The Plan by Ella James is coming
November 13th!
ADD to Goodreads:
Synopsis:
You’ve heard this story before. Woman feels her biological clock ticking and gets someone to knock her up.
Not for love, for baby.
Crazy, right?
That’s what I thought.
Then I found out my fiancé had a vasectomy. The life I thought I had? Nope. Suddenly I’m 33, and I don’t even have a kissing buddy.
When my mom’s health takes a turn and I wind up back in my hometown of Fate, Alabama, I tell myself to leave things up to…well, you know.
Then I see Gabriel McKellan. He’s Fate’s most famous son, a bestselling author who is beautiful, complicated, and living just below me. In addition to his plus-sized brain, Gabe’s well-endowed in other ways, and great in bed to boot. I would know. He's my ex husband.
When I suggest The Plan, I don't imagine that he'll take the bait. It's been ten years, and we don't work. But Fate has other plans for both of us.
EXCERPT
I climb inside the U-Haul and grab two small things first: my favorite Elvis lamp and a box of yarn and clay, easy pickings for my first trip up the stairs to my rented digs. Then I grab my purse off the truck’s rear ledge, step down, and—
“Oofh!”
I blink at the wall I’ve just slammed into, and there he is. At first, I think I’m seeing things. I blink a few times, fast, to try to magic him away. Hallucination. But…he’s not.
His curly hair is wild and dark, just like it always was. His blue-gray eyes—more blue, although he claims they’re gray—are just as sharp as I recall. His face is still so striking: dark brows over a stern, strong nose, and high cheekbones. My gaze skates over his rich mouth, and I realize I’d forgotten how handsome he is.
Gabriel McKellan is famous at least in part because he looks like such a god. The familiarity of him hits me like a ball of ice right to the gut, but where he’s different makes me warm. That stubble-beard, the way his jaw is sharper, shoulders thicker. My gaze skates down his white t-shirt, pasted over rigid abs. I note his forearms—thicker, tanned—before appraising jeans-clad thighs.
One flexes.
Shit.
My errant gaze jerks back up, where I find his features twisted in a scowl.
“What are you doing?” he asks roughly.
I blink. “What?”
Gabe’s brows pinch together, and he glares behind me, at the truck. “What are you doing here, Marley?”
I look around the quiet, leaf-strewn street, trying to explain not what I’m doing, but why I’m seeing him here. Nothing looks amiss, though. Nothing to suggest I’ve had a mental break.
“I’m moving back to Fate. Today,” I add, my voice a squeak above its normal octave.
Gabe’s foot taps the curb between us. Even barefoot, he’s a domineering prick. I inhale slowly, bringing my heart-rate down a notch, so I seem more gathered when I ask, “Where are your shoes?”
“Why did you park here,” he demands again.
“Because I’m moving in?” It’s not a question, but it sounds like one. I bug my eyes out in response to his mean stare. “What are you doing here—and where are your shoes?”
“My shoes are inside.”
I blink at the porch behind him. “Inside where?”
“Inside the house behind me.”
“What?”
Gabe’s head is still shaking, his jaw locked like an angry sentry.
“What the hell is this about?” My heart begins to pound. “Are you my greeting party?”
“I’m your warning party,” he says quietly.
“Warning me from what?”
“I live here, Marley. On the bottom floor.”
“But…you’re—”
“I’m living here.” His face hardens. “I think that means you need to close your truck and go.”
Is he insane? My head spins. Gabe can’t be… “You can’t live here,” I sputter. “You live in New York!”
For an instant, I feel sure this is a joke: a TV joke. Famous author/director shocks unknown ex-wife by popping up at her new place.
“Is there a hidden camera?” I ask lamely.
“No, Marley. There’s not. There’s just a house—with room for one.”
“Yeah…me.”
His lush mouth tightens. “I don’t think so.”
I laugh. “Oh—you watch.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ella James is the USA Today and Amazon Top 10 bestselling author of more than twenty love stories. She’s an angst-a-holic who loves exploring difficult situations and the emotions of the people caught up in them. Also, smut. But always, always romance.
Ella is an Alabama native who makes her home in Colorado with her husband, three young children, and hyperactive dog. When she’s not writing, she can be found hiking the foothills, taking nature photos for her Instagram account, or swilling vanilla cream soda.
CONNECT WITH ELLA
You don’t have to read the Consequences series to enjoy this stand-alone novel, but if you know Tony Rawlings, you know that disappointing him isn’t an option. Imagine being his youngest daughter...imagine telling him the unimaginable...
“Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.”
Sometimes ideas find you, and dreams begin as nightmares. Sometimes the truth that has been kept hidden is the key to opening a door you never knew existed.
“You might not know me. I’m the baby of the Rawlings family, the princess, the daughter who came along later. I’m not like my older siblings, successful at everything they touch. My mother and father have provided me with every luxury as well as their unyielding love and support, but I’m not spoiled. I’m also not content. By example, my parents have shown me how love should be. I don’t know their past, and that doesn’t matter. I know what I’ve seen—two people devoted to one another.
I don’t believe that I’ll ever find that kind of love, the kind that forgives and accepts all. And as my life falls to pieces and I travel to visit my family to face their disappointment, I’m not even looking for it.
I’m looking for an escape...from my life as a Rawlings...from the pressure to achieve and not let others down. I dream of the time I can live for my own desires without the expectations that come with my name.
I don’t find what I’m seeking...it finds me. Or should I say...he finds me.
This time is different. I have a family who will search for me and find the answers. Little do we know—any of us—that my father set my journey into motion long before I was born.”
"Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects." ~Dalai Lama
Ripples (Unabridged Version) is Natalie’s story, the youngest of Tony and Claire’s children—their baby. This story first appeared in shorter form in Glamour: Contemporary Fairytale Retellings. Due to the length restriction of each novella in that anthology, many scenes in Ripples were shortened or omitted for that anthology. This unabridged edition is the entire story—double in length and—a full-length novel.
Please enjoy this Consequences novel along with special appearances from your favorite Consequences characters.
Aleatha Romig is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author who lives in Indiana, USA. She grew up in Mishawaka, graduated from Indiana University, and is currently living south of Indianapolis. Aleatha has raised three children with her high school sweetheart and husband of nearly thirty years. Before she became a full-time author, she worked days as a dental hygienist and spent her nights writing. Now, when she's not imagining mind-blowing twists and turns, she likes to spend her time a with her family and friends. Her other pastimes include reading and creating heroes/anti-heroes who haunt your dreams!
Aleatha released her first novel, CONSEQUENCES, in August of 2011. CONSEQUENCES became a bestselling series with five novels and two companions released from 2011 through 2015. The compelling and epic story of Anthony and Claire Rawlings has graced more than half a million e-readers. Aleatha released the first of her series TALES FROM THE DARK SIDE, INSIDIOUS, in the fall of 2014. These stand alone thrillers continue Aleatha's twisted style with an increase in heat.
In the fall of 2015, Aleatha moved head first into the world of dark romantic suspense with the release of BETRAYAL, the first of her five novel INFIDELITY series that has taken the reading world by storm. She also began her traditional publishing career with Thomas and Mercer. Her books INTO THE LIGHT and AWAY FROM THE DARK were published through this mystery/thriller publisher in 2016.
2017 brings Aleatha's first "Leatha, the lighter side of Aleatha" with PLUS ONE, a fun, sexy romantic comedy.
Aleatha is a "Published Author's Network" member of the Romance Writers of America and PEN America. She is represented by Kevan Lyon of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.
