Now he takes a knee and pulls a familiar baby blue ring box from his pocket. “So, I know I already asked you in front of a million people, but I want to ask you again, with just the two of us. I want to look you in the eyes when I say it. Maura, will you marry me?” He opens the box with a squeak of its hinges and reveals an enormous glass cocktail ring crammed between the two pillows that make up the bottom of the box.
I roll my eyes and mutter, “Oh, my gosh,” on a giggle.
He looks down at the ring, then back up at me. “There wasn’t a chance in hell I was going to risk screwing that up again. You’ll be picking out your own ring.”
I pluck the costume jewelry from its nest and slide it onto my finger, then hold out my hand, turning it side to side to inspect it. “I think this one is perfect.”
“So, is that a yes?”
“Absolutely.”
He rises to his feet and embraces me. After a deep kiss, he startles me by sweeping me off my feet and carrying me toward the stairs. As we ascend, I throw back my head and drawl, my voice echoing in the high-ceilinged area, “Ah’m so blassed!”
Acknowledgments
Huge thanks go out to the usual suspects, including friends, family, people I haven’t seen in a long time who still keep up with my writing (thanks to the magic of technology), members of social media groups, and readers who follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Your encouragement has been the difference between publishing and quitting some days, so thank you!
Specifically, I’d like to thank Laura Chapman, fellow author and football lover. She and I may root for different NFL teams (Packers for her and Chiefs for me, just FYI), but that only made our conversations about the game more interesting. She also hosted me on an incredible weekend in her delightful hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska, where I was an honorary Huskers fan for a day. She introduced me to her cats and some of her friends and family, red beer, and Runza sandwiches (if you’ve never had one, they’re uh-may-zing). The Chapman clan made me feel very much at home, which was heartwarming and something I’ll never forget. (Thanks, Bruce, Linda, and Sarah!)
Most importantly to this project, however, Laura encouraged me to dust off and revamp an old, dismissed manuscript that was previously destined for the hard drive graveyard. She spent a lot of time reading rough, rough, rough drafts of most of this book, hot off the brain, then more time reading a more polished version. Thanks for being a rock, L.C.!
Other beta readers (you know, those brave souls who read a fully written manuscript and tell the author exactly how they feel about it?) for this book were Erin Baker, Jami Deise, Bethany Dodson, Nicole Ford, Kylie Frankel, Mary Macklin, Kaley Stewart, and Natasha Walsh. Each reader provided a special perspective, and as usual, their responses made this book better than it was when I sent it to them. As a matter of fact, it’s almost an entirely different book altogether. Thanks, ladies!
I dedicated this book to my husband, but I feel like a more thorough thank you is in order. The man not only helped me come up with The Underdog Series title (and its funny runner-up, The Pigskin Passion Series), but he answered some random questions at some ungodly hours of the day without batting an eyelash. He also didn’t roll his eyes once (that I saw, anyway) when I compared Jet Knox’s quarterback stats—completely made-up, remember—to the real football players we watched on Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays. He even acted like he cared when I lamented having to change my fictional NFL scandal to something less similar to real-life goings on, even though it didn’t affect his life at all, and he probably could have done without that half-hour angsty conversation when he was trying to eat dinner after a long day at work. We’ve been on the same “team” for a long time, and it works because he accepts my kookiness, and I appreciate his level-headedness. I love you, Clint, which is why I had the Cowboys win the Super Bowl in this book. You’re welcome!
Finally, I’m going to offer a preemptive shout-out of gratitude to reviewers, and not just the ones I hope will chime in after reading this book, but every person who’s written a review for any of my works. Whether you’re an individual who just likes to share your thoughts about the books you’ve read or someone who has a more structured platform, like a blog, your words matter. You influence readers’ choices about how they spend their free time and which characters they spend that time with. When you’re recommending my books to others, I appreciate it. And when you’re conveying your disappointment with one of my works or with a certain aspect of a story or character, you’re helping me consider ways in which to grow and be better, both as a writer and a person. (Or you’re ruining my day. But don’t worry so much about that, as long as you don’t make it personal.) So don’t assume your opinion is worthless. If you enjoy telling other people about the stories you’ve read, do it! Voracious readers love recommendations from other reading enthusiasts.
Thanks for reading!
About the Author
Brea Brown's irreverent romantic comedies feature a roster of unlikely but believable characters that will keep you turning pages late into the night--or laughing in public! She draws her inspiration from her wacky family, her Midwest upbringing, the dimestore novels she devoured as a kid, her own mishaps, and her overactive imagination. She believes in making her characters work for their dreams, but she's
