Oh Merci: Fireball, #1

By Robin Rance

Merci…

My husband Paul continually beat me down, and I was shattered because of it. Somewhere I'd heard the phrase 'When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.' Me, I went for the hard stuff, Fireball Whiskey.

 

And that's what sent me straight into the arms of Ryan West. That and the reality that he was kind, gorgeous, and incredibly sweet. Did I mention hot?

 

He made one thing clear for me, I couldn't stay with my abusive husband, or he would crush my spirit. I deserved so much more, and thanks to Ryan, I had the desire to go for it.

 

Ryan…

The weekend was here again, and I sat alone at the bar. One of these days, Tricia, would push me too hard, and I'd leave her for good. Wishful thinking will get you nowhere, old man.

 

If my marriage wasn't so unsatisfactory, maybe I wouldn't have noticed the blonde with the incredible legs. She looked like a fish out of water as she floundered in those heels in her hurry to get to the bar.

 

I did my best to focus on something – anything else but that beautiful woman. Instead, I order her another fireball whiskey. I didn't know it then, but because of my actions, nothing in my life would ever be the same again…

 

Get ready for the ride of your life. Will this be the end or the beginning for Merci and Ryan? 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robin Rance
• Release date: Apr 26, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201556655

Robin Rance

Robin Rance is married but spent twenty-two years as a single mother of five before she married her forever husband. She was a letter carrier for twenty-four years and is now retired from the postal service. Now she lives in Southern Utah, where she writes her books, cooks, and spends quality time with her family and grandkids.   Robin began writing after a reoccurring dream kept making an appearance. She wakes up regularly with other stories begging to be told. Robin generally writes contemporary romance and has written other genres, including inspirational romance and a fantasy historical book. She also has three children’s books, one a sweet young adult book.  Robin currently has over thirty books that are all self-published and is always working on writing more. If you enjoy what you’ve read, please remember to leave a review, and please recommend her to your friends and family members who read

Book preview

Merci...

My husband Paul continually beat me down, and I was shattered because of it. Somewhere I'd heard the phrase 'When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.' Me, I went for the hard stuff, Fireball Whiskey.

And that's what sent me straight into the arms of Ryan West. That and the reality that he was kind, gorgeous, and incredibly sweet. Did I mention hot?

He made one thing clear for me, I couldn't stay with my abusive husband, or he would crush my spirit. I deserved so much more, and thanks to Ryan, I had the desire to go for it.

Ryan...

The weekend was here again, and I sat alone at the bar. One of these days, Tricia, would push me too hard, and I'd leave her for good. Wishful thinking will get you nowhere, old man.

If my marriage wasn't so unsatisfactory, maybe I wouldn't have noticed the blonde with the incredible legs. She looked like a fish out of water as she floundered in those heels in her hurry to get to the bar.

I did my best to focus on something – anything else but that beautiful woman. Instead, I order her another fireball whiskey. I didn't know it then, but because of my actions, nothing in my life would ever be the same again...

Get ready for the ride of your life. Will this be the end or the beginning for Merci and Ryan? 

Robin Rance retains 100% of the rights and copyright licenses to the manuscript and all other materials found in this book.

All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.

@Robin Rance 2020

Case # B01N6F3EUX

Dedication:

This book is dedicated to the lonely housewives who have never felt they were good enough.

You are amazing, beautiful, and unique. Don’t ever forget that. Don’t stay with anyone who makes you feel you’re not worth their time.

Part One

Fireball Whiskey

Chapter 1

Merci

Right now I wanted to cry, scream and throw a fit. Instead, I drove around until I found a bar near the motel that I would be staying in; alone, mind you, and it was for the entire weekend.

I had no idea what it was that had set Paul off earlier, and I’d thought about it during the entire drive.

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PAUL WALKED INTO THE house whistling, and he knew I hated whistlers. Still, I didn't say a word to him. He took a long slow look at me as I stood in the hallway.

Tonight, I wore my best white halter top, a black mini skirt, and high heels. I was so excited about the chance to get out of the house and be with him. I hadn't gotten dressed up in forever.

What are you dressed like that for? His tone was hurtful as he frowned at me.

But I continued to smile, maybe he'd overlooked our anniversary. I've arranged for my parents to take the girls for the weekend. He still glared at me.

Have you forgotten what today is, Paul?

Merci, you look like a chunky hooker. I hope you don't expect me to take you anywhere with you dressed like that. He turned away from me and walked over to pour himself a drink.

He'd been doing a lot of that lately. Drinking, and it was the hard stuff. I'd never had anything to drink except for some wine with dinner. That had only been when we were eating dinner at his parent's house.

Paul, you know I've tried really hard to lose weight, and I have. Don't you remember this outfit? I wore it the very first time we went out. Do you remember? Then it dawned on me what he had just said.

Why do you say such mean things to me all of the time? I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek to stop myself from crying. It fits me better now than it did back then. Paul, please look at me!

He took a big gulp of the liquor that he'd poured for himself, and then he turned his head and glanced at me. You were a lot younger back then. Now, you look like a middle-aged hooker. He finished off the glass and dropped it into the sink. I was surprised that it hadn't shattered as hard as it landed.

I wasn't going to let his mean words ruin this night for me. I can change into something else. I'll let you choose. Please, Paul. We've got the whole weekend to ourselves. My parents have the girls, and I wanted to re-connect with you. You know–in the bedroom. We haven't made love in ages.

He turned away from me. Sorry, doll. I've got some things that I need to do for my boss this weekend. He's got contractors coming in from out of town, and he needs my help to entertain them. He glanced at me, then he turned and brushed past me before he went into the bedroom to change his clothes.

I stared at him as he left the bedroom and moved past me again. He stopped at the front door and then turned around and said, Maybe you can work on fixing up this dump. I'll be gone for the whole weekend. Freddy's taking us to that new men's club in town. Who knows, maybe that'll put me in the mood for sex? Be a good girl. He opened the door, and it slammed shut behind him.

Be a good girl. That was it? No, I love you. I'm sorry I ruined our weekend. Just be a good girl and fix up this dump. As I spoke hot, angry tears ran down my cheeks. 

I'd talked to my friend, Mindy, about the weekend. Initially, I'd asked her to take the kids. I didn't want to explain to my parents why it was so vital for them to watch the girls for me. I wasn't going to go to them now and explain why we weren't going out as I'd planned.

Well, Paul, if you're going to leave me on our anniversary weekend and have fun with the boys, then I'm going to have some fun of my own. There, I said it out loud.

A picture containing text, glass Description automatically generated

I DROVE UNTIL I SAW the neon sign advertising, 'The Surrender' A day and nightclub for your dining pleasure.

That sounds like just what I need – some pleasure. I parked my pile car back in the corner. I had to worm my way out of the front seat carefully. I'd forgotten how short this skirt was. I probably should have put on a different one. Oh well, this chunky hooker didn't care at the moment.

The front door was heavy; it was a thick, smokey gray, colored glass, and hard for me to pull open. I pulled hard on the handle and shimmied my way inside through the crack. There weren't many people sitting around at the tables, at least not the ones facing my direction. However, the occupied ones had an assortment of males, who all stared at me as I walked into the building.

I knew I should have changed my skirt.

The bar was in the center of the room. There were comfortable-looking stools that lined the front and on either side of the expensive-looking countertop. The seats were attached underneath and swiveled. I saw one man sitting at one of the ends and made my way to the other.

I'll sit here and spin while I drink.

I ordered a fireball whiskey. One of my girlfriends told me that if you wanted to get drunk in a hurry, a few shots of this would do it. Well, I was ready to get plowed. I listened to the bartender whistling. 'Centerfold.' Why he was whistling that one, I had no clue? But it was getting on my nerves. Maybe it was because he resembled my husband in an off-key sort of way.

I was trying to figure out how my night had become so screwed up. I knew it wasn't my fault, and if that guy didn't stop whistling that particular tune, I was going to move on to the next bar.

Paul and I had been having some problems in the bedroom lately. I couldn't even think it out loud. S E X. We'd been having issues with our sex life. We had two beautiful girls, and the youngest one was now three, but Paul had been bugging me about my belly. He commented a lot lately about how it had been three years already and shouldn't I have lost the weight by now. Or Jackie, down the street, had her baby a year ago, and she doesn't jiggle.

What Paul kept saying to me about my weightiness was hurtful; I asked him to stop talking to me about it because it just made me feel worse. I tried to be very careful about what I was eating. I'd been doing sit-ups, and crunches and I discovered that more than anything, it was squats that I hated the most.

I worked hard on getting myself back into shape. I would never be in the same condition I once was – did those women actually exist?

My first experience with sex had left a bad taste in my mouth, literally. Now, I enjoyed it. Paul had taught me a lot about letting loose, not being so uptight, and how to appreciate our time under the covers together. That was before we had the girls. Now he hardly touched me, and when he did, it was quickies in the dark. I wanted more.

After I'd arranged for my parents to take the kids for the weekend, I found a cheap motel that was affordable enough for me to pay for a few nights of hopefully, hot romantic sex. I'd even bought some new lingerie for the occasion. Thank God I hadn't removed the tags yet. It was in a sack still in my trunk. I would get my money back in the morning.

The sinful garments were a deep maroon, almost purple color. I'd found a camisole with matching panties and lace stockings. I thought I'd looked pretty good in it when I'd first tried it on.

Oh well, live, and learn.

The