Jay Crownover - Asa

JAY CROWNOVER

Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by Harper 2015

Copyright © Jennifer M Voorhees 2015

Cover layout design © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2015

Cover photographs © Andreas Jorns Photography/Haan Germany/Getty Images (woman, hair)

Jennifer M Voorhees asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780007579099

Ebook Edition © April 2015 ISBN: 9780007579105

Version 2015-03-24

Dedicated to everyone living and experiencing this moment right now with me. This is for the readers, the book lovers, the bibliophiles, the word junkies … my peeps that understand nothing is better than a new book and the escape into a new story. I love that we get to share this world together and I am and always will be proud to be one of you.

Happiness, not in another place but this place … not for another hour, but this hour.

—Walt Whitman

You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.

—Henry David Thoreau

The first step toward getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.

—J. P. Morgan

Contents

Cover

Title Page JAY CROWNOVER

Copyright Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.uk First published in Great Britain by Harper 2015 Copyright © Jennifer M Voorhees 2015 Cover layout design © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2015 Cover photographs © Andreas Jorns Photography/Haan Germany/Getty Images (woman, hair) Jennifer M Voorhees asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library. This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins. Source ISBN: 9780007579099 Ebook Edition © April 2015 ISBN: 9780007579105 Version 2015-03-24

Dedication Dedicated to everyone living and experiencing this moment right now with me. This is for the readers, the book lovers, the bibliophiles, the word junkies … my peeps that understand nothing is better than a new book and the escape into a new story. I love that we get to share this world together and I am and always will be proud to be one of you.

Epigraph Happiness, not in another place but this place … not for another hour, but this hour. —Walt Whitman You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this. —Henry David Thoreau The first step toward getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are. —J. P. Morgan

INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION We made it! The end. Oh, my word—or many, many words, to be more accurate—I don’t know how, but six books in and we’re finally here. It’s unbelievable and sort of fitting that Asa closes this particular circle. He wasn’t supposed to be part of the group—wasn’t supposed to be family—wasn’t supposed to get a book or an HEA, and yet fate had other plans for him. Sort of like it did for me. He had to fight to get where he belonged, and a couple of times along the way I’ve felt like I had to do that, too. I tell ya what: this southern boy undid me on a lot of levels, and not just because he’s closing the chapter on this series that forever changed my life. It’s unbelievable to me when I think about the fact that Asa’s book will be number eight in a little over two years, and that’s just insane and superexciting. I never thought I’d have even one book published in my entire life! So the fact that we are all here at the end together is pretty damn amazing. Initially, I had written a very different intro for this book. It was long and drawn out and outlined all the things I struggled with to get to this place where I am now … the end … and the beginning. It hasn’t always been a smooth journey for me, but I realized somewhere along the way that this wasn’t what I should be focusing on as we close this chapter together. No, what I needed to focus on was this moment. This exact second, when I am able to say good-bye along with my readers, and when I hopefully entice them with me into starting the new series. I needed to be present in the here and now and not looking over my shoulder at all the would’ves and could’ves and should’ves … that’s something I struggle with on a daily basis. I sometimes forget I’m not the boss of the entire world and letting go of the want and need to control particular outcomes and situations is very hard for me. But I’m doing it NOW. Right now, I’m sitting here being overwhelmed with gratitude that I got to give each of these men and women a story. I’m overcome with emotion for the support and love my stories and ideas have found along the way. I am humbled by the amount of people that are willing to take a chance on me time and time again. And mostly I am filled to the brim with so much love for these books and the people that love them as much as I do that I can’t even stand it. Readers bring such joy and excitement into my life, and any struggle, any complaint, any gripe I have pales in comparison to that. Thank you for being here. Thank you for letting me be here … As always Love & Ink Jay

CHAPTER 1: Asa

CHAPTER 2: Royal

CHAPTER 3: Asa

CHAPTER 4: Royal

CHAPTER 5: Asa

CHAPTER 6: Royal

CHAPTER 7: Asa

CHAPTER 8: Royal

CHAPTER 9: Asa

CHAPTER 10: Royal

CHAPTER 11: Asa

CHAPTER 12: Royal

CHAPTER 13: Asa

CHAPTER 14: Royal

CHAPTER 15: Asa

CHAPTER 16: Royal