Book Spotlight: "Unsurprisingly Complicated" by Claudia Burgoa
Unsurprisingly Complicated(Unexpected Series #2)
by Claudia Burgoa
Release Date: April 30, 2015
About Unsurprisingly Complicated
AJ
The lies between my parents and I came to light and now I’m working on a new life for myself. Along the way, I have my trusty superhero, Mason, to lean on when I have a hard time standing or when my crazy ex-boyfriend continues to feel he has a claim on me.
Porter has trouble understanding that there hasn’t been an ‘us’ for more than three years plus all the issues he had brought upon himself. My father was right, drugs do kill. My other concern is the growing feelings I am having regarding Mason. There’s something between us I want to explore but I keep getting mixed signals. Here, I thought that after telling my parents about my lies and having their full support, things wouldn’t be as complicated as they are.
Mason
My parents divorced before I even made my entrance into this world. My father has been obsessed with that love for years while my mother searches for love in all the wrong places. I don’t want a place to call home or a girl I can claim as mine. Except… Ainsley Janine –better known as ‘Nine’—has some special power that makes me question my preferences. The more I try to stay away from her, the more she pulls me closer.
Exploring the possibilities of having something steady in my life isn’t a problem; it’s the long term that worries me. In addition to that, the scumbag she dated years ago keeps popping up everywhere we go. If I could use my license to kill, maybe I can stop worrying about one thing and concentrate on what to do with the green eyed girl who keeps me awake most nights.
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An Excerpt from Unsurprisingly Complicated
“Are you sure this is okay with you?
“Yes, Mason Bradley.” This is the tenth time he has asked me the question.
“Did you use sex to distract me?”
I clamp my lips together and refuse to answer the question. I wasn’t going to, but he gave me the perfect idea when I was desperate to make a point that his mother had to stay with me.
Of course, now I’m chewing my lip because Mrs. Reality knocks me down with full force. My boyfriend’s mother is staying with me. Not just any woman—his mother. She’s going to judge me, hate me, and, what else do mothers do?
“Does she know about me?”
“No.” He takes his eyes off the road for a second.
My hands slam against my face.
“Of course she knows about you. She’s known about you since you were little, Nine.”
“I don’t mean that way.” I toss my head against the seat and roll my eyes.
“Girlfriend. I mean, I am your girl right?”
“Oh, that detail. You are?”
I groan like a wounded bear.
“It’s a joke. Damn, you get feisty when you’re nervous. Take it easy. Yes, she knows and she’s aware that you and I are dating. You hold the girlfriend title, the girl who tamed me, my other half, the one who holds the key to my cell and that’s why I stick around.”
I suck on my lip as I gift him with my deep, hard glare of ‘die’. “You’re not funny.”
“Oh, I am.” He laughs as I burn with panic, fear, and unamused anger.
My entire body is shaking at the prospect of having the woman in my house for however long she’s staying here.
“How long is she staying?” I’m trying to figure out my schedule for the next few days.
“She didn’t say.” A response that won’t help me with the jitters eating the insides of my stomach or with planning.
Ugh, I put myself into this situation. Great.
“Stop,” he orders. “I’m the only one allowed to nibble those lips. They’re mine.”
He takes my hand and kisses the inside of my wrist. Then his finger caresses my skin soothing the knotted nerves.
“She’s going to like you.”
Not love me? My world is in danger of crumbling as I learn that winning over his mom may be a bigger challenge that I originally thought.
“Oh, God!” I finally let the excruciating panic out.
“What is she going to think about me?” The question comes out of my subconscious. “That we’re going too fast. I mean, you’re practically living in my house, which I love. Each day a new pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and some other item finds a spot in my closet. Scott, your sports car, lives next to Eleanor. Tucker stays at my parents’.”
“Huh, you just noticed?” He kisses my hand again. “To clarify, I’m not living with you. There are a few items I have around to make things simpler when I stay overnight. That brings me to another issue. Stop naming my stuff. It’s a car, not Scott; a truck, not Tucker.” He pats the dashboard.
“Ready?” he taps my nose with his free hand. “Stamp on that pretty smile of yours. That, ‘I’m about to die’ look isn’t flattering. Here they are.”
Mason parks the car in front of a couple. Mr. and Mrs. Daugherty wait for us outside the terminal with their luggage. Mason’s stepfather is only a few inches taller than his wife, bald but with handsome features.
“Wait here,” Mason orders.
Mason’s mom is an inch or two taller than me, maybe five-seven. Porcelain skin with dark almond-shaped eyes and fine, soft features. Dark hair and a smooth complexion, just like I remember her from childhood.
Due to airport restrictions, within seconds Mason shoves their luggage in the trunk and helps his mom into the car as his stepfather did not offer.
“Mother, meet Ainsley Colthurst-Decker, better known as Nine or the girl I casually date.” He used the dorky jokester voice. I narrowed my eyes at him. “My lovely girlfriend. I’m not sure if you remember her. Nine, Mom.”
About the Unexpected Series
About Unlike Any Other (Unexpected #1)
AJ
The name AJ Colthurst may not have any meaning to the public eye, but it should, as I’m the daughter of two famous celebrities. Like any superstar, they crave privacy; so much of it, they built a house in the middle of nowhere for us children. As we grew older, we discovered the lies they built as a fort to protect us from the media, ended up causing emotional damage along the way.
I carry a portion of the guilt on my shoulders; the other part I discovered is the separation of my parents. Their unorthodox ways may have driven me bonkers, but knowing they are no longer together is unacceptable.
That’s why I decided to rattle their cage by reminding at least one of my parents of the past and the reason they belong together. They need to remember why their love is so perfect and why they have to fight to keep it alive. Even if it means I have to dredge up some of my own painful memories along the way.
Gabe
Back in the early eighties, I set myself to succeed in the financial world. The first step had been moving to New York City to become a stockbroker, but things didn’t work out the way I had hoped. Instead, I ended up making movies and by the end of the decade, Gabe Colt had become a famous name. The downside to my career of choice: the paparazzi. In order to protect my family and our privacy, I maintained my family away from the circus. It had been for their own good; a decision we had made before we started our family.
However, those past decisions ended up chasing my entire family away and now I’m trying to put the pieces back together along with my little girl.
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An Excerpt from Unlike Any Other
“You don’t seem surprised to see me.”
“The bank called earlier to inform me that Miss Colthurst spent twenty-five thousand dollars in one swipe and to confirm that I authorized the transaction. You haven’t used your card in a long time and suddenly you spend thousands of dollars in just minutes.” We enter a large room with wall to wall bookcases that span from the floor up to the ceiling. Behind a mahogany desk, there is a majestic panoramic window that faces the ocean. A familiar setting, but I’m positive that I’ve never been here before. Gabriel closes the door behind us and resumes the conversation. “Logically, I had to find out what you were up to. I feared you’d been in the hospital and with that pride you carry… you wouldn’t call. That’s why I sent Mason to pick you up, I wanted him to make sure you're alright. He was in the neighborhood.”
Well, he’s here, I’m here, might as well get the party started.
“I wanted you to tell me that what the magazine published is a lie.” I fight with the fist-sized knot in my throat. “But I witnessed that it’s real: a wife, a kid… your first kid, the magazine highlighted that part. Congratulations, I guess.”
I clean the dripping sarcasm from my mouth with the back of my hand.
Those wrinkles around his blue eyes shrink even more. He doesn’t look as young as he does on the cover of magazines. Late fifties look different in front of the cameras, in the media, and, in general. With all the makeup and Photoshop they apply, not many get to see the real face of Gabriel Colt; only a few of us are lucky.
“Ah, that made you crawl outside your little hideout, I see.” He closes his eyes and takes several breaths before opening them again. “Life changed while you were gone, AJ. I don’t think you have the right to burst into my house and make a scene.”
“Your house?” I try to grab the edge of the desk to keep myself from getting caught in the rapids I’m swimming against at the moment. What happened to: “What’s yours is ours?”
“So, I take it you’re not here to apologize?” he dodges my question.
“This house looks a lot like the house in Baja—also looks like home,” I take a few steps and scan the room—avoiding his question.
Two can play the same game. I learned from the best—him.
The answer is simple. Hell, no, I’m not asking him to forgive me. Not when he’s proving that I was right. He lied for a long time. Or, that he only cares about his image and what the rest of the world thinks of him.
“Eight rooms upstairs, I bet. The biggest facing the ocean and it’s right above this library, isn’t it? You never brought us here.” Babbling, faking anger that’s keeping me standing in one piece without shedding a tear. “Can I ask you a question? Actually, just a few things and after that, I swear I’ll disappear forever since that is what you want.”
I cough a couple of times masking the shakiness of my voice. Gabriel sets his hands on his hips and stares at me before he lets a breath out. I take that as a ‘yes’ or a ‘go ahead you poor kid, let’s give this one last time before I start my new family.’
Born on the mystical day of October 30th in the not so mystical lands of Mexico City, Claudia grew up with a childhood that resembled a caffeine-injected soap opera. Seventeen years ago she ventured to the lands of her techie husband—a.k.a. the U.S.—with their offspring to start a new adventure.
About Claudia Burgoa
Born on the mystical day of October 30th in the not so mystical lands of Mexico City, Claudia grew up with a childhood that resembled a caffeine-injected soap opera. Seventeen years ago she ventured to the lands of her techie husband—a.k.a. the U.S.—with their offspring to start a new adventure.
She now lives in Colorado working as a CFO for a small IT company, managing her household filled with three confused dogs, said nerd husband, two daughters wrought with fandoms and a son who thinks he’s the boss of the house. To survive she works continually to find purpose for the voices flitting through her head, plus she consumes high quantities of chocolate to keep the last threads of sanity intact.
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