Wait With Me (Wait With Me, #1)

by Amy Daws

This book is inspired by real-life events. Except for all the hot and romantic parts. My life is not nearly that exciting.

This is a fun book to annotate because it's based on my social-media-viral experience of sneaking into a tire shop to write! HA! Bet you never heard that one before. To read the backstory, check out my blog post on my website--> www.amydawsauthor.com/tirestirestires

And what does boring ole, practically pushing thirty years old Kate do? She writes porn. In a tire shop. In Boulder, Colorado.

I write romance in a place called Tires Tires Tires in South Dakota...so...same difference! :) Are you following me on Goodreads? Just click the "Follow Author" button under my photo above or on my profile page: https://www.goodreads.com/amydawsauthor

“Is it Christian romance?” Betty asks, hand to heart with hopeful excitement. “No,” I reply, chagrin all over my face. “Oh…is it Amish? How I love those Amish novels.” I inhale deeply. “Definitely not Amish.” Betty is so not my people. I should have guessed, but you’d be surprised at the number of grannies who like dirty smut.

Since my heroine in this book, Kate Smith, aka her pseudonym Mercedes Lee Loveletter is so similar to me, there were lots of parts in this book that I grabbed anecdotes from my real life. This quote here was a total nod to my grandma who LOVES Amish romance! Ask me a question on Goodreads if you want to learn more about me and my writing process➜ https://www.goodreads.com/author/8193655.Amy_Daws/questions

“The scones!” I exclaim and shake my head, trying to calm down. “Holy cow, those scones are delish.” “You really think so?” She’s practically glowing with pride. Jesus Christ, she looks like she’s going to burst. “Oh, yeah,” I reply. “I dip them in my morning espresso, and the combination is life-changing. Almost as good as the white chocolate chip cookies dipped in the caramel almond latte I have in the afternoons.” She giggles happily. “Have you tried the danishes?” “I haven’t seen danishes!” I nearly screech with excitement and then try to reel it in. Damnit, there are danishes? Who the hell is eating all those? “I usually get here around ten. They must be gone by then.”

This is about as passionate as I am about the complimentary cookies and coffee at Tires Tires Tires! :) Love my humor? Check this book out on Amazon now, it's FREE in KU! ➜https://geni.us/WaitWithMe

That’s why the day I walked into the Tire Depot waiting room prepared to stare at my computer blankly while I got a new set of tires, I was stunned when the words started flowing again. Like seriously flowing. This wasn’t a trickle but a flash flood of epic proportions. After such a dry spell, I didn’t dare tempt fate by walking away from that shit! I was like a prized athlete on a winning streak heading into the championship game. I wasn’t going to wash my socks or shave my legs. I was going to eat the same shit, walk the same steps, and repeat every day like fucking Groundhog Day until I finished this book!

I wrote this book in 13 days because this character so closely resembled myself. Seriously, it was like BREATHING to write her inner narrative! I too had been struggling with writer's block and when I went into Tires Tires Tires for a new set of wheels, my writing block was LIFTED! It started telling my readers about it on social media and the whole thing kind of blew up...especially when BUZZFEED reported about it!! ➜https://www.buzzfeed.com/farrahpenn/this-woman-kept-going-back-to-a-tire-store-to-writ

The Customer Comfort Center. The CCC at the Tire Depot, also known as my new mothership. When I first brought my vehicle in three weeks ago and the counter guy gestured to a waiting room around the corner, I thought I’d find a crummy twelve-cup Mr. Coffee with generic stale coffee. If I was lucky, they’d have powdered creamer from this year. When I turned the corner and walked into the thousand-square-foot Customer Comfort Center complete with a brick fireplace, leather lounge chairs, and a coffee machine that dispensed an incredible variety of gourmet coffee, I nearly fell to my knees and wept. Within minutes, I had an almond caramel latte, a warm oatmeal raisin cookie, and a sweet spot at one of their high top tables right next to a convenient outlet. It was kismet.

Customer Comfort Center is the actual name of the Tire Shop waiting room I go to to write! It's been over two years since I wrote this book and I still go into the tire shop waiting room to write. The guys there are super fun and have since welcomed me with open arms!

This makes her genuinely laugh. It’s a rich, full-bodied sound that projects all the way from her toes. “With book boyfriend arms like that, it’s no wonder.” “Book boyfriend?” I ask curiously. “Book boyfriend,” she repeats. “The leading male in a romance novel that readers claim ownership of because he doesn’t likely exist in the real world. Basically, the ideal man.” “I’ve never heard this term before,” I admit, leaning back against the wall and eyeing her curiously. “I take it you’re into books or something?” “Or something.” She smiles and runs her hand through her wild red waves. They have to be natural because no girl would touch hair that beautiful if it had been styled. “And it doesn’t surprise me you’ve never heard of it.” She leans in and whispers loudly, “You’re not my demo.”

This book was also a love letter to romance readers everywhere. We know all these fun terms in the romance book world and to use them in a rom-com was like a total smile fest!

“Fess up. Where have you been?” My neighbor and best friend since college, Lynsey’s voice snaps, nearly making me fall into my front door and drop my keys in surprise. “Jesus!” I exclaim, turning toward my tiny brunette compadre who’s the scariest short person I know. “You’re like one of those annoying bouncing min pins that leap up into the air just to be eye level with humans.” “Ha-ha, short joke, what a shocker coming from you. I’m serious, tell me where you’ve been.” “The library! I told you in my text,” I reply, turning my back on her to resume my goal. Pushing the door of my townhouse open, I drop my mail, laptop bag, and keys on the entry table by the stairs right inside the door. “Bullshit,” Lynsey barks, following me in like a little puppy. She reaches out to fist the hem of my shirt. She pulls it to her face and inhales deeply. “You smell like coffee and rubber.” “Also known as freedom.” I sigh wistfully and yearn to be back there. I would have stayed longer if I could survive on coffee and cookies all day. But curses, I need some protein or I might die. “You actually went back to Tire Depot?” Lynsey seethes. “Kate! They are going to call the cops on you.” “For what?” I protest over my shoulder as I make my way through my living room and into the kitchen to grab a water bottle out of the fridge. “Stealing complimentary coffee and cookies? Come on. That’s not a thing.” “But loitering is.”

There's TONS of banter in this book. This group of friends have a great sense of humor and tease each other constantly. And a lot of my friends teased me about sneaking into a tire shop to write as well!

I look up at Lynsey with grave eyes. “It’s a letter from Tire Depot.” “They’ve figured it out.” She gasps and covers her mouth like we just found out one of our friends is a murderer. “Stop being so dramatic!” I screech defensively as my fingers squeeze tightly around the envelope. “You don’t know that they figured it out. This could just be like…junk mail or something. Maybe they’re offering a special on oil changes next week?” “Have they ever mailed you anything like that before?” “No!” I bellow as the realization sinks in and dread washes over me. I look at Lynsey with wide, fearful eyes. “What if this is it?” “What do you mean?” she asks. “What if this is the moment I’ve feared all along? They might be taking my mojo away!” “You don’t know that,” Lynsey defends. Clearly, we both process feelings differently because now we’ve done a one-eighty, and she’s coming up with excuses while I’m circling the drain of despair. “They would have no other reason to send me a letter!” I shriek and inhale a shaky breath. “Damnit,” I growl and tear into the envelope to make my death swift.

Okay...THIS...is an ACTUAL prank that was pulled on me. I nearly DIED when I saw Tires Tires Tires letterhead charging me for "excess consumption of complimentary beverages". In my right mind, I knew it was a prank but I was also TERRIFIED it might be real and my gravy train was over! I still haven't plotted up the perfect payback for my friends that pranked me. But it's coming. ;)

Tell Dean about the hospital cafeteria the other day, Lynsey.” Her face heats, and she shakes her head at me, her brown hair covering her face as she does. “That was a one-time thing.” “A one-time thing you should be repeating if you want to get your damn thesis finished,” I state with a serious lift of the brows. “I’m telling you guys. The three of us have the best life. We can work from anywhere we want. All we need is a laptop, Wi-Fi, and an outlet, and we’re golden. But our productivity is closely linked to our state of mind. If you find the vibe somewhere, you gotta fight for it. A cool vibe is like a modern-day muse. Tire Depot is to me what Fanny Brawne was to John Keats! That’s poetry in motion that you cannot walk away from! They’ll probably write about this in history after I croak.” “You sound like a lunatic!” Dean bellows, shoving a hand through his dark hair that’s always flopping into his eyes. “I bought this place out here to make the days I work from home peaceful and quiet. If you want to subject yourself to the noise of the general public, go ahead. Knock yourself out.” “It’s not noise, it’s a vibe,” I argue and kick my flip-flop off at his chest. He bends over to pick it up, and instead of handing it back to me, he tosses it out the kitchen back door. Dick. “What if you could work even better elsewhere? What if you found a place where you finished your workload in half the time? You’d have more time to hike, screw chicks, prank your friends, buy more pla...

The fun thing about my tire shop writing viral experience is that it inspired this book and a series of books all based on waiting room meet cutes! Book 2 in this series is called Next In Line and it takes place between two people waiting in line together at a bait shop. Talk about random, but oh so fun! Check out book 2 in the Wait With Me Series here-->https://geni.us/NextInLine

Here’s one thing I’ve learned after three weeks at Tire Depot: Confidence is everything. If you walk in like you own the place, no one will bat an eye. The Customer Comfort Center is mainly full of customers anyway, and those are new every day, hell, every hour. These guys are quick with a lube job. However, there are employees who frequent the CCC. They usually come in to steal a cookie or refill their cups from the fountain pop machine. Yeah, I know! A Coke Fountain Machine! The only way the CCC could be more perfect is if they had Gilmore Girls playing on a loop on the television instead of cheesy soap operas. But honestly, I couldn’t withstand that level of distraction, so shitty soaps are definitely for the best.

These were all thoughts I had when I started sneaking into my own tire shop to write. And I'm a HUGE Gilmore Girls fan so of course I had to make Kate a Gilmore fan too!

My fingers pause on the keyboard, and I look up from my spot in the armchairs that surround the TV. Everybody is looking around curiously, accusingly even. Frowning, I glance around the room, and my blood runs cold when I see a pizza delivery guy standing in the enormous waiting room shouting something to the thirty-five-odd people here today. With trembling hands, I pop out my earbuds and hear clear as day, “Mercedes Lee Loveletter, I have two large pizzas, parmesan breadsticks, and a pound of boneless chicken wings. With…” He pauses to look at the receipt. “Three dipping sauces.” Why is he bellowing the delivery receipt out loud? Is that a thing? I don’t think that’s a thing. He adds, “Claim it now, or it’s going in the trash.” My inner frugal girl roars to life, and my face turns red fucking hot as I croak, “I’m Mercedes.” The eighteen-year-old with greasy hair and acne scars looks at me with dead eyes. “I’ve been calling your name for like five minutes.” Is he seriously scolding me in front of all these people? And OMG…five minutes? “Well, I didn’t order the pizza,” I defend, shifting uncomfortably and closing my laptop as everyone’s eyes are pinned to mine like I’m about to start a fucking flash mob or something. “Do you know who it’s from?” “No,” the boy states and moves toward me while pulling out enough food to feed ten people. “This is a prank.” I laugh nervously and slide my laptop alongside me. His dead eyes meet mine again. “I could never eat all this.” “I…don’...

Okay...THIS is nearly 100% true. My author friend, Jana Aston was so tickled by my writing in a tire shop waiting room that she did some research, figured out where I was and had an OBSCENE amount of food sent to me in the waiting room. I was so mad because I was certain I would get busted after this, but still, the tire shop guys said nothing! I've since paid Jana back. :)

“I’m sorry, I get emotional when I’m hungry. You know how some people get hangry? Hungry and angry? I get emongry. Emotional and hungry. It’s a thing. I got them to enter it in Urban Dictionary.”

Anybody relate to emongry?

A few minutes later, Miles is back and has a couple of bottles of water, a bucket of beer, an order number on a stand, and a basket of steaming breadsticks. He sets them down in front of me and says, “I had to kill a guy for these.” “I hope you didn’t get blood on them,” I nearly growl as I grab one of the long, swirled golden sticks and instantly pop it in my mouth like a savage. I’m too impatient to even dip in the marinara sauce at this point. “Mmmm,” I groan, my eyes closing as I bite off another chunk and nearly orgasm over the taste. “You are my murderous hero.” I stuff another buttery bite in my mouth, continuing to moan my appreciation. Once I’ve finished an entire breadstick, I finally open my eyes to find Miles staring at me. His jaw is slack, and his hands are frozen in place on the armrests of the chair. He hasn’t grabbed a beer out of the ice bucket, and he’s not eating. He hasn’t even opened a bottle of water. He’s just…staring. “Jesus, now what?” I ask, slicking my tongue across my lower lip to catch the dribble of garlic butter on the run. “You are a walking, fucking tease, you know that?” he states with a shake of his head. He grabs a beer, twists the cap off, and drinks half the bottle in one go. “How so?” I ask with a laugh, my mouth still full of doughy goodness. “I just stuffed my face with a breadstick like some sort of prepubescent child on the run from fat camp.” “Then sign me up for fat camp,” he replies and takes another swig.

Miles and Kate had the best chemistry! He loved her dirty sense of humor and she loved his masculine, wholesome energy. What I love most about this couple is they are both very normal, everyday, relatable characters.

You know that moment in the movie Sandlot when Squints sees the lifeguard, Wendy Peffercorn, walking on the sidewalk? He quickly cleans his Coke-bottle glasses with his shirt, romantic music swells, and the video shifts to slow motion of the curvy blonde? Well, for the next week at Tire Depot, I’m the creeper, Squints, and Miles is Wendy frickin’ Peffercorn. The first day I came back to write after Miles and I had pizza together, I ended up stopping at the open garage door in the back alley. I had a perfect view of Miles hard at work, and I just stood there, laptop bag on my shoulder, jaw dropped, heart racing. He was stacking a bunch of tires. So many tires. They must have just gotten a shipment in or something because he was sweating profusely. At one point, he stopped what he was doing, unzipped his charcoal coveralls and pulled them off his shoulders to cool down. He was wearing another one of those hot, tight athletic tanks. Nike brand. Black. But I could tell it was soaked through with sweat. His arms were glistening in the light as he wiped his brow on his grease-covered forearm. He grabbed a bottle of water, took several long drinks, his thick neck contracting with each swallow, and proceeded to pour the remaining contents down his face. You just can’t make this shit up!

Did you know Wait With Me has been optioned for film by Passionflix? It's so so exciting and I can't wait to see who they cast! I'm hopeful they'll write the screenplay with a narrator track because I'd LOVE to see Kate narrate this excerpt on screen! I can picture it so so well, can you?

Suddenly, the billionaire I was writing about in my novel seemed all wrong. His six-pack too artificial. Sex appeal wasn’t created in a gym with weights and treadmills. No, it was born in powerful, grungy garages where men, real fucking men worked with their hands. Where they got so dirty, they had to use a special manly soap to clean themselves up. You can’t find that shit at Bath & Body. Pure fucking testosterone.

Gotta love a blue-collar hero, amiright?!

She’s so fucking cute when she’s writing. I find myself pretending to be on my phone in the doorway so I can watch her work for a while. Her eyes drift off into space a lot, and occasionally, she does some weird physical movements, like she’s trying to figure out how to type an action in a book. One time, I had to bite my fist to stop myself from laughing out loud when she dreamily closed her eyes, licked her lips seductively, and air-kissed the room. She totally writes dirty books.

I've literally caught myself acting out motions in a book (not dirty ones, get your minds outta the gutter!) before typing the action. I loved incorporating quirky parts of an author's life into a rom-com!

She sighs heavily. “Well, my thesis was going horribly, so I decided to go back to the hospital cafeteria to see if I could have a Tire Depot moment.” My smile is enormous. “And did you?” I nearly squeal. “Yes,” she squeals back and covers her face like the monkey emoji. “Why are you acting embarrassed? That’s awesome!” She rolls her eyes. “Well, gosh, I eat there every day now, and I feel like the cafeteria people think I’m there for some really tragic reason. They normally scream ‘next in line’ when it’s your turn to pay, but whenever they see me, they say ‘Come on up, sweetheart.’ It’s so weirdly obvious. I think people are starting to notice.” I scoff, “Like who? Other patients’ families that are all temporary? They’ll be gone in a week.” “Well…not only patients’ families. There’s this older doctor who is kind of a dick. He keeps scowling at me every time he sees me. I can’t tell if that’s his face or if he thinks I’m a freak.” “Just ignore him. If he’s a doctor, I’m sure he’s way too busy to worry about you.” “Yeah, you’re probably right. I’m only noticing him because he’s fucking stupid hot. Like take McDreamy and McSteamy and rub their penises together. That’s how hot he is.” I nearly spew wine out my nose. “Lynsey! That was scandalous!”

This is a little tease to Lynsey's hilarious story with the man I have since nicknamed, Dr. Dick! One Moment Please is a surprise pregnancy romance with a hospital cafeteria meet cute that you HAVE to read! It's technically book 3 in the Wait With Me Series but it reads great as a standalone if you're looking for a fun, doctor romance! Check it out here-->https://geni.us/OneMomentPlease

Miles Hudson is the sun and the air and the moon and the stars.

The grand gesture of this book is so so cute! And inspired by something I saw in my own tire shop waiting room! If you want to read this book and experience it all for yourself, check it out here-->https://geni.us/WaitWithMe