Category: Romance

Love All Over Me Author: Danielle Marcus

4/1/2019

"I gave you fifteen years, two kids, and my everything. You still chose to give a woman you barely knew the ring, the house, and my happily ever after." Bitter? Of course Dallas was bitter. She sacrificed her all for a man. How was she supposed to move on and appreciate the love of a real man after that? Trenton Smith is definitely a real man. However, she's making it hard for him not to pay for the mistakes of her ex and for some strange reason, he's determined more than ever to prove to her that all men aren't the same.
Sasha hasn’t wanted anything more in life than to have a baby with her fiancée, Hunt. However, after years of trying to reproduce, she’s finally coming to the conclusion that having a baby just may not be in the cards for her. Her infertility causes her to question her womanhood and sends her into a fit of depression. But, when she begins to find comfort in the arms of another man, it has her questioning her reality.
Candace is the proud owner of a very successful jazzercise class business. After dating the momma’s boy, the thug, and her favorite, the tired negro with good sex and no money, she finally finds her knight in shining armor. Things are going good… until she discovers the roommate he conveniently failed to mention. When Sasha's brother, Diego, decides to help mend her heart, she discovers that her soulmate may have been right under her nose the entire time.
Love All Over Me is a flirty, feel-good novel that takes you on a journey of love, heartbreak, and self-discovery. These ladies send you on an emotional high and hold you hostage until the very last page..

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EXCERPT
Chapter One

“Listen, are you coming to get the kids or not, Messiah?” Dallas grumbled, rolling her eyes at the sound of his voice. The mere thought of him caused her to cringe these days.
“Didn’t I say I was? Why you got to have an attitude every time I call. Bitter ain’t cute on you.”
Bitter? Dallas had to repeat those words in her head. She couldn’t believe his audacity. “You know what? Not today Satan. I will not let you take me out of my element. Bye asshole.” She ended the call before he could respond. Bitter? Hell yes, she was bitter and she had every right to be.
Fifteen years was a long time to love a man. Dallas Avery had invested everything in him. She gave up her dreams and sacrificed her own happiness to make sure that their relationship would end with the fairytale she’d imagined. She gave him the whole got damned cow and he still chose to marry another woman.
A frown tipped the corners of her lips as she thought about Messiah, her sperm donor. Sorry ass nigga, she grumbled, snatching a bronze dress from the clothing rack, giving it a once over, then hanging it back in place. Of course, their relationship wasn’t perfect, but whose was? Instead of trying to fix it, he found some young hoe that probably still had milk behind her ears and called himself replacing her. Just the thought made Dallas' stomach turn.
She may have accepted their break-up a little better if he'd ended things and let her be. However, somehow, he still found his way back to her bed every chance he got, stirring up emotions that she was desperately trying to rid herself of. How could she get over him when the familiarity of his touch still sent a shiver up her spine and shot her spiraling on an euphoric high?
Messiah was her drug and she was addicted to him. But just like every other high, it eventually wore off, bringing forth the sobering truth. He left her bed to go home to his fiancée while she hugged a pillow, wishing it was him.
She let out a sigh, thumbing through another rack of expensive dresses at Swank A Posh clothing boutique. Messiah's wedding to his young hoe was quickly approaching and Dallas was toying with the idea of crashing the ceremony and opening Pandora's box. They didn’t get to have their happily ever after while she sat in her room crying herself to sleep every other night. She was tired of being the bigger person when it was obvious that no one gave a damn about her feelings.
Mary J. Blige's Not Gon Cry had been on repeat on Dallas' playlist for the past three months. When Mary said “I should have left yo' ass a thousand times,” Dallas felt that in her soul. She wished she had left him the very first time he broke her heart. Now, he had her questioning why she wasn’t woman enough to keep her man. She had to pretend that she had everything together and put on the facade of the perfect mother, when the truth was, she was salty. She resented Messiah just as much as she loved him.
Dallas tried her best to push him from her thoughts as she scanned the price tag connected to the sleeves of a gorgeous, peach mermaid-style gown. Her brows creased. "Eight hundred dollars?" she mumbled, analyzing the dress again, attempting to tell herself that it wasn’t all that. But, being honest with herself, she knew she’d kill the game in it. Her body had always been stacked in all the right places.
She studied the price tag again, calculating which bill she could skip to pay for the piece. Messiah Jr.'s basketball camp money was due, the light bill needed to be paid, and Mr. Thomas had already given her an extension on the car loan. Her lips formed a pout. “Here I am robbing Peter to pay Paul while your stankin' ass is out living your best life. And you got the nerve to call me bitter?” She sucked her teeth slamming the dress back into its rightful place.
“Dang, what did that dress do to you? I think it would look fly on you.” A deep baritone massaged Dallas’s eardrums. His warm breath and the feeling of his presence sent a chill up her spine. She jumped, before focusing on him. Damn, he was fine.
Dallas snorted. “Not for eight hundred dollars. It better turn me into Beyoncé for that price.”
“Beyoncé is overrated. You're not giving yourself enough credit,” he added charmingly.
Was he flirting? Dallas took a second to scan him. He was so smooth… and handsome. His chocolate six-foot-two-inch frame was muscular, broad shoulders held up his blazer, a fresh cut had his waves spinning and he had thick kiss-me lips. Then, he had the nerve to be dressed GQ in a three-piece suit and a pair of wing-tipped Ferragamos. She knew what they were because Messiah had those same shoes. They’d actually argued over them. However, she couldn’t remember Messiah looking that good in them.
“Thanks,” Dallas muttered, tucking a stray strand of her chestnut hair behind her ear. Her gaze landed on the watch on her wrist, causing her eyes to bulge. She only had seven minutes to get back over to the office. She’d spent more time than she’d intended at the boutique.
“Dallas, right?” He smiled, pointing at her name badge. “I saw you walk in and couldn’t let you go without telling you how pretty you are.”
Her cheeks stained red. She couldn’t remember the last time she received a simple compliment. She actually didn’t know how to take it. Her lips formed a pout. “Thank you, but I’m not interested.” Dallas responded, studying the dress again, then focusing back on the stranger.
“Not interested in what? I never made any offers.” He corrected her.
Dallas rolled her eyes. She didn’t know why she was giving the man such a hard time. She couldn’t help it. Messiah left a sour taste in her mouth, and the poor stranger was the easiest to take it out on. “Whatever, I have to go.” She spat, stepping around him and making her way toward the exit.
“You still beautiful. Mean and all.” Dallas heard him. The half smile that crept on her face showcased the dimple on her left cheek. She didn’t want to be angry anymore. She didn’t want to cry over Messiah another night. Why was she finding it so hard to move on? After dealing with Messiah's no-good, cheating ass, dating another man was last on her agenda. He had really done a number on her. They'd been officially broken up for ten months, him engaged three, and she still hadn't opened herself up to dating again.

***

"Damnit, Messiah Jr., what did I tell you about leaving this ball in the middle of my floor? And why are your clothes spread all over my living room?" Dallas squalled, bracing herself from falling onto her face. She exhaled, sucking in a deep breath, attempting to calm her nerves.
Dallas loved her kids, deeply, she really did. However, she needed a mental break; mommy time with margaritas and girl talk or a night filled with hot, dirty, and disrespectful sex accompanied by a tall, sexy, chocolate brother with a nice body and… No, she had to stop herself while she was ahead. Having random sex wasn’t exactly her style.
"Sorry, Ma. My dad coming to get us today and he wanted us to dress nice. I was going to ask you which one you wanted me to wear," Messiah Jr. explained, snatching his basketball up and shooting at an imaginary rim. "We're going to dinner with that girl's family. I don't want to meet them, but Dad said I have to." His peanut butter face formed a pout. Messiah Jr. was so handsome. He was the perfect mixture of both parents, from his charcoal-black curly hair inherited through Dallas, to his brown eyes and full nose taken from his father.
Dallas stifled a giggle. "Don't call her that girl. She has a name. And don't be like that, son. She's your family now." Damn, it was hard being the bigger person. It nearly killed Dallas, but she promised herself to never talk down on their situation no matter how much it hurt.
"That's not my family! You're my family, Mom. I'll make a mistake and knock all the drinks on her dress if you want me to." He snickered deviously, causing Dallas to chortle.
"Messiah!" Dallas covered her mouth, unable to hold in her laughter. "It's okay this time, baby. I'll let you know when I need your backup," she added, nudging him and ruffling his curls.
The doorbell chimed before Messiah Jr. could respond. He tossed his basketball in the corner and raced toward the stairs. "That's Dad. I'll go get Meghan so y'all can talk." He made googly eyes at Dallas as he passed her, causing her to shake her head. Her son was a complete character. He wanted them to get back together so badly. It was almost as if he didn't understand that it was over. Their happy family was torn apart because his father decided to marry his mistress, his whore, his homewrecker. Dallas could think of quite a few more names she could have called the girl but she was trying not to let those ill thoughts consume her.
Dallas let out a husky breath of air, watching her son disappear. Was she ready to come face-to-face with Messiah? No. He'd just broken the news of his engagement and instantaneous wedding, demanding that their children participate as the official flower girl and groomsman. He hadn't even given the wound time to heal, yet here he was showing up at her doorstep, forcing her to suck it up. She always had to just suck it up no matter what it was.
Releasing another husky breath, Dallas tried her best to relax her nerves. It was just Messiah, right? The same tired nigga that went out and proposed to some hoe that he’d only known for months, although she had given him nearly fifteen years.
Fifteen years? Reciting that number almost made her lose her breath. She had given him the whole cow, milked it for him, and his ungrateful ass still went out and got him another woman. She gave him the best years of her life, she gave him his children, sacrificing her freedom, and he simply said fuck her.
Dallas wanted to hate him but she couldn’t. She just wanted to know why. That question kept repeating in her head. Why would he shoot a bullet right through her heart like that?
Biting into her bottom lip, Dallas swung the door open and smoothed the wrinkles out of her top, an attempt to calm her nerves. Standing before her with his hands shoved in his black slacks, the top two buttons of his shirt unhooked, and his tie loosened, Messiah was perfect.
Dallas loved him, that was something she gave up trying to deny. She didn’t understand how she could love a man with every fiber in her being and hate him just as much. She had to use all the strength she could muster not to break down at the reality of her broken forever standing in her face.
“Hey, Dally. Are the kids ready?” He pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied his watch. “We have an hour to make it to the restaurant. Tatiana’s people gets to acting stupid and I’m not trying to hear it.”
Dallas’s face contorted into the sourest frown. “I don’t give a damn what her family do.” She spat, pointing her finger at his chest. “You know, you’re really an inconsiderate asshole, Messiah. Wait here, I’ll send the kids out shortly.” She rolled her eyes, fighting to hold back those tears that were on the verge of escaping without her permission. She had shed far too many tears over him. He didn’t deserve anymore of them.
Messiah frowned. “Damn, I can’t come in the house now? I paid for the motherfucka and I left it to you, might I add. If I was an asshole, I would have taken it back.”
If looks could kill, the mug on Dallas’s face would have sent Messiah to an early grave. She could only shake her head at him. He really didn’t have a clue. “No, you’re still an asshole. You don’t get points for not putting your kids on the street being that you’re the one who walked away to be with your mistress.”
“Come on, Dallas,” Messiah groaned, raking a hand across his freshly shaved face. “It’s been ten months, how long are you going to keep bringing Tatiana up? It’s getting old.”
“How dare you cheat on me and decide when I’m supposed to stop hurting? So, fifteen years meant nothing to you? Huh? I did everything you asked of me, Messiah. I gave you a part of me that no one else had, and this random broad comes along and gets the ring, the horse, and the carriage? Don’t you dare tell me how to feel about that!” Dallas’s lips were clenched so tightly that she was barely able to get the words out. Her heart began to thump hard and fast. The uneasy feeling that settled in her gut almost made her nauseous.
Dallas thought about the little girl that he was supposed to marry. That’s what she was to her, a kid. At twenty-three, she couldn’t possibly have anything going for herself except a wet ass. Dallas had debated many nights on what the girl had over her that made Messiah propose. She beat herself up trying to figure out what she was doing wrong and how she could fix it. Sadly, after everything he’d put her through, a part of her was hoping that he’d realize the mistake he was making, apologize for her pain, and they’d live happily ever after. That’s what made her sick… the fact that she was willing to take him back. She was weak and she prayed for the strength to get over his sorry ass.
“Listen, Dallas,” Messiah started, jarring her from her mental debate, as he cupped her elbow to make her pay attention to him. He ignored the grim look plastered across her face and continued with his words. “You know I’ll always have love for you and my children. Me marrying Tatiana will never change that.” He bit down on his bottom lip. “But in the future, demand what you want out of a man. Because I, or shall I say he, will only do what you allow him to do. I didn’t want a maid, I wanted a partner, Dallas.”
Before Dallas could process her actions, her hand landed across Messiah’s cheek. She slapped him so hard that the sound echoed through the house. “Get out!” Dallas screamed, pointing toward the door. “Get the hell out of my house and wait for your children in the car. Go, Messiah!” Her voice was shaky and a little too loud for her comfort, especially with the kids being in the house. But how could Messiah not see that he was breaking her? She felt like his personal prisoner and he’d given her a life sentence. She pretended to be strong for far too long. She couldn’t do it anymore. She just couldn’t.

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