Beneath It All (Beneath #1) (33 page)

I wasn’t prepared for what he just dropped on my lap. It was a shock to my system, and while a part of me wanted to scream
yes
right then and there, I couldn’t. “I need to think about it. I honestly don’t believe this is happening. I need to figure out where my head is at and if I’m ready to date someone. This is all so new to me, and it’s overwhelming.”

“I appreciate your honesty and don’t want to pressure you into something you aren’t ready for.” He reached for a business card on the table and wrote on it. “I put my mobile number on the back of the card for you. Call me if you want to meet. No rush.”

I took the card and put it in my purse before moving to stand. “Thank you for being candid with me and sharing your feelings. I know it wasn’t easy for you, and I admire that. I’ll be in touch.”

“I look forward to hearing from you, Victoria.” He stood and held out his hand for me to make my way to the door.

I wasn’t sure what the proper etiquette was in this situation, so I put my hand out to shake his. He took my hand, raised it to his mouth, and placed a soft kiss on it. “Have a good afternoon, Victoria.” I felt a shiver run down my spine and felt my cheeks flush.

“You too, Dr. Forrester.”

“Blake.” He released my hand and opened the door for me like a gentleman. “Please call me Blake.”

I started to step out the door and looked back over my shoulder before I was completely in the hallway. “Thank you, Blake. We’ll talk soon.” I smiled and nervously walked out of his office, trying to focus on not falling.

When I got home, I felt giddy and needed to talk to someone. Jen was at a work function so I called Bobbie Jo instead. I wanted to explode over the phone to her, but instead asked her to pick up Chinese and come over.

Thirty minutes later, she pushed her way through my front door. “What the hell is going on? I haven’t heard you that frantic in months. Is everything okay?”

“Yes. Everything is good. I just needed to talk to somebody about what happened at the doctor’s office today. I need your honest advice, and if there is one thing I know about you, it’s that you’re honest—sometimes too honest.” I rolled my eyes.

“I saw that,” she said as she put the bag down on the counter and pulled out the containers and chopsticks. “Plates or containers?”

“Containers.”

She sat down next to me at the breakfast bar. “Okay, spill it.”

“I had my appointment with Dr. McGuire today, and when I was leaving, Dr. Forrester was waiting for me in the hallway.”

She choked on a noodle. “He was waiting for you in what sense? Like he was upset with you, or like he wanted to pin you to the wall and make you his?”

“Would you stop?” I shook my head. “He wanted to talk to me in private to discuss moving my case to Dr. McGuire permanently. He isn’t going to be my surgeon anymore.” I dug into my container of pot stickers and made her sweat it out, like I did.

“What the fuck? He dumped you as a patient because of what happened? Jen told me how you lost it the last time you saw him. What an asshole.”

“Easy, tiger.” I laughed at her protectiveness of me. “Before you start chastising him, there’s more. . . He asked me to meet him for coffee to talk.”

The room was silent for the second time today, and I looked over at Bobbie Jo. Her mouth was hanging open, and her eyes were bugging out of her head. “Dr. McHottie wants to do the McNaughty with you! Damn girl.”

“No! I’m not jumping in the sack with the man,” I said before I told her the story about how he needed to make sure Dr. McGuire would take my case before he could pursue talking with me. It would be inappropriate for a doctor to ask out a patient. “He wants to meet over coffee.”

“Open your eyes. If you think he just wants coffee, you’re blind. He wants you. What doctor would go through all of that if he just wanted coffee?”

I was so confused. “Isn’t it too early for me to consider coffee with a man? I’m in the middle of cancer treatment, and I’ve only been separated for a month and just signed the divorce papers this morning. Isn’t it too soon?”

“Hell no! You signed the papers. Noah is off in Slutville, and Dr. McHottie is clearly interested in you; there are no rules on meeting for coffee. Seriously, nothing stopped Noah from fucking someone while he was still married.”

My quick intake of breath caught her attention.

“Oh shit, I’m sorry, Victoria. I didn’t mean to say it like that.” She quietly cursed herself out. “I just wanted to make the point that this life is yours to live and do with what you want. Nobody makes the rules but you, and as long as you aren’t hurting anyone with your decision, why are you worried? We aren’t going to judge you. How could we? We haven’t walked a step in your shoes, and if you want to meet Dr. Forrester for coffee, you should. Nobody is stopping you but yourself.”

“Blake. His name is Blake. He told me after he kissed my hand good-bye.”

“Why are you hesitating? The signs are all there. What harm is coffee going to do? What are you afraid of?”

“I’m afraid of getting in over my head and having feelings for him only to have my heart crushed again. Noah stomped on my heart so quickly, and I’m not sure I have fully recovered, even though I know it was over long ago,” I admitted as I put down my chopsticks and pushed the container away. “He’s a successful and attractive doctor who can have any woman he wants. Why would he want me?”

“That’s something you need to ask him.”

I sat quietly, trying to process my conversations with Blake and Bobbie Jo and how I truly felt. I was excited about the prospect of seeing him again, but I was afraid of getting my hopes up and eventually having everything come crashing down on me. Was now even the right time? I was just barely halfway through treatment, and I still had a long road ahead with the reconstruction and healing.

I couldn’t put myself in a situation that could potentially hurt me more. I excused myself from the kitchen and grabbed my phone before disappearing into the study.

My hands were trembling as I reached for the business card in my purse and dialed the number written on the back of it. It began ringing and after the third ring, I assumed it would go to voice mail. Typically, most people answer by the second ring. I was wrong.

“Hello?”

The End

On September 21, 2013, I messaged a friend with a crazy idea to write a book about a woman with breast cancer. I wasn’t expecting her to challenge me to write 1,500 words that night, but she did, and I wrote them. They were crap, but they were the beginning of a story. This story. A story that quickly grew to 100,000 words before my eyes. I wrote at night, while my kids were at dance. I wrote on the weekends, when I should’ve been cleaning. I wrote in my head in the middle of the night, and grabbed a post-it note to write it down. I made the decision to split it into two books because I wasn’t close to being done, and I didn’t want to rush Victoria’s story.

Here I sit, one year from when it all started, and I’m hitting the publish button. It was just an idea and a challenge. I’m not one to turn down a challenge.

This wouldn’t be possible without a bunch of amazing people. I wrote down the name of everyone who helped me so I wouldn’t forget . . . however, I forgot where I put this list. It’s in a special place, of that I’m sure, and I’m sorry if I left anyone out. It was not intentional, and according to my oncologist, I can still claim chemo-brain!

Jack and my little crazies
, thank you for your love, support, encouragement, and excitement for me in this journey. I have the best husband, daughters, co-survivors, cheerleaders, and housekeepers a woman could ask for! I love you all to the moon and back . . .

Beth
, you are the reason this book was written. If it wasn’t for your challenge, I wouldn’t be writing this acknowledgment. You gave me the courage to pour my heart out onto paper, and tell a story that will hopefully make a difference in the life of a woman. Just one woman. That was my goal from the start. Thank you for your love, support, kindness, feedback, and your sense of humor. You said you were going to “ride my ass, until I hit publish,” and that you did! You are a blessing in every sense of the word . . .

Bobbie Jo
and
Whitney
, my “Costa Rica Hotties”. The two of you have been by my side from those first horribly written words, and you continued to read until the end. You were there for me when I began to question myself and my ability to write. I couldn’t have arrived to this day without your constructive criticism and numerous brainstorming sessions. I love you both for all you have done, and most of all for your friendship. I’d be lost without you two . . .

Cara
, you have been my sanity for the last few months. Your calming voice, willingness to help, and ability to make me smile will never be forgotten. We jumped into this “world” together and I couldn’t have asked for a better friend along the way. I see lots of cookies, cocktails and the spa in our future . . .

Amanda Krause
, my hero. Fate was on my side when I found you. I was so nervous when I emailed the first ten pages to you, just to see if you were interested. When you responded the next day that you were, I cried. You took my baby and you worked your magic. When the document came back with a few thousand noted revisions, I spent twelve hours going through each and every one of them one-by-one. While it was a tedious process, I can’t thank you enough for your expertise and attention to detail. I look forward to working with you again on book two . . .

Jen
,
MJ
,
Rose
, and
Valerie
, between the four of you, my horribly written first words morphed into something actually readable. Your comments and corrections were paramount to the final product. Thank you for taking the time to read my book in draft form, and for giving me your unconditional love and support through it all! I lucked out by gaining some pretty fabulous friends in the process . . .

Ginny
,
Jen (#2)
,
Kara
,
Keshia
,
Kizzy
,
Shannon
,
Stacy
, and
Teri
, where do I start? This amazing group of ladies made up my beta readers. Some are old friends, and some are new. One is a sonographer (thank you for the technical linguistics), three are authors, and one is even my daughters’ dance teacher. Your feedback, positive and not-so-positive, was pivotal in helping me write scenes that made sense to a wide range of readers. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading and sharing your thoughts . . .

Beth (#2)
,
Candace
,
Dana
,
Danielle
,
Jenny
,
Jennifer
,
Kristin
,
Lauren
,
Renee
,
Tammy
,
Tina
, and
Vi
, friendship knows no bounds. Each of you have been an important part of this journey. Some of you have read snippets of my book and provided feedback. Some of you have provided professional guidance in writing and design. And, some of you were by my side when I fought my own battle with breast cancer. The one thing you all have in common is your ability to make me smile and bring me joy. You have made a positive impact on my life, and you all hold a special place in my heart . . .

Random fact: I have a lot of Jen, Jenny’s and Jennifer’s in my life!

Last, but not least,
thank you to the readers.
Thank you for taking a chance on me by reading my debut novel. I hope you enjoyed reading it and much as I enjoyed writing it. My ultimate goal in writing this story was to bring awareness to breast cancer. I encourage you to pay attention to your body and perform monthly breast self-exams.
While this is a fictional story, the reality of breast cancer, and what it’s capable of doing, is not.

Beneath You’re Beautiful
, book two in the Beneath Series, is tentatively scheduled for release on March 24, 2015. I can’t wait to share the conclusion to Victoria’s story with you!

Did you enjoy
Beneath It All
? If so, please feel free to leave a review on Goodreads and retailers.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22602764-beneath-it-all

Happily married and the mother of two, Tori Madison, is active in the world of philanthropy and finds joy in making a difference in lives of others. She is an avid reader, lover of life and a breast cancer survivor. Currently residing with her family in Minnesota, she can often be found at Caribou Coffee or at the dance studio with her kids. With a well-known weakness for dark chocolate with sea salt and cheesecake, she also has a fondness for chips and fresh salsa.

Writing a book was never on her radar. After a challenge from a friend to write 1,500 words the story came to life and a new opportunity to make a difference was born.

Beneath It All is her debut novel.

Email:

[email protected]

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/ToriMadisonAuthor

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/authortorimadis

Pinterest:

http://www.pinterest.com/authortorimadis/

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8342405.Tori_Madison