EXCERPT and GIVEAWAY
Eight Goodbyes
by Christine Brae
Eight Goodbyes by Christine Brae is currently on tour with Xpresso Book Tours. The tour stops here today for an excerpt and a giveaway. Please be sure to visit the other tour stops as well.
Description
One universe, nine planets, 204 countries, 809 islands and 7 seas, and I had the privilege of meeting you.” – Unknown
When Tessa Talman meets Simon Fremont for the first time, not only is she attracted to him, she’s intrigued by how different their lives are. He’s a dedicated scientist, practical, pragmatic, and grounded—while she’s a head-in-the-clouds romance author. As their relationship grows, they agree to meet in places around the world, while continuing to live on opposite sides of the globe.
Though their feelings for each other deepen, their priorities remain the same. Simon is in a hurry to be financially sound and settle down, but Tessa is enjoying her freedom and newfound success. Neither is willing to give in, but as each goodbye gets harder, Tessa begins to wonder whether fame is the path to happiness, or if she has everything she needs in Simon.
Just as Tessa finds the courage to go after her own happily ever after, the unthinkable happens, separating them in ways they never imagined.
To move forward, she must let go of the past, and determine once and for all if love is truly more powerful than the pain of goodbye.
Book Video
Excerpt
“Who knows you’re here?” she asked.
“You mean, specifically here? In Hong Kong?”
She nodded.
“No one. My family and friends think I’m traveling for work.”
“Ah. So if anything happened to you, how do they know where to look?” she asked, her chin resting on the palm of her hand.
“Well, when they find my phone and the one thousand pictures of you, they’ll know,” he said.
She laughed. Rather uncomfortably. This is what having an affair feels like. It’s you and him and no one else.
“Adrian doesn’t know I’m here.” This time he leaned forward, closer to her. “Does Riley know you’re here?”
“She has to. Even if I don’t tell her directly, Jake knows. He’s very protective that way. Needs to know where I go, who I’m with.”
“You seem so attached, the two of you.”
“He’s the only constant in my life.”
He stayed silent. She hadn’t intended to offend him with that comment. But then she decided that it was too soon to even think of his role in her life.
That was the real crux of the matter, and she wanted to keep it top of mind.
What about you, your parents? Do you see them often while you’re home?”
He laughed. “As a matter of fact, I have dinner with them every Sunday. They don’t live far from my old apartment. I’m moving to Chelsea when I get back which is a little further away, but I know my mum will find every excuse to come and visit. I’ll be too close to the shopping area for her to resist. She likes to get out sometimes. Leave the farm.”
“We’re lucky we have family we can count on,” she said.
“But none of them know we’re together,” he said, his tone lowered, quiet.
“Why does anyone need to know? Who cares?” she asked in defiance. She observed the way he picked up another dumpling with his chopsticks and shoved the whole thing in his mouth. “Okay, let me rephrase that,” she said. “In time, they’ll know.”
He smiled. “Better.”
He looked at his watch. She could tell that he wanted to change the subject. And she didn’t have to try. A round of applause filled the room. Tessa and Simon turned to see a man on one knee with his arms in the air, proposing to a very embarrassed woman.
“At a dimsum restaurant?” Simon smirked.
“Hey! You’ll never know! Maybe this is a special place for them,” Tessa said.
“Must be,” he answered, pulling his wallet out at the same time. He motioned for the dimsum man to bring the check over.
The man counted the different colored plates, each with a code for the food they ordered, wrote with lightning speed on a pad of paper, tore it off unevenly and handed it to Simon.
As he examined the bill, Simon said, “I forgot that your Twitter profile says ‘hopeless romantic.’”
“Love makes the world go ‘round!” she said in response, pausing to follow up with an afterthought. “At least in Romance books!”
[Want more? Click below to read a longer excerpt.]
Praise for the Book
“A heart-wrenching tale of two people destined to be together. Simon and Tessa are fantastically portrayed as star-crossed lovers whose lives are worlds apart. Even those who are not fans of romance will enjoy the relationships, scenery, and beautiful prose of this book. Five stars!” ~ Kristi Elizabeth, San Francisco Book Review
“Eight Goodbyes by Christine Brae is a beautiful story of a woman's quest to open her heart and let love in. It made me want to travel and fall in love all over again.” ~ Willow Aster, Bestselling Author
“I wish I could bottle up the feelings this novel gave me to revisit constantly. Though this is a seemingly simple story about two lovers making their own rules for their relationship, it dives even further by conveying important messages about life and love.” ~ 5171 Miles Book Blog
“Her magical penmanship has given this standalone a real-life feel and undoubtedly while you're reading, all the emotions will seduce you. Embrace them and every single moment of this love story. You won't ever regret it.” ~ Kindle Friends Forever
“My emotions flowed freely as I read this beautiful and descriptive tale. From tears free falling to my heart soaring, I was taken on a journey of two souls chasing each other to the four corners of the world.” ~ For The Love Of Reading
“Christine Brae created a story that goes straight to your heart, digs in and does a little twist. I’ll be looking for more of her books in the future.” ~ Scherry at The Novel Lady
About the Author
Christine Brae is a full-time career woman who thought she could write a book about her life (The Light in the Wound) and then run away as far as possible from it. She never imagined that her words would touch the hearts of so many women with the same story to tell. Her second book, His Wounded Light was released in December 2013. Christine’s third book, Insipid, is a standalone released in June 2014 and her fourth book, In This Life, released in January 2016.
When not listening to the voices in her head or spending late nights at the office, Christine can be seen shopping for shoes and purses, running a half marathon or spending time with her husband and three children in Chicago.
Christine is represented by Italia Gandolfo of Gandolfo Helin Literary Management.
Giveaway
Enter the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to win a $20 Amazon gift card.
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