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Hungry.
He wants me.
Brendon wants me.
Get Tempting Now
Author’s Note
I fell in love with Ryan back in Tempting, when he first glared at Brendon and muttered something about everyone getting to work. At the time, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with his heartbreak. Would he get back together with his ex? Would he be the hero perfect for the moody second chance romance idea I had way back when? Or did he need to let go of the idea of the one who got away?
Writing a series is a funny thing. The side characters shape themselves. It’s some kind of magic. Honestly, I can’t explain it. Book one is impossible. I curse the written word. I find every excuse I can to hide from the blank page. But, by the end, I know who Hero Two is, what he wants, who he needs, exactly how I need to torture him to force him to change. By the time I finished Playing, I knew Ryan needed to end up with Leighton. And I knew he would struggle to get over the idea of himself belonging with his ex.
At its heart, that’s what this book is about: it’s about throwing away your idea of who you are and what you’re supposed to feel so you can look in the mirror and see who that person really is. It was so much fun diving into Ryan’s damaged head (I love the broody ones). But what was really fun was pushing him out of his comfort zone, forcing him to confront the ideas that were no longer serving him.
This book was a treat. It was so much fun poking Ryan’s bruises, watching him fail to see what was right in front of his face, reveling in Dean torturing his brother. I hope you love Ryan as much as I do. As always, I hope to see you for the next Inked Hearts book. Dean’s story is a treat—everything you expect from him and so much more (and so much banter).
Thanks for reading.
Love,
Crystal
Acknowledgements
My first thanks goes to my husband, for his support when I’m lost in bookland and for generally being the sun in my sky. Sweetheart, you’re better than all the broken bad boys in the world.
The second goes to my father, for insisting I go to the best film school in the country, everything else be damned. I wouldn’t love movies, writing, or storytelling half as much if not for all our afternoon trips to the bookstore and weekends at the movies. You’ve always been supportive of my goals, and that means the world to me.
A big shout out to all my beta readers. You helped give me the confidence to put out a book a little more heartbreaking than usual. And also to my ARC readers for helping spread the word to everyone else in the world.
A special thanks to my fellow pop-punk addict, Molle, for fangirling over music with me, for talking me through my business decisions, and for reminding me that loving my work matters as much as all the marketing money in the world.
Athena Wright, you are the best author friend a girl could ask for. Thank you for your feedback, for being my chat buddy, and for always being there to give me the perspective I need. And thank you for mocking me when I deserve it and telling me no when I need to hear it.
Thanks so much to my editor Marla, my designer’s Tash and Gel, and to all my beta readers.
As always, my biggest thanks goes to my readers. Thank you for picking up Pretend You’re Mine. I hope you’ll be back for Loving You, Hating You (Dean’s book), coming this June.
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More books about the men of Inked Hearts are coming soon.
Dean’s book is coming soon. Turn the page for a teaser!
Hating You, Loving You
Special Teaser
Chapter 1
Chloe
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