This Time Around (Maybe) by Chantal Fernando
Acknowledgements
As always, I’d like to thank Ari from Cover It Designs for her amazing work, her advice and her friendship. Thank you for putting up with me! You are the best. No, really.
Thank you to my beta readers- Kara Brown, Stephanie Knowles, Aileen Day and Claudia Juarez. I am so grateful for your help.
Thank you to Pepper Winters, who is an amazing friend and always there when I need to chat or vent?
Thank you to Becky at Hot Tree Editing!
Thank you to all the blogs that promote me, I appreciate everything you do!
And of course to my readers… I can’t explain how it makes me feel when I get messages from you all, telling me how much you loved my books.
There are no words.
I love each and every one of you.
Thank you so much and I hope you love Ryan as much as I do!
Prologue
Taiya
After all he’s put me through…
I stomp my foot and grit my teeth. I didn’t think returning to Perth would be like this. I didn’t think I’d run into Ryan only a few days after my return, but I did. Lucky me.
I push off my car where I’ve been standing for the last ten minutes, parked in front of Ryan’s bar. Knox Tavern. The place looks different since the last time I saw it. I walk in and my eyes immediately zoom in on him. I don’t see anyone else in that room except him. I ignore the way my heart races at just the sight of him, the way my body responds. I storm towards him, needing to give him a piece of my mind. How dare he see me for the first time in a year, and ignore me.
He took one look at me, surprise etched all over his face. I saw a myriad of emotions flash before he concealed them and noticed someone standing next to me. Scott is just a friend of mine, and Ryan had no right to lay a hand on him. Ryan has no right to me at all anymore. He lost that privilege.
If only someone would tell my heart that…
But sorry, heart, my head is winning this one.