Women’s Fiction
Date Published: 05-16-2023
Publisher: Creative James Media
When a career-ending injury and a messy breakup send prima ballerina
Daniela Verdi back to Queens, New York, she fills her days with countless
distractions: meaningless sex, pinot grigio, and video games.
It takes a chance meeting with her brother’s best friend, Vincent LaBate,
for her to remember who she was before the stage lights and distractions of
the Upper West Side. She’s convinced that Vincent could never love a girl
like her: broken, insecure, and stumbling her way through life. What Daniela
didn’t count on is that Vincent is as scarred as she is after
divorcing his cheating wife and going through an equally messy child custody
fight. Soon enough, old vulnerabilities rear their ugly heads, opening a
crack in Daniela’s perfectly imperfect romance.
As Daniela and Vincent’s relationship develops, will Daniela learn to
accept that a dream life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be?
The stubble of his beard brushed my cheek, and I felt my face flare in a red hot glow. Was I sweating? The baby hairs on my neck stood on end.
I didn’t look at him after that. While the sea lions burst from the water and clapped flippers, my heart raced. My face needed to calm the hell down. This wasn’t happening. I wasn’t all flustered by Vinny sitting next to me.
Arf! Arf! The sea lion balanced a ball on his nose before tossing it into the water.
He was looking damn good, the tight ass, scruffy beard, and sigh dimples. Those fucking dimples. After the show ended with a hearty round of applause and shouts of joy from the boys, Vinny asked, “All right, who wants hot dogs?” The kids shot their hands up and I laughed. “You don’t want a hot dog?”
“I don’t remember the last time I ate a hot dog.” I admitted as we shuffled out of the seats.
“We’re getting you a hot dog, no question.”
Our band of merry men, and one lady, left the aquarium and wandered our way down the Coney Island boardwalk.
Vinny’s eyes lingered on Luna Park as we sauntered by. There was something brewing in those eyes of his, but I couldn’t tell what it was.
About the Author
After declaring herself a pretty pink princess during her first ballet class, Rachel dreamt of sugarplums and began pirouetting her way through life. While studying to become a ballerina, she compulsively read books under her covers by flashlight and scribbled in spiral-bound notebooks. The urge to tell stories culminated in her graduation from Columbia College
Chicago with a B.F.A. in fiction writing.
Never one to keep her feet on the ground, she traveled the world from Prague to Cape Town. Once settled back in Queens, she dabbled in journalism before working as an Editorial Assistant for a medical publisher. Seeking a more fulfilling career, she earned her MAT from Queens College and currently works as an English teacher in an alternative program in NYC.
Rachel spends her time sipping coffee, trying to cook, and practicing her pirouettes. She currently resides in Freeport, Long Island.
Contact Links
Purchase Links
