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Tattooed Emotions Synopsis
Raelyn Jennings has survived the unthinkable. She’s been given a second chance to live, to breathe, to feel. Her ability to overcome such a traumatic hurdle has created armor around her heart. But beyond her shield is fear, a consuming deep one, of the unknown. Raelyn vows to herself that she’ll solely focus on the one constant in her life, her career as the CEO for a prestigious accounting firm. Damien Heathman’s unrelenting determination has made him a powerful, respected man. He’s sexy and confident and utterly breathtaking. His dominance and strength is evident in every purposeful stride, every meaningful look, and every soft caress. Raelyn has worked with Damien’s company, Heathman Enterprises, for many years, but they’ve never crossed paths—until now. Damien’s presence fills a room. He steals Raelyn’s breath and sparks her broken heart back to life. Once Damien sets eyes on Raelyn, there is no turning back. He wants her, and he’ll stop at nothing to have her. Not even the dark secrets hidden behind his tattoos will stand in his way. The chemistry is undeniable. The passion is palpable. Can Damien convince Raelyn that he is worth the risk? Or will Raelyn allow her past to control her future, feeling the chance of another heartache is too great to bear?
Exclusive Excerpt
My legs automatically began to pace the
room from the two waiting chairs to the oncologist’s desk to the cream-colored
cot in front of me to a small sink and mirror on the far right corner of the
room, only to repeat my tiny confined circle all over again. There was no
soothing my anxiety. I was strung far too tight. One twitch of a muscle, and my
short fuse would ignite, causing me to shoot off into the sky like a rocket. It
was pure torture at its finest.
For the first time that I could remember
since I’d become sick, Iris let me be, as though she knew how fragile I was.
Each time I passed her, I dimly noted that she had shifted in her seat.
At last, a knock sounded on the door.
I nearly shouted, “Come in!”
Dr. Enright strolled into the room, calm
and collected as ever. My gaze traveled over his face, attempting to read his
royal-blue eyes, in hopes of finding the answers I so desperately needed. They
revealed nothing, of course. He was a sealed vault.
He tilted his head toward Iris, causing his
gray hair to shimmer beneath the overhead lighting. Looking back at me, he
said, “Ms. Jennings, how are you this morning?”
I couldn’t lie to him. This was Dr. Lucas
Enright, the man who had to be around the age of my foster parents, and he held
my future in his hands. He knew all my worst fears about this tumor—the main
one, the possibility of having my life being ripped away from me. There was no
reason to withhold the truth from him.
“I’m a mess,” I confessed on a whoosh. My
chest deflated with the sudden harsh movement, and white stars danced in my
line of vision.
Dr. Enright set his hand on my arm to
steady me. I blinked several times until I observed his brows were scrunched
together—in understanding or maybe pity.
Gosh, I hope that’s not pity.
“Raelyn, please have a seat.” He guided me
toward Iris. “With my old age, I’m afraid my reaction time has slowed. If you
faint, I’d hate for you to hurt yourself.”
I sat down next to Iris. She linked her
hand with mine as Dr. Enright pulled up his chair from my left and positioned
himself right in front of me.
I stopped breathing. This is it—the moment
I’ve been waiting for.
“Raelyn”—Dr. Enright let out a breath and
smiled softly—“I’m not going to go into in-depth medical details that you might
not understand. Hell, some of it I don’t even understand, as it clearly goes
against science.” His tone was full of wonder.
“Just tell me,” I cried unevenly, locking
eyes with the doctor before holding my breath once again.
“I’m delighted to say that you’re in
remission, Raelyn. There will be no need to continue another phase of
chemotherapy.”
Iris shot forward in her chair, making it
squeak against the white tiled floor. “Oh my God,” she wept with a death grip
on my hand.
The room began to spin as my vision
blurred. Ten thousand emotions seized me and held me captive. That short
emotional fuse I’d been worried about was now lit.
“What?” I asked Dr. Enright, my voice
splintering along with my heart at the possibility of his words being true. I
was certain I had misunderstood him. “But…but you told me that my chances of
survival were”—I blinked several times, but I stood no chance against the rush
of tears—“minimal.”
“They were,” the doctor stated softly,
shaking his head in awe. “I can’t really even explain it myself. As I said, the
nature of your specific type of glioma tumor was extremely aggressive, and for
it to respond to chemotherapy goes against science. My hopes were to give you
more time, knowing the odds of a complete recovery would be slim to none.
Today, I sit before you as a proud man to be proven wrong.” He revealed a
genuine smile and handed me my most recent scan. “Your MRI is clear. You are in
complete remission, Raelyn. You are cancer-free.”
Riveted in silence, I glanced down at the MRI.
The mass I recalled seeing on the original scan was indeed gone. By some
miracle, it had vanished with my treatments.
“I’m—” I broke off and inhaled a fresh
breath of air. “I’m cured?”
“Yes.” Dr. Enright beamed at me. Within
seconds, his expression sobered. “But, Raelyn, I need you to understand that,
more often than not, tumors such as yours have a high chance of redeveloping at
some point in time. With that said, there is little knowledge of how long you
will remain in remission.”
My throat swelled. I swallowed thickly at
this new information while nodding. “I understand.”
Dr. Enright placed his hand on mine. His
eyes filled with compassion as he said, “I will still need to monitor you
closely, and we will need to repeat an MRI every three months.”
“Okay.”
“Congratulations, Ms. Jennings.” Dr.
Enright slightly lifted his hand and offered a handshake. “You are a free
woman.”
I slipped my palm into his, overtaken by
the emotions brewing inside me.
I’m free…but for how long?
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