Listed: Volume I (13 page)

She
stared down at her hands for a long time after she finished, and it was
absolutely silent in the car. Finally, she turned to check Paul's expression.
He breathed heavily and stared straight in front of him at the wall she’d been
focused on earlier.

“Do
you,” she began, her voice cracking, “Do you understand?”

He
met her eyes then, and she knew he did.

Tears
started to stream down her face, and she brushed them away impatiently.

Paul
finally spoke, his voice just slightly thick, “I didn’t mean to make you feel
that way. I’m just used to doing what I think is best. I’m trying to do right
by you—I really am—and I needed to make sure you were safe.”

“I
know. I know you weren’t doing it just to be mean and controlling.”

“I’ll
try not to bulldoze you. I mean that. But there are going to be some things
about your health and your security that I’m not going to back down about.”

She
nodded, sniffing a little. “I know. I can accept that.”

“So,”
he began, finally reaching over to turn off the car. For some reason, he looked
just a little uncertain. “So we’re good?”

“Yeah,”
Emily told him with a smile, “We’re good.”

They
got out and went up to the apartment, and, after a quick shower, she was very
happy to pull on pajamas and crawl into bed.

This
day seemed to be endless, but it ended better than it began.

Emily
knew she would always be a project to Paul—something he’d committed to and was
determined to see through to the end. She was pretty sure he was working out
some sort of private guilt with her, and she was okay with that. She knew their
relationship would never be defined by deep affection or emotional connection.

But
it felt like they’d understood each other just now, and she thought that, from
now on, they could at least be closer to partners.

As
far as partners went, Paul was a pretty good one to have.

Listed
is completed
and will be published in six volumes on the following schedule. Each volume is
28,000-35,000 words (roughly 90-120 pages). Beginning in Volume III, they will
include adult sex scenes.

Volume I:    February 8, 2013 (with free promotion
days)

Volume II:  February 15, 2013 (with free promotion
days)

Volume III: February 22, 2013 (with free promotion
days)

Volume IV:  March 1, 2013

Volume V:   March 8, 2013

Volume VI: March 15, 2013

About
the Author

Noelle handwrote her
first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she
hasn’t stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and
currently resides in Virginia, where she teaches English, reads any book she
can get her hands on, and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.

She
loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of
her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and
focus on writing contemporary romances. For more information, please check out
her website: noelle-adams.com