Author: MJ Abraham
Title: Resplendent
Release Date: Summer 2013
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Chicklit
Cover Designer: B Design
Resplendant Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17369254-resplendent
Blurb:
Savannah Martinez and Andres Rivera have been
friends since high school. She knew him better than anyone else and he was the
only one she confided in.
But fate wasn’t on their side. When she gave
him the chance to turn their relationship into something more, he let her go.
Heartbroken, and with time against them, she
kept her distance in more ways then one. Now, years later, Savannah is back in
town for good and he realizes how big the hole she left in his heart is.
When a secret comes to light, forcing a deeper
wedge between them, Andres finds himself fighting for the one woman he may have
already lost. Will he ever get a second chance to live his life with the woman
of his dreams? Andres is determined to win her back, and sometimes there is no
better time than the present.
Prologue
Savannah
It takes a lot more energy to bury pain then it
does to confront it.
Savannah closed her eyes and tried to focus on
the humming of the bathroom vent. She didn’t want to care about what was going
on; it was just hair after all. She had cried enough during and after the
funeral in front of her Madrina and her family. If Lola saw
her shed any more tears she’d probably get angrier at Carmin for being so
careless. There was no need for more fighting—everyone was under stress and
adapting. They kept tiptoeing around her like she might break.
She didn’t want the tears that threatened to
spill over her cheeks. Right now, all she wanted to focus on was the vent. But
the hair clippers kept breaking into her thoughts.
Clip, clip, clip.
She squeezed her eyes to hold in the waterfall
and said a small prayer for strength.
This was silly. It was just hair.
It would grow back. But her hair had been beautiful; almost to her waist and a
dark brown that could be confused with black if there was no sunlight hitting
it. Everyone commented on the thickness and slight curl at the tips. It was
exactly like her mom’s hair and that’s what hurt her the most. She took in a
deep breath to calm her nerves.
“I’m sorry about this Nena,” Lola,
her godmother, said. “You’ve always had such great hair… like your Mami. I used
to tease her that I was going to chop off her hair so they could make a wig out
of it for me.”
When Savannah didn’t reply, Lola continued,
“The good thing is your hair grows quickly. I promise I will be sure that
Carmin doesn’t let this happen again.”
No! Carmin was already in trouble. What more
could she get punished for?
Savannah opened her mouth to speak and felt
her lip crack. It was as if all the water in her body was being held behind her
eyes, leaving her lips as dry as the Sahara. She swallowed the lump that was
logged in her throat before speaking.
“No, Madrina. It was an accident. Carmin
apologized. And this hair was difficult to style anyway, I wanted a cut for my
new school.”
It was a half lie. Yes, it took a lot of work
to get it styled slick straight and she did want a new haircut—but really just
the tips, not eleven inches. She didn’t say any of that, though. Being new to
their home, the last thing she wanted was to be a bother.
Her godmother stayed quiet but Savannah could
see through the corner of her eye how tense she was with her pinched lips and
careful movements. Taking one final snip, she lowered her eyes to the floor
where the long, dark strands had fallen. Strands that were clumped up and held
together by dry, nasty, Dubble Bubble gum. Ready to be swept away and
discarded. Like her parents had been swept away from her life. Her chin started
to tremble and Savannah bit her tongue hard in an effort to calm down.
“There,” Lola said and put down the hair
brush. They both looked up into the bathroom mirror at her reflection. Trying
to imagine herself without the red eyes and slumped posture, Savannah still
hated it. Was it bad? Did it look hideous? No, but she hated the change. She
clenched her hands to keep her fingers from touching it. Another unwanted change.
“I have something for you, something I found
in my box of old albums,” Lola said and grabbed her hand, pulling her into the
master bedroom.
While Lola went inside the walk-in closet,
Savannah stopped to look at the small pencil markings that showed how tall
Carmin was growing. She smiled when she ran her finger up the wall and noticed
she had been added. She remembered Lola insisting she be measured as well, so
she and her husband would always be able to see how tall both girls were
getting. Savannah, usually taller than most of the guys in her class, used to
wish for Carmin’s average height. Carmin envied Savannah’s long legs. At the
age of thirteen, neither one were satisfied with how they looked. “Your mother
made this for me a few years ago, and I thought it would be best if you kept
it.”
She turned and tried to keep her composure
when she saw Lola with watery eyes and her arms outstretched holding what
looked like a photo album.
It was soft brown leather with that hint of
what Savannah called closet smell. The smell of storage and past memories.
Savannah opened it to reveal a scrapbook of pictures. She turned each delicate
page and felt lightheaded when she saw how detailed her mother had been. What
started out with just pictures of her mother and Lola became more of a family
album. There was writing, important dates, and information on each page. She
stopped to pull out a picture of her with her parents in front of a log cabin
in Colorado.
“Navidad
1996: First time seeing snow. We spent the day playing with it and then went
out for hot chocolate.”
That picture took her back to such a wonderful
time, when she didn’t have a care in the world. She looked up at her godmother
and smiled; her first genuine smile since she’d moved in with her, and couldn’t
help walking to her for a hug. Lola gently rubbed her back as she cried on her
shoulder. There are only so many tears you can hold back before you feel like
you might explode.
“I thank your mother for taking those pictures
of all of us and of me and my family. She always had a camera in her hands and
was so good at it.”
Savannah sniffed and pulled back to wipe at
her eyes.
“I remember she gave me my first real camera
just a few years ago. I had started to learn some tricks she had picked up in
her classes.”
Lola nodded and twirled a finger around
Savannah’s hair. “Yes, you both have that creative gene. Pictures are so
important, especially at times like these. A little treasure you can always go
back to.”
Savannah agreed and went back to her
bedroom—the one she shared with Carmin, who was still lying down on her bed and
sniffling. Savannah knew Carmin was ticked off about having her TV privileges
taken away. The punishment was only for two nights, but she understood. She
knew how bad it felt when what you loved and enjoyed was taken away. Taking in
a deep breath, she put the album down on the dresser and walked the few steps
to Carmin’s full-size bed and lay beside her, facing her back, and wrapped her
arm around her waist. Carmin had dark hair as well, but curlier and
thicker. Just as gorgeous, even though Carmin hated it.
“I’m sorry about your hair…”
Savannah hugged her tighter. “I know you are.”
“I can’t believe I fell asleep with gum in my
mouth.”
“It’s ok Carmin; I should have been laying
down on my own bed anyway.”
She turned around then and looked at her. Her
eyes were big and brown. She always had pretty eyes.
“But I like it when you lay down with me; it’s
as if I have a sister.”
She brought up her hand to brush the now short
strands behind Savannah’s ear.
“Do you like your new hair style?”
Savannah didn’t want to say the truth and make
her feel worse so she nodded.
Would she really be able to fit in with her
family? They’d known each other their whole lives, their moms had been best
friends when they were little - but spending time with someone on weekends and
holidays versus living with them day in and day out were two different things.
Still, Savannah smiled at Carmin’s endearment.
“I thought you didn’t want a sister.”
It was meant to tease her but when Carmin
lowered her eyes, she felt guilty instead. She remembered a conversation where
Carmin told her she didn’t want siblings so she wouldn’t have to share. They
had both laughed and cheered that they were lucky to be only children. But that
was years ago, she shouldn’t have said that.
Savannah took her hand in hers and squeezed.
“Sisters forever.”
Carmin smiled back and leaned in to hug her. A
drunk driver might have taken her parents away from her. But now, she gained a
sister.
About the
Author:
MJ Abraham lives in bipolar weather
Florida with a husband that makes her laugh and a superhero son that calls her
his Princess. She has a degree in Business Administration from Nova University
but finds the people in her head to be much more interesting. She is a lover of
clever words, reading way past her bedtime, and zombies. She may or may not be
as random as her bio.
Contact her
at:
Twitter: @MJAbraham12
Website: www.mjabraham.com
Email: MJAbraham12@gmail.com
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