Then there was JT, who’d done more dirt in the last five years than most criminals would do in a lifetime. Although Alicia was sure that of all the crimes he’d committed, not once had he expected forgery to be his ultimate ruin. But that’s what he got for messing with the wrong man, namely her father, because it had only been when three ministers had called Curtis, saying they’d received a mailing from JT that included a recommendation letter from him, that Curtis had decided to bring him down. He’d debated how he was going to go about doing it but had finally decided not to confront him just then. In the meantime, however, he’d recontacted two of the ministers and asked them each to personally call and invite JT to come speak at their churches a few months down the road. After that, he’d phoned back Pastor Braeden, the minister he could trust the most, told him what JT was up to, and then asked if he would bring JT in to speak at his church as soon as possible. Pastor Braeden had readily agreed, and Curtis had covered the cancellation fee for the original minister Vineyard Christian Center had already contracted. Then, once JT had accepted payment for his services and deposited his five-figure check, and Curtis had received a complete listing of all the churches that that bogus letter had gone out to-thanks to Curtis making it clear to JT’s executive assistant that if she cooperated, he would tell the authorities he believed her when she said she had no idea of what her boss had been up to-Curtis had gone straight to the police. Shortly after, Pastor Braeden had flown to Chicago and had given an in-depth statement, confirming that JT had purposely tried to deceive him and had gained financially by forging Curtis’s name. Of course, this had only made the prosecution’s case even stronger, not to mention some previous money scheme JT was also now being charged with, and he had a chance of spending up to seven years in prison.

Alicia had heard he was out on bond and still preaching every Sunday morning, business as usual, but that less than two hundred people actually showed up. So she couldn’t help wondering how long he’d be able to continue. Although, to tell the truth, she honestly didn’t care one way or another and was just happy to be finished with him. Their divorce was already final, she’d moved out of his house, and she had no intention of ever seeing or speaking to him again.

And why would she when she’d finally learned a truly valuable lesson-she’d learned it the hard way, no doubt, but still she’d learned it and learned it well. She’d also come to realize that Phillip and not JT was the best thing that had ever happened to her, and from this day on, she would do whatever it took to get him back. She would do all she could to regain his trust and show him that she would never again allow material possessions or money to come between them. And to begin proving it, she’d reimbursed her father for every dime of the money he’d spent paying off each of Phillip’s credit cards last year, the ones she’d maxed out behind his back, and she’d opened a money market savings account and checking account and purchased a few investment products. This had all been made possible because of the two-hundred-fifty-thousand-dollar signing bonus she’d received from her publisher and also an additional one hundred thousand dollars they’d paid her now that her book had been revised and accepted for production. There was her agent’s commission and federal and state taxes that had to be deducted, but there had still been more than enough money left over, and she was very proud of herself for managing it so well. She was happy because, for the first time in her life, she didn’t have this great desire to shop or spend beyond her means. For the first time ever, she had her priorities in order and was working extra hard at doing the right thing. It was the reason Phillip, at this very moment, was hugging her from behind, and she couldn’t have been happier. It was the reason she finally knew her fairy tale had nothing to do with men like JT, but had everything to do with her first husband, the man she loved and hoped to marry again. Yes, it was true that Phillip still wanted them to take things slow and wanted her to be completely sure about her new sense of satisfaction and total commitment, but Alicia had the utmost faith in their relationship. She was even willing to spend the rest of her life making things up to him if she had to.

She would do this from now on.

And would forever be careful what she prayed for.

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I thank God for guiding my direction and for protecting and blessing my family, friends, and me. Without You, absolutely nothing would be possible.

To my loving husband, Will. I love you from the bottom of my soul, and thank you for loving me to the fullest and for being my greatest support in all that I do.

To my loving brothers, Willie Jr. and Michael; my wonderful stepson and daughter-in-law, Trenod and LaTasha, and the boys, Lamont, Tre, and Troy; my beautiful nieces and nephews, from the oldest to the youngest-Jamaal, Malik, Ja’Mia, Ja’Mel, Shelia, William, and Nakya-and their wonderful mothers, Karen, Danetta, and April; my loving cousin, Patricia Haley (also a fellow writer); my aunts, Mary Lou, Fannie, Ada, and Vernell; my uncles, James, Cliff, Luther, Ben, Charlie, and Earl; and all of the rest of my cousins, in-laws, and other family members who I love so very much. And to my girls who have my back no matter what-Kelli, Lori, Janell, and Victoria (also a fellow writer).

To Eric Jerome Dickey, Trisha R. Thomas, Lolita Files, Mary B. Morrison, Trice Hickman, Eric Pete, Victor McGlothin, ReShonda Tate-Billingsley, and all my other writer friends. I also still have to acknowledge my friend who I miss dearly: the very kind and compassionate E. Lynn Harris. You will remain in my heart always.

To the best assistant in the world (and I sincerely mean that), Connie Dettman; to my very talented editor, Wendy Lee-thank you for just being you; to Richard Aquan, Tavia Kowalchuk, Ben Bruton, and Aurora Hughes, for putting forth so much effort when it comes to my books; to the entire sales and marketing teams and everyone else at HarperCollins/William Morrow/Avon for all that you do for me daily; to my wonderful agent, Elaine Koster, for absolutely everything; to my amazing freelance publicist, Shandra Hill Smith, for doing such a splendid job with getting my work noticed by the media and beyond and for being so kind; to Luke LeFevre, my fabulous and exceptionally talented website and e-blast designer for everything; to every bookstore and retail outlet that sells my books; to Patrik Henry Bass, senior editor, and everyone else at Essence magazine for the best support in the world (I am beyond grateful for all that you’ve done); to the wonderful and hugely syndicated Michael Baisden (thank you so much for having me on your fabulous show-I am so very proud of you); to my local media family in Rockford, Illinois, for promoting my work and events: Rockford Register Star (Georgette Braun and Jennie Pollock), WIFR-TV (Andy Gannon and Aaron Wilson), WXRX (Stone and Double T), WREX-TV (Laura Gibbs), WTVO-TV, Comcast Cable, WZOK/WROK, 106.3 FM, and all the other wonderful people in radio, TV, and print nationwide who publicize my work to the masses. Thank you for all that you’ve done for me over the last thirteen years.

Finally, to the people who make my writing career fun, enjoyable, and possible: my very caring and loyal readers-thank you for all the love and support you always give and know that I love each of you with everything in me.

Much love and God bless you always,

Kimberla Lawson Roby