Alicia and JT had been happily married for one full month now but she was still in awe of his entire being, the same as she’d been the first day she’d met him. It was still so hard to conceive of how truly blessed she was to have found him-the perfect spouse, who, ironically, was ten years her senior, just like her first husband had been-not to mention how soon it all had happened. She’d sent him her manuscript as planned, he’d called her two days after receiving it, saying he’d read it and loved it, and the next thing Alicia had known, they’d found themselves on the phone for two hours. They’d talked about everything imaginable, and one thing had led to another. He’d driven over to Mitchell the next day to take her to dinner, and just one month later, JT had presented her with a three-carat, princess-cut, solitaire diamond ring. He had slipped the huge rock onto her finger and had asked her to marry him. For a few seconds, however, and only a few seconds, Alicia had been speechless and in tears, but then she had quickly told him yes three different times. She could still remember how happy she’d been, happier than she’d ever been in her life, and how even though they’d been together only for six short months, she felt as if she’d known this man for years.

There was one unfortunate aspect, however, that she couldn’t push out of her mind: Her father didn’t approve of JT and still hadn’t accepted the idea that she’d gotten married to him. She’d tried her best to forget her father’s words and all the reasons he’d given in terms of why she needed to end things with JT-reasons he’d given her for the umpteenth time the night before the wedding. But she couldn’t.

“Baby girl, I really wish you’d think long and hard about what you’re getting ready to do tomorrow,” her father said. “Because all JT Valentine cares about is money, power, and women, and he’ll never do right by you.”

“Daddy, why can’t you just be happy for me? I mean, why can’t you just support my decision the same way you did when I married Phillip?”