Cranky - The Book Curmudgeon: Cover and Excerpt Reveal! See Her by Natalie Parker

Release Date: February 5, 2020

Cover Design: Lori Jackson Design

Synopsis

A music label wants my band. I just want her.

I never knew a smile had the power to change the course of a life…
Until she smiled at me and shifted my world off its axis.

My writer’s block? Gone.
My band’s music? Revitalized.
My heart? Hers.

There’s no way I couldn’t marry her the first chance I got.

They said we were crazy, that getting married after four months was too fast.
I don’t care. I love her more than anything.

And then my band gets the call that changes everything…

My dreams are all coming true, but what will the sudden rush of rock and roll success do to our new marriage? Can I really keep the love of my life and manage a new life on the road with my band’s rise to fame?

One thing’s for sure; I’m not doing this without her.

Goodreads

Excerpt

“What do you mean, you’re not coming on the tour?” Jack asks me, his eyes intense.

“I will not be Yoko,” I say, matter-of-factly.

“Hey, you are not Yoko,” Jack says, holding his finger up towards me. “And explain to me how
the hell I’m supposed to go on tour for six weeks without my wife - who I just married, by the
way.”

“I just think it would be better if I stayed out of this, at least for a while.”

“And you think that’s a good idea, why?”

“Because! This is new territory for you guys. It’s going to be a huge learning curve with a lot of
glitches to work out. You’re going to be living on a bus together and in hotels; you’re going to
be doing rehearsals and sound checks and set up and whatever else rock bands do on tour,” I
say, holding my hands out. “This is about the band, and the band was with you long before I
came along. I’m afraid if you throw me in the mix before you’ve had a chance to figure out your
new normal, I could really get in the way, and, I don’t know, throw off your mojo, your vibe,
whatever you want to call it. This is a crucial time for you guys, and you need to have your
heads together, focusing on your music.”

“Uh, I hate to shock you, but it’s a critical time for us too,” he says, moving his hand between
the two of us.

“I know,” I say, groaning and dropping my head back. I walk forward and put my hands on his
stomach, grabbing onto his Henley while I drop my face to his chest. God, he smells so good.
How the hell am I supposed to go for weeks without that? Or those strong arms coming around
me? I look up into his eyes, resting my chin on his chest.

“I don’t want to be apart, but this is going to be such a crazy time,” I say.

“I know it is,” he murmurs, “but we can either spend our newlywed phase completely apart, or
on a crazy adventure.”

“But it’s the band’s crazy adventure, not mine.”

“I’m part of that band, and you’re part of me,” he says, stroking my chin with his thumb.

“You know what I mean,” I mumble.

“I know. This is a big deal for the band, but I just got married, and that’s a big deal too.” His dark
blues get even darker as he tilts his head to the side and brings his mouth down on mine,
practically drowning me in one of his deep, loving kisses, the kind that makes my surroundings
drop away and I lose all sense of anything else. And this one could easily lead to something else.
Easily. Especially when his warm hands start sliding up under the sides of my shirt to caress my
skin. He detaches our lips, but only so he can kiss his way over to my ear.

“How are we supposed to go weeks without being able to do that, huh?” he whispers.

I close my eyes in a combination of ecstasy and annoyance.

“Jack, you can’t just use your epic kissing and seduction skills to get things to go your way.”

“I know,” he says, blowing out a frustrated breath, and releasing me to give me a little space, a
nonverbal show of respect. “Forgive me, baby. I know you’re too smart for that. I’m just feeling
kind of desperate because I can’t stand the idea of going without that. So, all I can do is beg.
Please, come with us. Don’t stay behind. I want you with me. Every morning light, remember?”

Fuck.

“You had to pull that one out, didn’t you?”

This isn’t fair. Thanks to that kiss, I feel warmth spreading between my legs from all the blood in
my body rushing there. I can’t think straight. I know what I want. I want to go with him, but that
may not be what’s right.

“Maze?” Jack prods. “What are you thinking right now?”

“I’m thinking you messed me up with that kiss, and now I can’t give you an answer. Right now, I
just want you.”

“Yeah?” he says, stepping towards me, his eyelids at half-mast.

“Yeah,” I say, indignantly.

“You know,” he says, wrapping his arms around me and picking me up to sit me on the counter,
so that we’re eye to eye. “There’s not actually anything wrong with that, right?”

“I know that, it’s just that we’re in the middle of a serious conversation right now, and I can’t be
logical or think critically when you’ve got my feelings all wound up like this.”

“So let’s put a pin in it,” he says, running his hands up and down my thighs. “We’ll hit the pause
button for right now, and we’ll focus clearly on it later.” He starts planting tender kisses on my
lips and along my cheek. “We’ll take some time for each other right now, and you can think
about it later.”

“Promise?” I ask, leaning into it all, slowly giving in. He leans back to look in my eyes. I love that
he goes out of his way to show sincerity; to show me that he takes me seriously.

“I won’t take it to mean anything, I swear. We’re just taking a beat. Just a time out to… ahh...”
he breaks off when I start kissing his neck and slip my hands under his shirt to slide them over
his skin. “Hey, who’s seducing who here?” he says, putting a hand in my hair and bending me
back to engulf me in another sensual kiss. I let out a slight whimper into his mouth before
breaking away just enough to answer against his lips.

“You started it,” I say, before he stands back to yank his shirt off over his head. He’s
immediately back on me, his bare chest and abs raising my arousal another few degrees. He
unbuttons my flannel shirt before peeling it off me and brings both hands up to give my boobs
a gentle squeeze, his lips never leaving mine. Then, grabbing my ass, he carries me to our
bedroom, the one we soon won’t be sleeping in together for a while.