Landscape designer, Drew Easton thought he had met the perfect girl in Harmony Jordan, but then Harmony married Drew’s best friend and business partner, Aaron Foster. Trying to pick up the pieces of the failed relationship and go on with life, Drew is not prepared for the twists the road to true love is about to take. Will his heart still be in one piece at the end of this ride?
Charity Jordan has one feeling about her older sister. Hate. Never able to measure up, always second-best, Charity’s life has been driven by one bad mistake after another. When Harmony’s ex begins showing up to landscape her parent’s yard, Charity has no intentions of being his second choice. But when her feelings for him start to change, will she be able to keep herself from once again taking The Easy Way Out…
“Staci Stallings — Christian romance at its best!”
As the sequel to ETERNITY, THE EASY WAY OUT takes the natural step, going from being one of many great inspirational books all the way into a full-fledged Contemporary Christian Romance. In the course of the novel, it becomes clear that without God at the center of their relationship, these Drew and Charity are, at best, flailing and lost. These are real-to-life characters with flaws and faults, not perfect people with gold stars on their record. Thus, “The Easy Way Out” is a romance that ultimately shows that real love is often not measured in wine and roses.
*~* EXCERPT *~*
“What are you doing out here?” Charity asked, surveying Drew as he leaned against the car in the parking lot.
He smiled at her sadly and slowly lifted the bottle in his hand into the light. “I’m not real big on champagne.”
Charity laughed the first real laugh she had all day. “You want some company?”
Drew shrugged and leaned back against the car before taking another drink. She walked up and leaned onto the car beside him.
“You want some?” He offered her the bottle, and she took it and tipped it up.
“Hmmm.” She closed her eyes as all the friction from the day slid away from her. “So, what are you doing out here?”
He shrugged. “I can only take being on my best behavior so long, and then I start to spontaneously-combust.”
“I hear you there. If I have to take one more picture, I might just break that guy’s camera.”
“Yeah, and this monkey-suit is about as comfortable as a grass sack.”
“Here.” She turned to him and loosened the bowtie at his neck. “No reason to be so formal out here.”
He smiled at her as she resumed her place against the car.
“Okay, so you know my story, what’s yours?” he asked off-handedly as he tipped the bottle up and took another drink.
Without asking, she reached for the bottle in his hand, tipped it up, and took a long swallow–enjoying how the liquid burned all the way down her throat and into her stomach.
“Perfection is highly overrated,” she finally said, dropping the bottle but not returning it to his hand. “Being reminded that I’m not tends to make me a little squirrelly.”
His forehead knotted. “Harmony?”
“My whole family.” She took another drink. “The fact that I’m the weak link isn’t lost on a single one of them.”
“The weak link?”
“Hey, Charity! You out here?” Hart called from the hall doors, and instantly she thrust the bottle back to Drew who quickly stowed it in his car. “Charity!”
“I’m coming!” she yelled back, waiting just long enough for Drew to find his way to her side.
“Get in here. They’re throwing the bouquet.”
“Oh, great,” Charity said under her breath.
“Hang in there,” Drew said softly. “One more hour, and life will go on.”
