Excerpt: Love on a Limb by Laurie Lewis
She slipped her hand back again and sat upright with her elbows on the table. “You’ve spelled out the financial terms, and the wedding plans. So far, this is just a lucrative long-term nursing job with companion care, but what are your expectations for—” her voice lowered to a whisper, “—the marriage?”
Of course, he knew this delicate issue would arise, but it was the most painful part of the equation. “I hope we’ll be great companions, enjoying friendship, respect, humor. But that’s not what you’re asking, is it?” He played with his spoon as he gathered the right words. “You want to know if a dying man would play on your sympathies to lure you into his bedroom?”
She didn’t flinch. “The thought crossed my mind.”
Try as he might to remain even, he knew his disappointment showed on his face. “Fair enough. No, Mikaela, I am not asking for a full marriage in that way, nor am I looking to fall in love. I want to avoid that, as much to protect me as to protect you.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I don’t want to grieve for anyone else as I pass, nor do I want to leave someone else grieving for me.”
“So just friendship and companionship?”
“Yes, but neither is a small thing. I’m embarrassed to admit that I find myself feeling a little anxious. I would be a bit possessive of your time and company.”
“Would I need to quit my job?”
“Not at first. I intend to work a while longer. When I quit, I’d like you to do the same. That’s when I’ll need you the most.”
Mikaela nodded quietly as she stared down at the table. Matt couldn’t read her expression, and his heart clutched.
“So what do you think?”
She looked up, tilted her head to the side, and studied his face. “I’m up for a second date.”
by Laurie Lewis
-Contemporary, Romance
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Matthew Grayken is young, successful, and dying, which is why he’s about to propose to a total stranger. He isn’t interested in love. He needs a caregiver, a companion, and someone to be his legal voice when he can no longer speak for himself.
Lonely, compassionate nurse Mikaela Compton is intrigued by Matt Grayken’s tender request, but when their friendly marriage turns into love, she rejects the inevitability of Matt’s death and prays for a miracle instead.
Mikaela succeeds in reigniting Matt’s will to fight, but his body is losing the battle and he is suffering. She recognizes that her urgent need to save Matt has caused her to betray the fundamental promise she made him–to help him die peaceably.
Matt needs a miracle, and Mikaela believes one is attainable, but she will need to leave him at the hour of his greatest need. She’s about to learn that while love sometimes draws you close, it sometimes requires you to go out on a limb.
About the author:
Laurie (L.C.) Lewis knows that wherever life takes her, she will always be a Marylander at heart—a weather-whining lover of crabs, American history, and the sea. She admits to being craft-challenged, particularly lethal with a glue gun, and a devotee of sappy movies.
Therapists have been chasing her down to diagnose her multiple personality syndrome, since she writes under three names–historical fiction as L.C. Lewis, romance and women’s fiction as Laurie Lewis, and general fiction as Laurie L.C. Lewis.
Laurie was honored to win the 2017 RONE Award for Inspirational Romance. She also has been an IndieBRAG Medallion Honoree, and a New Apple Literary Medallion winner. She has twice been named a Whitney Awards finalist, and a USA Best Books Award finalist.
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