The Sweetest Taboo (28 page)

Acknowledgments

To My Father and Savior Jesus Christ: I thank you so much for continuing to bless me, for seeing beyond my faults and fulfilling my needs. This year has truly been a test and I thank You for never leaving my side. I will forever give all thanks and praises to You, as without You, neither I, nor any of my books would’ve been written!

To my children: Mommy loves you!

To my husband: thanks for taking the baby and letting me write. You are truly an inspiration to me.

To my parents who are always in my corner: I couldn’t ask for more!

To my editor, Melody Guy, for being simply wonderful. I hope to make you proud! And to the One World/Ballantine staff and family, thank you for believing in me!

To my wonderful and loving family, who call me on the phone and say “Guess what I saw somebody reading?!” (LOL). Thank you for your never-ending support.

To my church family: thank you for your support!

To my friends: I purposely didn’t name names this go round because there is always someone who feels left out, but to all of those who I am very close to, whether we speak often or not, know that I love and appreciate you, for your realness and for always being there. I will always be indebted to you.

Oh, wait. There is one name that I must call (sorry y’all). To my cousin Kaareem who came to my house and asked me every day if there was a way he could write four lines and still get paid. Here, fill these in,

To the readers, fans, bookstores, and book clubs: I saved the best for last. Thank you for your undying support, for your e-mails, and for your encouragement! Please email me at
[email protected]
and let me know your thoughts! You can also visit me at myspace/ risquetheauthor.

To everyone who understood when Sade sang:
There’s a quiet storm and it never felt like this before,
I wrote this for you!

Love y’all

Risqué

About the Author

R
ISQUÉ
is the erotic pseudonym of an
Essence
bestselling author. She lives in New Jersey where she is working on her next novel. Visit her online at
www.myspace.com/risquetheauthor
.

The Sweetest Taboo
is a work of fiction. All incidents and dialogue, and all characters with the exception of some well-known historical and public figures, are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Where real-life historical or public figures appear, the situations, incidents, and dialogues concerning those persons are entirely fictional and are not intended to depict actual events or to change the entirely fictional nature of the work. In all other respects, any resemblance to persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

A One World Books Trade Paperback Original

Copyright © 2007 by Risqué

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by One World Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

O
NE
W
ORLD
is a registered trademark and the One World colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Risqué.

The sweetest taboo : a novel / Risqué.

p.                            cm.

1. African Americans—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3618.I736S94 2007

813'.6—dc22

2007028711

www.oneworldbooks.net

eISBN: 978-0-345-50486-9

v3.0