Can a chance sighting lead to a happily ever after?
Almost Paradise, an all-new interracial, second chance, and secret baby romance bestselling author, Evelyn Sola, is now available!
When Nia Nash got involved with Drake Paradise, heir to the Paradise Construction empire, she never thought that she’d end up raising their son alone.
Hurt and furious, she’s spent four years trying to forget everything about him. From the way his piercing blue eyes would follow her every move, to the way he set her body on fire with only one kiss. Drake Paradise not only broke her heart, but he changed the course of her life forever.
Now he’s back and demanding to be a part of their son's life, the son that he once had no interest in. Or so Nia thought. Refusing to let Drake in is not an option when he has power and money to his name.
As Drake mourns his own losses and tries to navigate his new roles in his business and professional life, they are both forced to deal with everything they thought they knew, and the whole truth that begins to unravel.
Can Nia ever trust Drake again? Can they figure out a way to turn their lives into their own paradise?
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EXCERPT
Keep reading for a look inside Almost Paradise!
While my brother holds my weeping mother, I stare at the closed casket in the hole in the ground. I wonder how a man who’s lived such a life like my father can be relegated into a space that’s three and a half feet wide and eight feet deep. Donald Patrick Paradise has never known anything small in his life. Not his stature.
Not his many estates. Not his company. Not his bank accounts. He’d always had it all, and in abundance. In excess. I thought he was invincible. Hell, he was. There was nothing he couldn’t do or get done. He ran the country’s largest construction company. He took it further than his father before him. He made it competitive, and not just in the US market, but the world. If he was Superman, pancreatic cancer would be his Kryptonite. The strongest man I’ve ever known withered into nothing in a matter of months, and he was taken away from his loving family before he turned sixty.
I feel a tear run down my cheek, and a soft hand wipes it away. She dabs my eyes with a handkerchief. My fiancรฉe has been by my side since we learned about my father’s fate.
“It will be okay, darling,” Scarlett whispers. “He knows you loved him. He’s at peace.” Of course, he did. I barely left his side for the last two weeks. I was there when he took his last breath. Those last two days were some of the hardest I’ve ever experienced, but I would not leave him. Not when the nurses or doctors were around. Not when he was in agony from the pain. Not when everyone else left because they couldn’t handle the inevitable.
I had to stay because no one else could. But that’s not the only reason. I stayed because I felt like he wanted to tell me something but couldn’t. So, I sat by his bedside, holding his hand and knowing full well the days of being close to my father were numbered. I was the only one who could handle it. Mother couldn’t. My younger brother, Langley, became Mother’s comforter while I stayed with our father. My younger sister Hannah locked herself in her room and wept.
In his last hours, it was just us. It was I who held his hand and reassured him it was okay for him to go. I promised to do my best to fill his shoes, both at home and at Paradise Construction.
I was there when he finally let go and the nurse pronounced him dead. It was my job to tell the rest of the family. Even though my brother had been with my mother for the past few weeks, after Dad died, it was in my arms she sought comfort.
The details of the funeral were left to me because everyone else was too busy grieving. I’m the strong one. I’m the oldest, and the responsibility always falls on the first child. That’s what my dad’s taught me my entire life.
“You have great responsibility, Drake. You’re a Paradise, and you’ll have the world on your shoulders. Don’t see it as a burden because the world you’re carrying is yours.”
“He’s not hurting anymore. He’s in a better place now,” Scarlett whispers soothingly, pulling me out of my memories. I don’t know why people think those words bring comfort. They don’t. Sure, he’s not suffering, but he’s also not here with his family where he belongs. I’d rather have him with me. I need him. I need his guidance because I have no idea how I’m going to fill his shoes at the company. I’m not ready. I was supposed to have more time.
I don’t snap at Scarlett like I want to. She’s been my rock. When my family was falling apart, she was there with a kind word or a hug. She’s the only person who’s asked me how I’m feeling. She’s the only one who has remembered that I’m suffering too. That I was also losing my father. She made sure I rested. She told me it was okay for me to cry, but even now as she holds my hand, it’s not her comfort I seek.
Scarlett, despite her constant presence, is not who I thought about this morning when I woke up to face one of the hardest days of my life. Instead of Scarlett’s green eyes, I saw eyes so brown they’re almost black. Instead of Scarlett’s tall and willowy body, I pictured her small tight frame. Her smooth brown skin instead of pale. It’s her incredibly bad singing instead of Scarlett’s trained voice that I longed to hear. But I shake my head clear of that. It’s been over for four years, and I’m pretty sure Nia Nash is not thinking about me.
My mother lets out a loud wail and Langley holds her up. My sister joins them and puts an arm around my mother. The priest says a final prayer. Mother has to be taken away before Father is lowered into the ground. Everyone leaves, and I ask Scarlett to go too.
Just like when he took his last breath, it’s just the two of us at the end.
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