Tequila Sunrises over Georgia (a novella) (9 page)

This was the right time to say goodbye.

My heart fell into the pits of sadness when I
saw him looking at me with tears in his eyes.

I pull the drawing out of my bag. It’s rolled
up and in a plastic cylinder to make sure it doesn’t get
creased.

“Carter, I have something for you.”

“What is it?”

“Here, take a look.”

Carefully, he opens the container, and pulls
out the drawing. When he unrolls the paper and finally sees what it
is, his breath catches.

“Gia… It’s beautiful…”

“I remembered our conversation about you
wanting to be a tiger when you were a kid. I painted this tiger
using watercolors, to match my koi fish. As you can see, it’s a
frontal close up of the tiger coming out of the jungle. His paws
are large and you can see the strength of his muscles under his
coat, the power coming from his eyes.

“Tigers are uninhibited creatures, ferocious
and sensual, wild and untamable, powerful and strong. They are
driven by instincts and passion… and that’s how I see you, Carter.
That’s how I choose to remember you.”

I felt my bottom lip trembling lightly and I
knew it was now or never.

“Gia, I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything. I wanted you
to have something special from me now that we will not see each
other every day. I don’t know when I’ll be back, but you know I
have to visit my parents, or they will disown me.”

I try to say it jokingly, but it fell
flat.

He rolls the drawing and comes out of the
truck to open my door.

After he takes my suitcases out of the
vehicle, Carter turns around and embraces me.

I embrace him.

Tight, so tight.

“This is one of the hardest things I’ve ever
had to do.” He whispers in my ear.

“I know. I wish we could write a different
finale for our story.”

Pulling away, with teary eyes, he tells me
his goodbye.

His fingers grab my chin so that I’m unable
to look away.

“Gia, thank you for the best ten weeks of my
life. Now you go and conquer the world without looking back. But
please know that my heart is with you, wherever you are. And I will
be here, with an empty chest, until you decide to change your mind
and return home with my heart in your hands.”

Tears are running down my cheeks.

I can’t breathe.

I can’t speak.

I want to tell him how I feel, but it won’t
be fair to him.

So I keep quiet, and kiss him.

I kiss him with all the love and all the want
I have in my heart and soul for him.

I kiss him with passion as I want him to know
that I’ll gladly take his heart, because it’s the most meaningful,
truthful gesture anyone has ever done for me.

When we finally stop sharing our fears
through that kiss, I grab my bags and walk away from the one man
who loves me as I am. The one man I trust never to hurt me.

I’m taking his heart.

But he has no idea that I’m leaving my heart
right here, with him.

The End

(for now)

Look forward to the rest of Carter and Gia’s
story:

Tequila Sunrises – Gia on My Mind

Coming Soon!

The
Girls on Top
series

Tequila Sunrises
series

Tequila Sunrises over
Georgia – A
Free
Novella

I recently moved from Georgia to Texas, and I
found myself “homesick” a lot. I miss my friends and family an
awful lot. Then it occurred to me that I could write a story set in
Georgia, and tell within the words tidbits of things we used to do
there – and the idea for the Tequila series was born.

Thank you for purchasing this book and taking
the time to read it. Could I ask a favor? Would you be so kind to
leave an honest, short review? Only a couple of sentence – that’s
all it’s needed! It would mean so much. We Indies depend on reviews
as out #1 marketing method. I would be so grateful!

I’d also love to hear from you. Connect with
me at:

Website:
www.yaragreathouse.com

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Yara lives in Texas where she spends her free
time getting lost in writing, reading, cooking and traveling. Her
first series, "Girls on Top," is about strong female lead
characters and the sexy alpha males who love them.

She loves hearing from readers, bloggers and
other authors at:
[email protected]