Synopsis
After coming to terms with the tragedy that rocked her world, Scarlett MacGregor has returned to try to pick up the pieces of the broken relationships that she left behind.
Ash and Mason were left devastated and heartbroken following Scarlett’s sudden, unannounced departure. They are both ready and willing to forgive her and welcome her back into their lives with open arms. However, a lot can happen in 8 months…
Scarlett must learn to overcome the obstacles thrown in her path to prevent the past from repeating itself. Can she learn to fly with her own wings and discover the secret to eternal love?
Three Chicks interview Scarlett
Three Chicks: Can you tell us a little bit about the 8 months you were gone? Did you work, did you date, did you get any opportunities to play your music?
Scarlett: The first couple of months I was quite depressed and spent most of the time in bed at my grandparents’ house. They finally decided they had enough of my moping around and realized that I wasn’t going to snap out of it on my own, so they insisted I get professional help. It took a while but after weekly sessions with a therapist, I began working through my issues surrounding Evie’s death, my relationship with my parents, and other stuff. Around the beginning of summer, I began feeling a little better and was ready to rejoin society so I got a job at a local coffee shop. It wasn’t anything big, but it helped me rebuild me self-confidence quite a bit. As for my music, it played a huge role in my healing process. I never played for anyone, but losing myself in the lyrics of songs that so perfectly portrayed some of the feelings I had such a hard time expressing, was extremely therapeutic.
Three Chicks: Were you ever tempted to call Mason, Ash, Max or any of the friends you left behind?
Scarlett: Everyday. I was just so scared of what they would say… what I should say… I don’t know. I knew I had messed up, but I just wasn’t sure how to fix it.
Three Chicks: You use so many of our favorites book boyfriends to compare things going on in your life; Kellan, Jack Carter, Trey, Deuce, Jesse Ward. Where does that come from?
Scarlett: Well for a long time the relationships that my book heroines had with their book boyfriends were my main source of understanding the feelings and emotions involved in a relationship. I had never experienced those feelings or been in those situations with real people so it’s all I had to relate to.
Three Chicks: You’ve made it known you do not like nicknames but why do you love the ones that Ash and Mason have for you; butterfly and angel? Yours for Mason (Mase) is obvious, but why do you all Ash “love”?
Scarlett: You know I used to not like nicknames because of how it seemed like in every book the guy would call the girl “babe” or “sweetie” or something like that. Even in reality, I would hear them all the time and they just seemed over-used and insincere. However, now that I’m actually living it and experiencing feelings of love, I understand that they don’t have to be that. Really, it is what you make of it… sure, they can be meaningless filler, but they can also be used as true terms of endearment or as something that reminds you of a funny event or an inside joke. Ash is love because I have been in love with him from the beginning and no matter what ever happens between us, I will always love him. That’s what eternal love is… everlasting, timeless.
Three Chicks: Why were you so angry with Ash after you found him with that skank in his room? It seemed like it was a struggle to forgive him, why was that?
Scarlett: I was so angry with him because it was the day of Evie’s funeral and he just… I don’t know. It just didn’t seem appropriate, not to mention, he had told me that he was there if I needed him… I was really disappointed in him, and it made me question the person that I thought he was. Ash had always been so different with me when it was just the two of us in comparison to how he was around other people… but when I saw him with her, in his bed ~ which he told me that he never brought meaningless skanks to, I just thought I had been played for a fool.
Three Chicks: Do you regret leaving when you did and not telling Mason about Evie?
Three Chicks: Do you regret leaving when you did and not telling Mason about Evie?
Scarlett: I regret leaving without telling anyone what I was doing. I don’t regret leaving because I needed some time alone to sort out everything that had happened. I have mixed feelings about telling Mason about Evie. I know what happened that night wouldn’t have happened if I would’ve told him first, and I’m a firm believer that everything does happen for a reason.
Three Chicks: Did you feel that Mason should have told you about Bentley when you first reconnected?
Scarlett: Absolutely, from the time I found out about her the way I did, I always wondered why he didn’t just tell me from the beginning. If he would’ve been more forthcoming, I may not have felt so insecure about her and his relationship. It’s because it was kept a secret from me that I always wondered what the depth of their relationship was. If it was purely physical, then why not just tell me?
Three Chicks: Tell us about some of your favorite memories of Evie?
Scarlett: Wow… so many. I remember the first time she made me sneak out of my house and sneak into hers to spend the night ~ I felt like such a rebel that night. Then there was the time she kissed me so that my first kiss with a guy wouldn’t be completely awkward.
Three Chicks: You always used a condom with Mason, did you use one with Ash?
Scarlett: No, we didn’t. Not smart, I know. It just kind of happened.
Three Chicks: Ash was so sorry for what happened; leaving the book for you, taking you to California to stay with his family, just being there for you-are those the things that opened up your heart to him?
Scarlett: I would say re-opened my heart to him; he was already there to an extent. But yes, when I realized that he was doing all of that not looking for anything in return from me… no promise of even a chance for us, but just because he truly cared that much, I definitely began to fall for him again then.
Three Chicks: How do you think you have changed since Mason and Ash both came into your lives?
Scarlett: They have both played a huge part in my transformation from the sheltered girl that left my parents’ house not so long ago to who I am today. Look, I know that I’ve made a lot of mistakes, decisions that seem selfish and immature, but I am doing the best I can. I know that I react without thinking sometimes… well, a lot… but I’m working on that ~ thinking before acting and not making serious decisions when I’m emotional, whether it be happy or mad. I’ve really got no one to talk to about a lot of these things, and I’m experiencing many of these feelings for the first time. All I can do is try to learn from it all.
Three Chicks: Where did the idea come from for your new tattoo? Explain for us the significance?
Scarlett: The note that Ash left on my car along with Jonathan Livingston Seagull that day began with the words “Fly with your own wings.” So the words “Alis Volat Propriis” is a popular Latin phrase meaning “she flies with her own wings.” This is significant to me because I need to learn to not just be Ash’s butterfly or Mase’s angel, but my own self without either of them… to love me for me. The feather morphing into birds flying reminded me so much of the lessons of self-forgiveness and courage that could be learned by Jonathan in the book.
Three Chicks: When you close your eyes at night, whose face do you see; Mason or Ash’s?
Scarlett: Neither. I can’t see when my eyes are closed.
About the author
Erin Noelle is a Texas native, where she lives with her husband and two daughters. First a bookkeeper, and now an author, she often jokes that she’s a woman of numbers by day and letters by night. Erin is an avid reader of all romance novels and a huge sports fan. Most nights you can find her cuddled up in bed with her husband, her Kindle in hand and a game of some sorts on tv. You can follow her on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/erin.noelle.98.
Buy Links
I'm what you would call a flip flopper. I can't decide between Team Ash or Team Mason. I can't wait to find out who she ends up with.
ReplyDelete