three of them stared at
me, silently begging for my answer. Justin looked slightly amused, as if he
couldn’t figure out why I even had to think about it. Carter appeared as eager
as his wife, which made me question what he knew about my feelings toward
Justin. Elly’s gaze never waived, pleading with me to agree.
So, I did.
“Okay,” I replied, nodding
stiffly.
“Yay!” Elly squealed, clapping
her hands. “When can she move in, Justin?”
He laughed, smiling back at
me. “As soon as you want. The room is already furnished, but you’re welcome to
change anything and make it your own.”
You’re welcome to change
anything. Who
was this guy and where did Dr. I-Hate-Change go?
“Thanks,” I offered. “I really
appreciate it.”
“Maybe we can help you move in
this weekend?” Elly suggested.
“No,” Carter rebuked, shaking
his head at her. “You will not be helping with anything. You can just sit back
and relax with our baby.”
“I’m pregnant, Carter; I’m not
debilitated!”
“I know,” he said, sliding his
hand over her bump. “I just don’t want anything to happen to either one of you.
You can just order us around while we move Tessa in. How does that sound?”
“Perfect!”
“Great,” Justin muttered,
unenthusiastically. “Just what we want—a woman ordering us around.”
“Don’t act like you don’t like
it, Jameson,” Carter teased, wrapping his arm around Elly’s shoulders and
pulling her closer. He placed a kiss on her temple and then stood from his
seat. “We should be getting back to work.”
Elly pulled him back down for
a longer kiss and then swatted him on the butt. “Okay, I’ll see you later. Love
you.”
“Love you,” he said, smiling
down at her.
Justin cleaned up the table,
discarded their trash, and then came over to my desk and leaned up against it.
“So, are we moving you in this weekend then?”
I sighed. “Yeah, I think the
sooner, the better. You know teenagers. They want their independence. The
sooner I’m out, the quicker Josh can move in.”
“I understand,” he laughed.
Gazing into his beautiful,
bright blue eyes, I smiled. “Thanks again for offering me your spare room. I
probably would’ve ended up in a box in the Bronx again.”
“You deserve much more than
that,” he replied. Then he pushed away from my desk and walked toward the door
with Carter. “See you later, roomie!”
Laughing, I waved at them as
they exited Elly’s clinic. “Bye, guys!”
Once they were gone, Elly
rushed over to my desk and perched on the edge, wearing a huge grin and
laughing. “This is probably the best thing that could’ve ever happened to you!”
“No, it’s not,” I muttered,
rolling my eyes. “How am I supposed to live with him, Elly? I’ve been in love
with him for years, and he doesn’t even know it! He completely ignores any of
my advances or flirting.”
“Justin’s introverted,” she
explained. “I think once you move in with him, you’ll see a totally different
side of each other, and I mean that in a good way. He’s really quiet when we’re
all together, but one-on-one, I think he’ll open up to you. He may act like
he’s oblivious, but no guy can live with a woman he’s not related to and not
think about having sex with her.”
“Oh my God, I never even
thought about all the crap he’s going to learn about me. Like my period
schedule. Am I supposed to keep my tampons in his bathroom or hide them in my
bedroom? See, nothing in his place will be mine! Everything is his because it’s his place that he bought! Do you understand what I’m
saying?”
“Yes,” she sighed, rolling her
eyes. “And I think you’re freaking out over nothing! Justin is an adult. He
knows you have a period. Leave
your tampons wherever you want. It’s not like he’s going to have the nerve to
tell you to put them somewhere else.”
When I just stared at her, she
continued. “I about choked on my food when he said you could move in. This is
progress for him, Tessa! He’s never had a roommate before, so he wouldn’t have
offered if he didn’t want you there.”
“You know, I’m really starting
to hate this positive, no worries side of you,” I mumbled, shaking my head.
“Hakuna matata!” she cheered
with a little shake of her hips, causing us both to break out in laughter.
~ Links to Buy ~
See
where it all began……
The Love in the City series is
about a group of friends looking for love in New York City. Each book is about
a different couple, so they can be read as standalones. The stories are told
from both the female and male point of views, and they all end in happily ever
afters, no cliffhangers here! Finally, all the book covers are different colors
to represent a certain awareness or cause that is referenced in each book. Grab
the first book in the series, Wanted By You, for FREE
today!
~
About the Author ~
Steph Nuss was born and raised
in rural Kansas, where she currently resides with her black Labrador son named
Gunner. She grew up with a passion for reading and writing. When she’s not
immersed into the land of fiction, she enjoys listening to music that came
before her time, watching movies and reruns of her favorite shows, and hanging
out with her family and friends. She also has a bachelor’s degree in psychology
that she’ll never use…unless she’s profiling her characters of course.
~ Connect with Steph ~
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