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Back Sweet Surrender Save as PDF
Chapters (73)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
  3. PRAISE FOR K. BROMBERG
  4. ALSO WRITTEN BY K. BROMBERG
  5. CHAPTER ONE
  6. CHAPTER TWO
  7. CHAPTER THREE
  8. CHAPTER FOUR
  9. CHAPTER FIVE
  10. CHAPTER SIX
  11. CHAPTER SEVEN
  12. CHAPTER EIGHT
  13. CHAPTER NINE
  14. CHAPTER TEN
  15. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  16. CHAPTER TWELVE
  17. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  18. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  19. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  20. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  21. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  22. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  23. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  44. CHAPTER FORTY
  45. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  54. CHAPTER FIFTY
  55. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  56. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  57. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
  59. CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
  60. CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
  61. CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
  62. CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
  63. CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
  64. CHAPTER SIXTY
  65. CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
  66. CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
  67. CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
  68. CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
  69. CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
  70. CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
  71. EPILOGUE
  72. EPILOGUE TWO
  73. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

“You got ice cream, I bought condoms.” I shrug. “I figured that we needed to stage this better. Sell this convincingly.”

“All these condoms and none of them put to good use. What a waste,” he jokes as he picks a wrapper up and drops it back down.

“It might be a little awkward bringing someone up from the casino floor while your wife is sound asleep in the bed,” I say to play off the pang of hurt that comment unexpectedly causes.

“Hendrix. I wouldn’t—”

“Did you really talk me out of getting a tattoo last night?” I ask, wanting to change the subject. The last thing I want him to think is that I wanted to have sex with him. Or think that his joke referred to or implied that he meant me. I mean . . . it didn’t, right?

It couldn’t have.

He’s him. I’m me. A kiss is a kiss and a lot different from giving my body to him.

“Yes,” he says before my thinking spirals out of control. “You were quite adamant that you get a pink heart like the one I have on my wrist. I thought you might regret it in the morning, considering you’ve never had one before. And I’m not certain that twenty years from now, when this is all said and done, that you’re going to want a reminder of last night.”

I hate that he makes sense. “Thank you,” I say softly.

Does he really think I’ll forget? Or that last night was all that bad? I woke up with a smile on my face despite the headache and feeling freer than I can remember in years. In some respects, as crazy as this whole situation has been, it was exactly what I’ve needed because of how Fuck You, Paul, dismantled my life.

“I’m all for rebelling, sweetheart, but I have a feeling that marrying me is more rebellion than you’ve ever tried, so let’s just take it one day at a time, one hour at a time, before we permanently mark your skin.”

I bite my bottom lip and nod. It’s reasonable enough. More than. And yet a little part of me—the same part of me who repeats fuck you, Paul, every morning—wonders if I’ll regret not doing it. Commemorating me living a little.

“I still can’t believe you did this.” He chuckles.

“Sex.” I point to the condoms, wanting to end this conversation. “Drugs.” I point to the Ibuprofen bottle sitting on the counter open. “And rock and roll.” I point to him.

A grin slides across his lips. “You’re something else.”

“You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Gizmo

Twenty Years Ago

It feels like there’s a rock in the pit of my stomach.