Book Title: Getting It Back
Author: Elizabeth Harmon
Genre: Contemporary/Sports
Release Date: March 2016
Hosted by: Book Enthusiast Promotions
An unexpected phone call from the man who broke her heart offers Amy Shepherd an opportunity to return to the work she loves, training elite figure skaters. Except it’s just one figure skater: Him. Can she finally forgive and forget?
Figure skater Mikhail “Misha” Zaikov once had it all: medals, money and the adoration of millions. But a devastating injury put an end to his career and his romance, leaving him with nothing but regret over what could have been. His last chance to re-join the world’s top skaters is now. And there’s only one person who can help him: Her.
On Russia’s unyielding ice, Misha must reclaim what he's lost while facing off against a talented young rival and risking further injury. But Amy soon discovers Misha's much bigger challenges lurk off the ice. And she's determined to keep Misha whole and healthy, even if doing so ends his shot at the gold.
Don't miss any of Elizabeth Harmon's Red Hot Russians. Pairing Off and Turning it On are available now!
She grabbed the buzzing phone from her nightstand, and when she looked at the display, it took a moment for her sleep-muddled mind to grasp the name. Then she sat up. Her palms felt prickly and heart began to pound. Was she dreaming? She had to be. She hadn’t heard from Mikhail Zaikov in almost two years.
Before she could answer, the ringing stopped. The glowing face of her alarm clock showed that it was a little after three-thirty on Sunday…no, Monday morning. The first week of spring break. Fully awake now, she switched on the lamp and stared down at the phone. The blinking red light signaled a message. This was no dream. Misha had called her.
Why?
By mistake, of course. Butt-dials happened all the time. He must be somewhere, doing what one did at 3:30 in the morning, and had bumped his phone, causing it to accidently dial her number. A miracle he still had it, really. She’d deleted his long ago. Her curiosity was piqued, but at the foot of her bed, her sleeping cat stirred, a reminder that curiosity was bad for felines, and probably for females, too. Misha’s message would probably turn out to be noise and voices from some far-away nightclub, or worse, a bedroom. She set the unanswered phone aside, and reached for the light, when the phone buzzed again. A text, this time.
She released a bitter laugh, thinking of the last text he’d sent. The one that said good-bye. But the need to know why he was texting in the middle of the night was too strong. She opened the message.
“Bk pain vry bad. Cant move. Alone.”
The stark black words on the small gray screen brought such an onslaught of heartache, and tenderness that she wished she hadn’t looked. She was finally at the point where she could look back on their time together and remember something besides the final hurt. And now, this. She typed a response—the one he deserved. Then she read it, deleted it, and tried again. Instead of bitterness, she settled for her default, problem-solving mode.
Where R U?
His reply came seconds later. Motel. Watkins IL.
Still in Illinois. A long way from where she was now, in Shackleton, Ohio, and a very long way from where they’d lived back when things were good. She’d never heard of Watkins, and what he was doing there, she hadn’t a clue. Nor did it have any bearing on her life now. She didn’t need the frustration, or whatever else, seeing him would bring. But she stared down at the message again, unable to ignore a bitter truth.
Even after what happened between them, he’d reached out to her, because there was no one else. Alone. Misha was alone in some small town and though he’d broken her heart, now he was the one hurting.
Serves him right.
Yet the thought of him suffering in some lonely middle-of-nowhere motel, tugged at the part of her which refused to kill spiders, and always cheered for the villain’s redemption. Misha was no villain. There was goodness in him, and at one time, she’d loved him and dreamt of their future together. She knew all about his physical pain, which could be debilitating, and as an athletic trainer, her job was to help and heal.
So help and heal she would, but once she had…then she would pour out the hurt and anger over the way he’d left. How he’d humiliated her in front of her family, and even made her change the direction of her career. She’d moved on in many ways, but had never found closure. Once she’d confronted him, she would find it, and officially turn the page on Mikhail Zaikov.
Pushing away her blankets, Amy swung her bare feet to the bedroom floor, and typed a reply she knew was the right one.
A graduate of the University of Illinois, she has worked in advertising, community journalism and as a freelance magazine writer. She feels incredibly blessed to have a career that allows her to spend her days imagining “what if?” and a loving family that keeps her grounded in the real world.
An adventurous cook, vintage home enthusiast, occasional actress, and entry-level figure skater, Elizabeth makes her home in the Midwest, where life is good, but the sports teams aren’t. She loves to hang out on her front porch, or at her favorite local establishments, enjoy good food and wine, and talk writing with anyone who will listen.
JM, thanks for being part of my cover reveal. Getting It Back comes out April 4, 2016 and I hope everyone enjoys Misha and Amy's story.
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