Length: 60,000 words
Cover Design: Lori Witt
Blurb
But their daughter is getting married soon. In the name of not putting a damper on her wedding, Derek and Rhys agree to keep the divorce on the down-low and show up as the happy couple everyone still believes they are.
And between a roller coaster of a road trip and the love and joy surrounding the wedding… Derek and Rhys just might remember why they fell for each other in the first place.
Are they only kidding themselves? Or can a rekindled spark really light the way to forgiveness?
4 Stars
I have mixed feelings about this story. I don’t like cheaters, and I don’t think there is ever a valid excuse for cheating, yet I found my heart breaking for Rhys (the cheater). You could feel how sorry he was for what he’d done, and no, not for getting caught at it, because he confessed on his own. He might have cheated, but he was a likable guy and he really loved Derek and you could feel all that about him. I believed that he fucked up, learned his lesson and would never repeat his mistake again and I spent the majority of the story wishing Derek would just forgive Rhys already. Derek was also likable and I was torn between feeling bad for him because he was cheated on and being upset with him for not forgiving Rhys sooner.
Together, these two men, even when they were angry at one another, had chemistry that was out of this world and they burned up the sheets and nearly set my iPad on fire with their sexy times.
The story was good, but I think it would have been more enjoyable had there been more actual dialogue. The majority of the story is filled with the internal musings of Rhys and Derek, which is not unusual for Ms. Witt, but the amount of internal dialogue seemed excessive even for her. Still, this was an enjoyable read that I’d have no trouble recommending!
*copy provided by author/publisher in exchange for an honest review*
4.5 Stars
Is It Over Yet? is an extremely emotional, gut-wrenching story chronicling the path to forgiveness and reconciliation of long-married couple Derek and Rhys. Their happy marriage was rocked by infidelity, which happens 6 months before the start of the book. The couple is completely estranged and well on their way to separation and divorce when a family event comes along - their daughter’s wedding - forcing them to travel and spend a week and a half together one-on-one. Did I mention the daughter has no idea the two are divorcing, so they have to put on the happy couple facade?
Derek and Rhys are very well written and come to life in the pages of this story. As a reader, I felt very in touch with their emotions and intentions. This is truly a story of self-discovery and the author lets the reader be on the front row as it unfolds, particularly as Derek evolves from anger to grief and Rhys from the bowels of deep regret. It’s also important to note that their broken relationship is like a 3rd character in this book. We got glimpses of how it used to be and all the detail on the current state of affairs - how it wasn’t perfect before the infidelity, how they both hit rock bottom after, Derek and Rhys’ internal angst as they navigate their broken relationship, mourning losses as they remember all the reasons they fell in love in the first place, and then how both men take accountability to try to repair it after some time.
The road trip they take to their daughter’s wedding seems like a metaphor about the road they take back to their marriage. There’s a definite end goal in sight, but rough weather, bumpy roads, mistakes, etc., get in the way. At first it seems they’re on the wrong road to get there, but eventually, they see the finish line.
I can imagine a lot of people will discount this book simply because there is mention of cheating. Well if they do, they are missing a gripping, heartbreaking at times, intense and touching tale of a realistic relationship. There are no details of the infidelity, just the knowledge it happened.
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement.***
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Excerpt
Rhys
The suburban Chicago house I’d lived in for the past six years came into view, and my stomach knotted tighter. It was the same feeling I’d had on my way to a job I’d hated a lifetime ago, when pulling up to the building made me groan out loud at the prospect of another shift in that godforsaken place. Didn’t seem right to feel that way coming home, but there it was, same as it had been for the past two months.
By the time I pulled into the garage beside the familiar red Corolla, my jaw ached from clenching my teeth. Probably because that’s what I’d been doing every night this week at the same time. Ugh. If I didn’t move out of this place soon, my dental bills were going to be astronomical. That was a good enough reason to step things up, wasn’t it? So I didn’t grind my teeth to dust?
As if I didn’t already have a laundry list of reasons why I needed to get out of here.
With an ache in my jaw and a sour feeling in my throat, I collected my coffee cup, lunch bag, and briefcase, and got out of the car. On the way inside, I couldn’t help limping a little, which added to my festering annoyance. It wasn’t unusual for my leg to be sore by the end of the day, especially after I’d been coaching basketball, but it wasn’t doing much for my shitty mood. I couldn’t think of much that would, though. Nothing short of substances that would get me fired. Or maybe finding a note on the counter that said I moved out. There wasn’t a plant on this earth that would get me higher than reading those three sweet little words.
But unless my soon-to-be ex-husband had won the lottery since this morning, he was just as stuck here as I was.
At the door, I paused for a deep breath to steel myself, then went inside. The kitchen and living room were empty. Derek’s car was here, so it was a safe bet he was home, but he was somewhere else in the house. Good enough for me. If I was lucky, he’d stay that way long enough for me to wind down.
I went through my usual motions—cleaning out my lunch bag, rinsing the Tupperware dishes, checking the cats’ food and water, perusing the mail. For years this routine had soothed me. Helped me shift from work to home so I could relax. Not so much these days.
Our long-haired calico, Lucy, hopped upon the counter and chirped at me, and I managed to crack a smile as I scratched her back the way she loved. She arched under my hand and purred. I chuckled, and I didn’t even mind that she was kicking the mail everywhere as she strutted back and forth on the counter.
“Hey, sweetheart. You miss me?”
More purring.
I kept scratching and petting her for a moment, trying not to think about the future. Or the fact that Derek and I still hadn’t come to a custody agreement about the cats. They were littermates, and though they could fight almost as loudly as we could, they were inseparable. There was no “you take Lucy and I’ll take Chico.” When this was all over and we finally went our separate ways, someone was taking both cats, and someone would be living without them.
I scooped Lucy into my arms, and I hugged her tight, which just made her purr louder and my conscience burn hotter. Guilt had been a constant friend for the past couple of months, and every time I thought about either losing my cats or taking them away from Derek, I wanted to cry. As if I hadn’t done enough of that recently.
I’m so sorry, guys. I buried my face in Lucy’s plush fur. I fucked everything up.
The click of a door at the opposite end of the house made my spine stiffen. Lucy tensed too. By the time Derek was halfway up the hall, she’d stopped purring. As he cleared the corner into the living room, she wriggled in my arms, and I sighed as I set her back down on the counter. She jumped to the floor and trotted out of the room, probably to the office where Chico was likely watching birds.
I watched her go, fresh guilt gnawing at me. Things had really gone to shit when even the cats didn’t want to be in the same room with the two of us.
Without the cat to hold my attention anymore, I turned to see where Derek was headed so I could make my own escape. I still needed to change clothes anyway, not to mention take off my prosthetic and sit for a while to give my joints a rest. If he was going to hang out in the living room, then I could go into my bedroom or join the cats in the office.
But Derek wasn’t heading into the living room. He was coming into the kitchen. And from the way his gaze was fixed on me, he wanted to talk about something.
I swallowed. “Hey.”
“Hey.” He slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Do you have a few minutes?”
I struggled to hold his gaze. He didn’t seem like he was looking for a fight. There was some tension in his features, but it didn’t read as hostility or anger.
I shifted my weight, wincing at the vicious ache in my hip. “Yeah. Do you mind if we sit, though?”
“Sure. Yeah. Living room?”
“Okay.” I followed him out of the kitchen, and we sat on opposite ends of the sofa. As soon as I was seated, I leaned down, rolled up my pant leg, and disconnected my prosthetic. Derek didn’t speak while I removed it; for all our inability to coexist lately, he was still in the habit of giving me a minute to get situated, particularly when I needed to kick off the prosthetic after a long day on my feet.
I leaned the prosthetic against the end table and sat back, releasing a relieved sigh. Everything ached, especially my hips, knees, and right ankle, and taking some weight off them felt so good. I might’ve even relaxed if not for Derek waiting a cushion away to have a conversation. Ugh. God. What now?
Schooling my expression, I twisted toward him. I stole a second just to look at him. There would come a time in the very near future when all I had left of him was pictures, and even with the constant tension hanging between us, it hurt to imagine not seeing him anymore. Seeing him like this hurt too. The dark eyes that had tongue-tied me on day one were cold now. Beside his eyes and mouth were lines that deepened whenever he smiled or laughed, and they were barely visible now. The near-black hair I’d run my fingers through millions of times, the soft lips I’d tasted more times than I could count, that spot on his neck where a single kiss could make him shudder all over—it was all out of my reach now.
Maybe it was time to take my sister up on the offer to come stay with her. I wasn’t sure how much more of this I could handle.
Forcing back my emotions, I tried to sound casual. “All right. What’s up?”
He mirrored me, pulling his knee up onto the cushion and drumming his fingers on his inseam. “Um.” He stared down at his hand. “So, I talked to Vanessa this morning.”
My gut clenched. Instantly my mind was filled with a million worst case scenarios. I’d expected him to have something on his mind about us, not about our daughter, and panic shot through me. Had something happened? Was she hurt? Sick? “What’s going on? Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. Yeah. Everything’s fine.” He made a calm down gesture. “Nothing’s wrong.”
“Okay. Good.” I exhaled, my heartbeat coming back down. It wasn’t unusual for her to call him, but the whole “we need to talk” thing had me on edge. “So…” I raised my eyebrows. Oh God, had he told her? Did he finally tell her we were divorcing? He’d been dancing around that for two months.
Derek cleared his throat, and to my surprise, he smiled, though he still seemed guarded. “She’s, um… She’s getting married.”
I blinked. “She is?”
He nodded. “Corbin proposed last night.”
“Oh. Wow.” I actually laughed because I was so relieved that instead of something horrible, he was breaking the news that Vanessa was engaged. “That’s great!”
“Yeah. It is.” He met my gaze, but then he broke eye contact, and his smile faltered.
How could a conversation be this much of a roller coaster after thirty seconds? Oh, right, because it was us and we were a disaster. A disaster our daughter still didn’t know about.
Derek took a deep breath and sat up a little. “Here’s the thing—they want to get married sooner than later. Corbin is going to be transferring within the next year, and he’ll probably deploy at some point. So they want to get all their ducks in a row quickly.”
I nodded. “Makes sense. How soon is soon?”
“They’re thinking February.”
I whistled. “Really not letting the grass grow, are they?”
He laughed quietly. “No. But it’s still three months away. It isn’t like they’re eloping next week.”
“True.” And why was this line of conversation making me apprehensive? Like it was going somewhere I really didn’t want it to go? I was thrilled for our daughter and her husband-to-be, but something about this discussion with Derek…didn’t feel right. After nine years together, I knew him, I knew his tells, and I knew there was more to this than just telling me Vanessa was getting married.
Chewing his lip, Derek dropped his gaze and watched his fingers drumming on his knee again. There was definitely something on his mind. Something he needed to say, but either couldn’t figure out how to or couldn’t quite work up the nerve.
“Derek?” I nudged. “What am I missing here? You’re happy about this, right?”
“Yeah. Of course. I’m… There’s just…” He closed his eyes. Finally, he met mine again. “Vanessa still doesn’t know about, um, us.”
I winced. In the two months since we’d decided to split up, we’d debated more than once when and how we should tell her. The holidays were almost upon us, so that hadn’t seemed like the right time, and we’d agreed to keep a lid on it until after the New Year. She couldn’t make it out for Thanksgiving, and she was spending Christmas with her mom, so it wasn’t as if we’d have to play happy husbands right in front of her. Just keep up the illusion on social media and on the phone. Easy. Except for the part where it meant we’d had to keep it quiet from almost everyone else so no one accidentally let it slip on Facebook. And we were still stuck living together anyway because neither of us could afford to move out yet, so the whole fucking world thought everything was quiet on the home front. The closest we’d come to letting it slip was when a friend noticed our wedding portrait wasn’t on the mantle anymore. Derek had quickly said the frame had broken, and the subject had dropped. For now.
“Right,” I said. “So what does that have to do with her getting—” I tensed, then inclined my head. “Derek, please tell me you’re not going where I think you’re going.”
He looked at me plaintively. “It’s her wedding, Rhys. The next couple of months are going to be stressful as hell for her, and I’d rather all that stress be about planning her wedding. Not worrying about her dads splitting up.”
Closing my eyes, I pushed out a long breath through my nose. We’d been married for seven years, and even though our happier days seemed like a lifetime ago, I remembered the stressful months leading up to the wedding like it was yesterday. The thought of my parents dropping a bomb like that in the middle of all that chaos? Of trying to enjoy my damn wedding while I worried myself sick about making them be in the same room? Okay, yeah, I got what he was driving at. But…fuck.
Website: http://www.gallagherwitt.com
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