The Way We Were (13 page)

Do nas razam, zawsze
, darling. To us together, forever—the four of us.

BEGIN AGAIN finds Paulina Ludzecky running a contracting business with her twin, Antonia since their husbands died three years ago. She’s ready to dip her toes in romance when she meets Adam Armstrong, the architect on the new music hall her company is building. Suave and sophisticated Adam is intrigued by Paulina, but their strong differences keep them apart.

In PRIMARY COLORS , Nia Ludzecky is stuck in her grief and can’t find a way out of her sorrow over the untimely death of her beloved husband. When she meets famous modern artist Rafe Castle, she’s attracted to his gentle demeanor and lack of arrogance. But despite her feelings for him, she still finds it hard to leave the past behind and embrace love after loss. Rafe, however, doesn’t give up on her.

RISKY BUSINESS follows Magdalena Ludzecky, a career woman extraordinaire, who has everything, including Logan Price, her coworker and best friend outside of the family. But then they find attraction growing between them. And no, they both think, this can’t happen! Do they have a chance at romance or are Logan and Magdalena going to lose each other forever? Plot twists abound in this friends to lovers tale.

In THE WAY WE WERE , Ana Ludzecky had it all—a sexy husband, a beautiful daughter, a great job and the best extended family in the world. Then, tragedy strikes and her life turns upside down. Unable to bear the suffering of her sisters, she has trouble settling back into life with her husband Jared Creswell and their daughter. But Jared makes some bad choices that eventually lead to the dissolution of their marriage. Thrown together again, will the love that has never died surface and save them both?

At sixteen, Sofia Ludzecky, from HANDLE WITH CARE , was diagnosed with leukemia and the disease changed her future. She’s chosen a Zen lifestyle as a yoga studio owner and teacher. When she meets football Coach Max Walker at the high school where she’s running a class, his outgoing personality, his bent for competition and his boisterous family upset her. But Max wants Sofia, and he’s always gotten what he wants.

In LOVE STORY , Elizabeita Ludzecky fears deeply for her family, which has been fraught with tragedy. She copes by being the carefree, risk-taking baby of the family, as well as an up-and-coming curator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. But when hardened cop Nick Casella goes undercover at the museum, he sees the real Elizabeita and he’s shockingly attracted to this beautiful too-young-for-him woman. Elizabeita returns his feelings and goes after him with all she has. With secret and lies as the basis of a relationship, does this one have any chance of surviving?

Continue reading for some exciting excerpts from related stories:

Click here for a look at Sofia’s story,
HANDLE WITH CARE
.

Click here for a peek at
CLOSE TO YOU
, Caterina’s story.

Click here for a look at
PROMISES TO KEEP
Luke’s story. He’s the older brother of all these females!

Marriage is tough. Life can fall apart after a tragedy. Forgiveness best serves all those involved. These are the themes of THE WAY WE WERE. When I first decided to tell the Ludzecky girls’ stories, I outlined each sister’s situation, deciding what happened to them after the Pettrone brothers died, how they were or were not moving on, and what their relationships
would be with the heroes.

I thought Ana’s situation was going to be particularly difficult to deal with. I even put her book of until number four so I could get to know her better. Writing about adultery is also chancy with audiences. Having a hero who is hard to defend is a problem. Because of those things, the story was bound to be depressing.

I was pleasantly surprised to
have had such an easy time with the book. I knew Ana well, understood her psyche and felt bad for her situation after she returned home. (No, I don’t think she should have left Jared and Opal for months, but she did!) And I loved Jared right away, despite his flaws. Boy, did he suffer for his mistakes. But he’s so willing to take responsibility for his actions, is such a good father and truly loves
his wife. How could you not root for him?

Despite all of the above, I hope you enjoyed Ana and Jared’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Stay tuned for book five, with the lovely Sofia at its center.

A side note: I really had fun with the teaching angle of this book. As you might know, I taught high school for decades, and was able to portray my philosophy on
teaching English to students.

Copyright 2015 Kathryn Shay

Cover art by Patricia Ryan

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Late February

Sofia calmed herself with rhythmic breathing and stared out the window of Eastside High School faculty lounge at the snow. Most people hated the weather at this time of year, but not her. She treasured every season’s dawn and end. When she was only sixteen, she hadn’t thought she’d experience very many of them again.