Just Friends | An Excerpt from DAWN OF ARIS
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“You know we don’t have to be out of here for another two weeks right?” Deena asked Aris, shutting the door behind her. “What’s the rush?”
“No rush. Getting it out of the way, that’s all.”
“Well, the slacker in me will be waiting until the eleventh hour…unless I get a call to jet to work on location somewhere, preferably tropical.”
Aris laughed. “From your mouth to God’s ears.”
Deena opened her shopping bags and showed Aris the results of her afternoon at the mall. They spent the next twenty minutes debating the best outfit for a blind date Deena had later in the evening. Once the decision was made, Deena helped fold the rest of Aris’s laundry.
“Have you given any more thought to where you’re going to end up?” Deena asked as they carried baskets of clothing down the hall and entered Aris’s bedroom.
Aris shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Bullshit, honey,” Deena replied, shaking her head as she sat her basket next to Aris’s bed. “I will never understand why you just won’t go back to Dallas…and when I say Dallas, I mean Luke.”
“We’re just friends,” Aris replied in a sing-song voice to mask her exhaustion for having to explain this to Deena again for the hundredth time.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah…and he’s engaged to Black Barbie and all that. I got it.” Deena gave Aris a measured glance. “What I don’t get is how you can keep playing this game with him when the world can see that you’re both in love with each other.”
Aris stretched out on her bed. “Dee…don’t.”
“I’m just saying,” Deena replied, holding up her hands in surrender as she headed toward the door. “I love you girl, but you really need to get a clue before you lose what’s yours.”
“Mine?” Aris rolled her eyes. “For the last time, Luke and Jessica are to-ge-ther. Which means Luke and I should not be despite what the world sees. Besides, he already has a perfect life with a bright future all laid out for him…who am I to change that?”
Deena released another sigh, shaking her head again as she left the room. “Who are you, indeed?”
DAWN OF ARIS IS COMING MARCH 3!
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Aris Collier is chasing her dreams…at a snail’s pace. With little money and big talent, she works tirelessly to perfect her craft…even at the expense of her relationships. When Aris walks away from yet another dead-end entanglement with the hopes of finally getting her life on track, the last thing she expects is a fast friendship with her neighbor, Luke. They couldn’t be more different but soon the two become an inseparable pair, leaving Aris both surprised and disturbed that Luke understands her better than anyone else ever has…
Luke Donovan has it all—looks, career, money and status. Most importantly, he has the bold, brave and beautiful Jessica Knox, a woman he’s been building his impeccable life with since college. But as Luke continues his corporate climb, he soon realizes that the view from the top isn’t so great and the future laid out in front of him is very far from his true definition of happiness. For the first time in his life, Luke is unsure…until he meets his quirky neighbor, Aris, who just may help him discover what love and life are really all about…
Rae Lamar 