Justified Love
(The Southern Gentleman Series Book One)
by Nicole Hite
Synopsis
For as long as she could remember small town girl, Carrington Mason had been smitten with Avery High School quarterback, Colton Wilson. The only obstacle standing between her and her destiny was an entitled blonde named Paisley Parker, along with 100 lbs of extra baggage.
Determined to change her fate, Carrington moves to New York City to attend Columbia University. Graduating at the top of her class, Carrington becomes a well-known, well-respected attorney. After receiving a heartbreaking phone call from her father pleading for her legal expertise, Carrington is forced to return to the very place she loathed the most.
Returning to Avery, it seems nothing has changed since high school, especially her feelings for Colt. Exploring her new found body and attitude, Carrington is determined to change her and her family’s fate including catching the eye of her crush. With the help of her two best friends, Harley and Skye, Carrington sets out to capture the man of her dreams while saving her father’s farm. Will luck be in her corner when faced with unforeseen obstacles? Will Carrington be able to find justice or love?
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Excerpt
I could feel their wings flapping as they started to circle like buzzards. They squawked their hatred; ready to strike. What did I do now? Staring down at me they were tall, blonde and an evil batch of Aqua Net and blue eye shadow. Ready to wreck havoc on my self-esteem, they loomed over me as I sat on the gym floor.
“Look who it is girls; “Muffin Top Mason,” said Paisley Parker. Paisley was the head supreme when it came to her flock of buzzards at Avery High School. She ruled the school, while her parents were the legacies of generations of Parker royalty running the Avery City Bank. Aside from the Wilson family, they ran this town.
“Looks like Muffin Top needs a reality check,” she preached glaring down at me with such revulsion. “See girls, Muffin Top has a little crush on our star quarterback, Colton Wilson,” she chirped to her minions - Reva Jackson and Sadie Crawford. If Reva and Sadie were flies, Paisley would be the shit; they stuck together no matter what. When Paisley said, “Jump," Reva and Sadie said, “How high?” It was sad really.
As I sat there on the gym floor, the crowds started to gather in our P.E. class. My mind was racing trying to replay every situation and conversation in my head. I wonder what my punishment will be today. Oh shit, was I talking about Paisley to Harley and Skye too loud? Word vomit always got the better of me. I can’t help it. I am my mother’s daughter. Every bone in my body wanted to pull my butt off that gym floor and let Paisley have it. I wanted to be the voice of all those people she made miserable. Undoubtedly, I coward like I always did. Fuck my life.
Paisley retrieved a piece of paper from her bra and flashed it in front of the crowd as if it was a trophy for her perfectly manicured fingers.
“O.M.G., Colton is so sexy,” she mimicked sarcastically. “I think he looked at me during fifth period. His blue eyes are hypnotizing…”
“Stop Paisley,” I choked out. Do not cry, Carrington. Do not let this bitch get the better of you. Please, God. Do not let me cry.
“…I wonder who he’s taking to the homecoming dance.”
“Muffin, do you honestly think he would take a hog like you? Colton can barely look at your fat ass. The only thing you’ll be doing homecoming night is sitting in your room with your loser friends, Harley and Skye, while eating cupcakes in your cat T-shirts, wishing you were at the dance.”
And, that did it. The tears freely started to fall to Paisley’s satisfaction. Damnit. As I wiped the uncontrollable tears from my puffy, red cheeks, I caught the blurry vision of Colt standing in the crowd. He was embarrassed, ashamed and had the look of discontent on his face. He said nothing, didn't do anything, and at that very moment, I realized what a complete fool I had been. How could I even imagine Colton would be interested in me? Good ole’ Muffin Top Mason.
Bryan White’s lyrics for “So much for pretending” played on repeat in my head. “I was looking forward to a happy ending”. You know what Bryan, suck it!
Playlist
- So Much For Pretending – Bryan White
- She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy – Kenny Chesney
- All Star – Smashmouth
- Shake It Off – Taylor Swift
- Nothing But a Good Time – Poison
- Cherry Pie – Warrant
- At Last – Etta James
- Only In My Dreams – Debbie Gibson
- Running Just As Fast As We Can – Tiffany
- Crash My Party – Luke Bryan
- Mean – Taylor Swift
- You Make Me Feel So Young – Frank Sinatra
- The Way You Look Tonight – Frank Sinatra
- My Way – Frank Sinatra
- We Are The Champion - Queen
Other work by Nicole Hite:
Suits & Shades – Alpha Suits Anthology
(The Applicant)
Author's Bio
Hello! My name is Nicole Hite and I am a first time author. I'm a romance author from Virginia who spends most of her time reading and writing. I’ve been married to the love of my life for almost seven years. We have two amazing fur babies: Harley and Diesel. When I'm not drumming up different characters while effectively living in my own imagination, I enjoy traveling, getting tattoos (I’m up to nine now), or catching up on my favorite television shows such as Scandal and Game of Thrones. The first book in my series is called Justified Love – The Southern Gentleman Series. I am currently working on the second book in this series: Intertwined Love, which will be out in early March.
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