Praise for Abby Brooks
“Abby Brooks is a wizard with Beyond Us—entertaining and pure enjoyment!”
Adriana Locke—USA Today and Washington Post bestselling author
“A masterful blend of joy and angst.
Praise for Abby Brooks
“As a voracious reader it is not unusual for me to read 5-7 books per week. What is unusual is for me to be thinking about the writing and characters long after I've finished the book. With just the perfect amount of angst and remarkable character development, Abby Brooks has crafted a masterpiece…”
Praise for BEYOND WORDS
"Once again Abby Brooks creates a world filled with beautifully written characters that you cannot help but fall in love with.”
Praise for BEYOND LOVE
"A lovely story of growing beyond your past, taking control of your life, and allowing yourself to be loved for the person you are."
Melanie Moreland—New York Times Bestselling Author, in praise of Wounded
“Abby Brooks writes books that draw readers right into the story. When you read about her characters, you want them to be your friends.”
Praise for Abby Brooks
Faking Bliss
The Moore Family Book 2
Abby Brooks
Copyright © 2020 by Abby Brooks
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Epilogue
Instant Bliss Sneak Peek
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Also by Abby Brooks
Connect With Abby Brooks
Chapter One
Ellie
“Just because they make it in your size, doesn’t mean you’ll look good wearing it!”
Ellie Charles cringed.
Again.
The asshole at the bar wasn’t making any friends that night. And the line of loud-mouthed buddies beside him? Hooting and hollering at everything he said? Yeah. They weren't helping. His latest comment probably offended half the women in earshot.
Ellie included.
He’d grown louder and more abrasive over the last half hour, his jokes more malicious. His words more slurred. His friends had no plans to come to his rescue either—they were too busy snickering at every chauvinistic jeer that came out of his mouth.
Apparently, Ellie wasn't the only one who’d had enough. “Just because you have a mouth, doesn’t mean you have a right to use it,” yelled a feminine voice from somewhere inside Hurricane’s—Ellie’s favorite bar in her hometown of Bliss, South Carolina.
Well, everyone's favorite, really.
There wasn't a night that Hurricane’s wasn't the place to be.
“And just because you have a dick doesn’t mean you have to be a one,” yelled someone else.
“Or get to use it,” Ellie muttered, loud enough for the people at tables around her to hear. After the chuckles died down, she wiggled a little in her chair and tugged at her shirt, suddenly self-conscious that the asshole was talking about her. She’d agonized over what to wear that night, afraid everything she put on was clingy in all the wrong ways.
You look fine, she told herself as she checked her watch. Don’t let that jerk get in your head.
Of course, it looked like it didn’t matter what she was wearing at all…since her date was officially half an hour late.
Stood up.
Again.
What a surprise.
Online dating really sucked when you lived in a small town and already knew you didn’t want to date anyone in it. She traced a finger around the edge of her glass and sighed.
Her waitress—a barely-old-enough-to-be-legal blonde named Ashley—sidled up to her table, eyes focused on the loud-mouthed jerk and his friends. “Ready for another?” she asked, barely glancing Ellie’s way.
“Thanks, but I think I’m just gonna call it an evening.” She reached for her purse and paused when Ashley didn't take the hint and give her the bill.
“That guy’s really putting them down.” Ashley leaned forward to watch Mr. Drunk and Disorderly. With her elbows on the table and her boobs spilling out of her low-cut T-shirt, she turned to Ellie. “But he sure is a looker.” She bit her lower lip, her eyes glinting with mischief.
Ellie stared at the waitress for several seconds, wondering what she was expected to say to that. Was she supposed to giggle and turn around, forgetting the guy had made a total ass of himself for the last forty-five minutes? Just because he was good looking?
Uh-uh.
No way.
She was so over jerks.
Over men in general, actually, since all her experience with the opposite sex to that point indicated you couldn’t be a man without being a jerk.
The friendly smile fell off Ashley's face and she straightened. “So, uh, just your check then?” Ellie watched the girl fidget and pull at the edges of her extra-short shorts and felt bad. Sure, she was disappointed to have wasted an evening waiting for one more guy to let her down, but that wasn’t Ashley’s fault.
“I’m sorry.” Ellie puffed out her cheeks. “Bad night.” She flared her fingers and then pulled her long, curly hair up off her neck and draped it over a shoulder. “I didn’t mean to be rude.”
I’ll have to leave her a decent tip, she thought. I’ve been at her table for forty-five minutes and only ordered one drink.
“Maybe you need something with a little more kick than plain old Diet Coke,” said the girl with a smile. “Turn a bad night into a better night.”
Ellie shook her head and sat back in her chair. “No, thank you,” she started then paused.
Why shouldn’t she let herself have a little fun? What else was she going to do? Go home and watch TV?
There she was, all dressed up at her favorite bar, with people laughing and joking around her…mostly anyway, thanks again to the jerk and his friends. The band was setting up, which meant there’d be dancing later, and Ellie did love to dance. She didn’t need a
