Friday, June 29, 2018

#ReleaseBlitz: Hard Pressed by Kate Canterbary


She's town sweetheart...with a side of sass.
He's the new sheriff...and he has some disorderly conduct in mind.


Title: Hard Pressed
Author: Kate Canterbary
Release Date: June 29, 2018



Dear Jackson,
I'm leaving you this note because I know you're very busy and I don't want to waste the town sheriff's time. Lord knows I've already wasted enough of it.

Thank you for taking me home last night and...everything else. I made you a basket of wild blueberry muffins for your trouble. That seemed like the appropriate baked good for getting naked in your living room.

I wasn't myself last night. I didn't mean to kiss you or fondle your backside or ask all those intimate questions. Thank you for pretending to enjoy it.

It was very noble of you to sleep on the couch while I was starfished on your bed. I couldn't help but notice it's quite large. The bed, that is. I swear, I didn't notice anything else when I let myself out this morning.

As you know, Talbott's Cove is a ridiculously small town and there's no chance we can avoid each other. Not that I'd want to avoid you, of course, but I'm not sure I can look at you without thinking of the forty different ways I made a fool of myself.

Instead of avoidance, let's try to be friends. We'll forget all about last night…if that's what you want.

Please burn this note after you read it—

Annette

p.s. I whipped up some cinnamon buns, too. Please enjoy them. I'm not sure why, but I couldn't get buns out of my mind today.


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39076627-hard-pressed



Follow Kate Canterbary at Book+Main for exclusive Hard Pressed content!
(Plus, stay up-to-date with The Magnolia Chronicles, a multi-part women’s fiction story, #exclusive to Book+Main)


*Hard Pressed will be added to Kindle Unlimited July 1, 2018





Chapter One
Jackson


For five minutes every morning, my life was pure agony.

On most days, I went out of my way to avoid her. I scheduled myself for early patrols or wellness checks on some of my elderly residents. Anything to get out of the station. It was a necessity. I couldn't see to the public safety of this town with my dick harder than a nightstick.

I knew because I'd tried. The squad was too small for briefings from behind a podium. When it came to positioning a clipboard or the sheriff's standard-issue campaign hat over my crotch, I could only hold that pose for a few minutes.

Oh, I'd tried to hide it but the only solution was staying away from the station and the sweetheart of Talbott's Cove, Annette Cortassi. The bookstore she owned on Main Street was no more than fifty yards from my desk and I had a front row seat for her morning rituals.

Annette walked down the street as if surrounded by moonbeams and unicorns, her smile radiant. I didn't know it for sure, but I'd put money on her being the homecoming queen back in high school and Miss Congeniality, too. I'd also put money on her making it her life's work to torture and torment me. She was a devil in angel's clothing, I knew that to be fact.

Since my first days in this sleepy fishing town, it was the spunky brunette shopkeeper who'd stolen my attention. Annette knew how to wear the shit out of a summer dress. That woman's bare calves were a public safety hazard. And her ankles. Fuck. Since when were ankles sexy? They were bony joints, for Pete's sake. But all it took was the sight of her walking through the village in strappy sandals to turn me on.

As if the ankles weren't enough, her round hips swayed like a hypnotist's pocket watch. I couldn't avoid the sight of her sun-kissed skin or her waterfall of dark, wavy hair if I tried. More than once, I'd found myself gazing after her, hands clenched, jaw on the floor, and a puddle of drool beside it.

Annette was the brightest star in the Talbott's Cove sky. Every time I caught sight of her, I was powerless to look away. And that was why I couldn't look at all.

I was a newcomer here, still working my way into the good graces of the natives. Bedding the town sweetheart wasn't the way to those good graces, no matter how much she enjoyed it. And she'd enjoy it. I wouldn't have it any other way.

But that didn't matter. For the time being, I was sleeping alone. A temporary vow of chastity was the right thing to do. The town deserved my full attention, and my predecessor had made it clear I was to lead by example. No boozing, no gambling, no skirt-chasing. Not unless I wanted a one-way ticket back to Albany.

I wasn't much of a boozer, gambler, or skirt-chaser, but I heeded the previous sheriff's warnings nonetheless. Getting this job was a big step up for me. It was an even bigger step away.

In the span of a couple of months, I'd left my job and sold my home in upstate New York and headed for this town on Maine's rocky coast. It was a bold move, but a necessary one. I wanted to find a different pace of life, and somewhere I could do important work and make some small difference.

I didn't say it in job interviews or mention it in conversation, but I also wanted to belong somewhere. Maybe, eventually, belong to someone.

I shot the clock on my SUV's dashboard a bitter glare. I'd already looped the town twice this morning, fielded complaints about a pair of foxes lurking around the Lincolns' chicken coop, helped the innkeepers fix a section of their back fence that went down last night, and mediated a dispute between fisherman over some missing buoys. So far, a productive morning and yet I still had fifteen minutes before Annette would be tucked inside her shop.

I'd only managed to speak to her a handful of times. It wasn't nerves that kept me away but a complete inability to look at her without wanting to step into her personal space and smell her hair. I didn't understand that reaction and a part of me resented Annette for surfacing it. Hair-smelling. What kind of witch was she?

Instead of doing or saying something I'd regret, I kept my distance. This small town didn't allow for any true distance but I didn't have to watch her scrawl the quote of the day on the shop's chalkboard sign or arrange and rearrange potted plants on the sidewalk.

Just the thought of her kneeling down to write in one of her gauzy sundresses drew a knot of want low in my belly. She was beautiful and alluring in the most simple, honest ways. Hell, she couldn't jot down a Dickinson quote without lighting a fire inside me from across the street.

But I couldn't get Annette messy and dirty. I couldn't make her scream my name. Not unless I was also ready to wife her up, and I wasn't sure about that. I couldn't casually date her with the entire town watching—and they would watch—and chances were good I couldn't casually fuck her either. She looked altogether too by-the-book for fuck buddies, and there was no room for a tomcat sheriff around here.

That left me killing time by patrolling the town's back roads and praying the lovely book mistress was on time today. My cock couldn't take any mix-ups this morning.





Kate Canterbary doesn’t have it all figured out, but this is what she knows for sure: spicy-ass salsa and tequila solve most problems, living on the ocean–Pacific or Atlantic–is the closest place to perfection, and writing smart, smutty stories is a better than any amount of chocolate. She started out reporting for an indie arts and entertainment newspaper back when people still read newspapers, and she has been writing and surreptitiously interviewing people—be careful sitting down next to her on an airplane—ever since.

Kate lives on the water in New England with Mr. Canterbary and the Little Baby Canterbary, and when she isn’t writing sexy architects, she’s scheduling her days around the region’s best food trucks.





Thursday, June 28, 2018

#ReleaseBlitz: Contracted by Marni Mann

CONTRACTED_RB_


Contracted by Marni Mann 
  Publication Date: June 28th, 2018  
Genre: Contemporary Romance


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Synopsis

Years ago, I was burned by a woman.
I forgave, but I haven’t forgotten, and it’s a road I’ll never go down again.
My career has become my life instead. I’m Max Graham, the biggest music agent in the business. Women love me, but I don’t do love anymore. I’ve found another way to meet my needs.
Eve Kennedy—stylist to the stars and total bombshell. By far, she’s the most daring woman I’ve ever had in my bed with a sexual appetite as ferocious as mine.
We might just have the hottest sex life in Miami and LA.
We don’t date anyone else—although, sometimes, we invite someone for a night. We travel the world, and I lavish her with gifts. But she knows my career comes first.
And the best part? For the past two years, she’s been happy with our arrangement.
Or so I thought.
I’ve survived heartbreak once before, but this one could be the end of me.



AVAILABLE NOW (2)


Read Today!  
FREE in Kindle Unlimited  


Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2JjfgDs


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About Marni

Best-selling Author Marni Mann knew she was going to be a writer since middle school. While other girls her age were daydreaming about teenage pop stars, Mann was fantasizing about penning her first novel. She crafts sexy, titillating stories that weave together her love of darkness, mystery, passion, and human emotion. A New Englander at heart, she now lives in Sarasota, Florida with her husband and their two dogs who subsequently have been characters in her books. When she’s not nose deep in her laptop working on her next novel, she’s scouring for chocolate, sipping wine, traveling to new locations, and devouring fabulous books.


Connect with Marni

Stay up to Date with Marni by signing up for her newsletter here: http://marnismann.com/about/

#CoverReveal: Dirty Reckless Love by Lexi Ryan

LOVE_COVERREVEAL


Dirty, Reckless Love by Lexi Ryan 
 Release Date: August 14, 2018 
Genre: Contemporary Romance


dirty_amazon

Synopsis

I’m in love with a man who tried to kill me. At least that’s what they tell me . . .Six weeks ago, paramedics found me unconscious in my apartment. Beaten. Bruised. Hardly breathing. When I woke up, I couldn’t remember the last three years or anything about my life in Jackson Harbor. They tell me my fiancĂ©, Colton McKinley, is on the run for what he did to me. They tell me I’m safer if I stay away.
I don’t care if my memories ever come back. I want nothing to do with those missing years . . . until a sexy stranger with angry eyes shows up on my doorstep and demands I stop ignoring him.
Levi Jackson is my fiancĂ©’s best friend, but seeing him sparks something inside me. As the truth unravels in my mind, I know they’re wrong about Colton. My own secrets are far more dangerous than the man I was engaged to.
I return to Jackson Harbor to search for answers and find myself running from a faceless boogeyman and seeking refuge in Levi’s arms. And in his bed.
I can’t deny my feelings for Levi. But as the pile of lies between us grows, I realize that sometimes the truth can’t set us free. It may be the very thing that could destroy us.


Pre-Order Today!


Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2KooRcI


Meet Lexi
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Lexi Ryan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of emotional romance that sizzles. A former academic and English professor, Lexi considers herself the luckiest girl around to make a living through storytelling. She loves spending time with her crazy kids, weightlifting, ice cream, swoony heroes, and vodka martinis.
Lexi lives in Indiana with her husband, two children, and a spoiled dog. You can find her at her website: www.lexiryan.com


Connect with Lexi

#BlogTour #Review: Whole Lotta Frogs by Samatha Harris



WHOLE LOTTA FROGS
BLOG TOUR
AUTHOR: SAMATHA HARRIS
RELEASE DATE: JUNE 19, 2018
COVER DESIGNER: T.E. BLACK DESIGNS




My name is Lennox Brooks and I’ll admit, I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I don’t take the big risks, I cover my insecurities with snark, I’ve shown my crazy a few more times then I would’ve liked, and I’ve been trying, and failing at love pretty much since I first grew tits. 



Weirdos, Mama’s boys, the over-coiffed, and underwhelming, I’ve been out with them all, just read my blog. I’ve got horror stories that would curl your toes and singe your nose hairs, but none of them compare to the toad who started it all, Ellis Walker. 

He was the boy next door, the charming, infuriatingly gorgeous one who broke my heart and disappeared without a trace. Now he’s back and determined to throw my life into chaos, dredging up painful memories just when things were getting good. 

But the thing is there are always two sides to every story.

I’ve spent the better part of my life hating him for everything he put me through, but without that resentment clouding my judgment how will I ever resist him? 

Love is complicated, appearances are deceiving, and sometimes you have to kiss a whole lotta frogs before finding your prince.




I got ready in a fury and reread Ellis’s invasive text three times while I fixed my hair and makeup, shaking my head each time and fighting back a smile.

I still hadn’t answered when I started walking the six blocks to Sawyer’s apartment. I’d barely stepped off the stoop of my building when my phone rang.

“You never answered my question,” Ellis said.

My lips curled up at the corners. “Of course, I didn’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s none of your business.”

“Len, your nudity is absolutely my business. In fact, I’m the CEO of that luscious body and I’m a hands-on kind of leader.”

I shook my head, unable to hold back my smile any longer. “Wow, you managed to turn a creepy text into an even creepier metaphor. Kudos to you.”

Ellis laughed. “Are you?”

“Am I what?”

“Naked,” he said. “I’m about the hop in the shower and I need a visual to, you know, help me finish the job.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

“Unbelievably sexy you mean.” I could hear the grin in his voice.

“Whatever.”

“Seriously, though,” he said. “What are you up to?”

“Well.” I took a deep breath, the ice-cold air burning my nose. “If you must know, Sawyer offered to make me dinner. I’m on my way to his place.”

“Really?” he asked. “Great!”

I stopped short on the sidewalk my feet frozen to the pavement. People around me grunted their disapproval and moved around me as I stood glued to the concrete.

“Great?” What happened to throwing his hat in the ring?

“Yeah. I’m starved; I’ll meet you there in ten.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I love his food—man, that guy can cook. Best decision I ever made, going into business with him. Even if he’s trying to steal my woman.”

“Ellis!” I shouted into the phone. An elderly woman pulling a grocery cart behind her glared at me for my outburst. I mouthed my apologies to her then returned to my phone. “So help me God if you show up at Sawyer’s…”

“What’s the big deal? I’m friends with him. He’s friends with you. We can all have dinner together, it’ll be fun.”

“You aren’t invited.”

“Oh, Len, I’m hurt. I thought we were moving forward. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

I sighed. “Yes, we’re friends.”

“And friends sometimes eat together?” I groaned, not liking the route this conversation was taking. “Sawyer and I are friends, which I expect might change when I tell him how I feel about you. Oh, what the hell—we’ll just leave him out of this and you and I will just go ourselves.”

“Smooth, Ellis,” I said. “Real smooth.”

“I am pretty smooth if I do say so myself. Not to mention devastatingly handsome, and moderately charming.”

“Only moderately?” I asked.

“Yes, but don’t worry; I grow on you.”

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and closed my eyes. “Please tell me you are not going to show up this evening.”

Ellis laughed. “Relax. I won’t be interrupting your little dinner.”

“Thanks.” I checked the address and looked up at Sawyer’s building. The door to which was sandwiched between a dry cleaner and a greasy pizza place. “I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay,” he said. “Lennox?”

“Yeah.”

He didn’t say anything right away. I just stood there, the cold wind biting at my fingertips.

“Don’t—," he started, his voice sounding almost pained.

“Don’t, what?”

I stood there listening to him breathe on the other end.

“Nothing.” He sighed.

I groaned and rolled my eyes. “Bye, Ellis.”





 REVIEW

  A fantastic book I devoured to my heart's content.

Samatha Harris really knows how to relate to all of us who have our fair share of frogs throughout our lives. Lennox Brooks could be any of us who's dating life has been less than desirable, the only difference is that she documents her experiences on her blog. Then a blast from her past comes back to her life, the boy she always like, the boy that made her life a living hell growing up. But this time, Ellis Walker has his act together, he knows what he wants and that's Lennox, and he's out to show her that he's the man for her.

With a laugh out loud story of the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to dating, the author takes us with Lennox in her journey to finally get the happy ending that she so much deserves. I'm not going to lie, she drove me batty at times and I just wanted to tell her to shut her feelings off and listen to Ellis, but that's the beauty of reading a good story, getting so much into it that you lose yourself in the characters' lives.

Whole Lotta Frogs has a whole lot of heart, and perhaps show us that sometimes things are not what we always thought they were and some people are worthy of a second chance in life.


 

Samatha “Sam” Harris lives near Baltimore, Maryland with her husband David and daughter Ava. Born in Florida, she migrated north which most people agree was a little backwards. She has been an artist all of her life, a Tattoo Artist for more than ten years, and a storyteller since she was a kid. 

Sam has a slightly unhealthy love for Frank Sinatra, classic movies, and Jazz and Blues music, but her first love will always be reading. From Romance, to Thrillers, to Historical Fiction and everything in between, she loves to become a part of the story. As a writer she tells the stories that she would want to read.

Website: 
Facebook: 
Twitter: 
Instagram: 
@LipServicesPR

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

#TeaserWednesday: Crazy Sexy Love by Alison G. Bailey


✮ ✮ ✮ Coming Soon! ✮ ✮ ✮ 
 
Crazy Sexy Love, an all-new Standalone Romantic Comedy by Alison G. Bailey is releasing July 19th!

Add it to Goodreads -https://bit.ly/2JxPQq6
 
 
Blurb

Sophie is an intelligent independent woman. After her parents’ divorce when she was a child, Sophie tossed the idea of “happily ever after” out the window. No personal attachments or commitments is the way she lives her life. After her best friend, Bryson reunited with her soulmate Hart, Sophie is forced to allow his friends into her world. Luckily, she is fond of her new circle of friends, except when it comes to
one handsome, six foot, green eyed buffoon who won’t take no for an answer . . . Doug Truman.
Doug is everything women want in a man. He is a self-described hottie, very witty, and quite the charmer. He can’t imagine any woman not wanting his attention. And they do. The problem is, Doug has a very short attention span, except when it comes to one woman . . . Sophie Cipriano.
At first all he wanted was one night, thinking it would be enough to shake his obsession. If only his best friend, Hart, hadn’t deemed Sophie off limits. Now Doug can’t get her off his mind or out of his system.
When they met, they were enemies. When their best friends got married, they were acquaintances. When they became roommates, they got to be friends. And when they were friends, neither realized what was happening until it was too late.


Read Hart and Bryson’s story in The Dance Today!

#Free in #KindleUnlimited
Amazon US -https://amzn.to/2t2KDvq
Amazon Universal -mybook.to/TheDanceAlison

#BlogTour: The Distiller's Darling by Rebecca Norinne and Jamaila Brinkley

 

Today we are celebrating the release of THE DISTILLER'S DARLING by Rebecca Norinne and Jamaila Brinkley. This is the second standalone title in the River Hill contemporary romance series. Check out an excerpt from the book below.

 

 

Available Now



 

THE DISTILLER'S DARLING by Rebecca Norinne & Jamaila Brinkley

 

Blurb
 Irish whiskey royalty has no place in Northern California, but that isn't going to stop Iain Brennan, the black sheep of Brennan Family Distillers, from giving it a shot. Wine Country is an unlikely place to launch a whiskey empire, but Iain’s just reckless enough to make it work. And being out from under the watchful eye of his disapproving father back home in Dublin? Even better. Naomi Klein has spent the last ten years ignoring her society family as much as possible while building a career as a renowned sculptor. She’s found a home in River Hill, but has no interest in dipping her toes into the commitment pool. Just the idea of forever gives her hives. Which makes a rootless Irish wanderer the perfect fling. And shocking her mother? Just a bonus. But as cozy autumn nights turn into lazy winter mornings, Naomi and Iain realize that they’re getting close to something neither of them wants: love. When Naomi discovers Iain’s not quite as rootless as he seems, she’ll have to make some tough decisions. And when the Brennans and the Kleins descend en masse to collect their prodigal children, River Hill may never be the same.

 

 
-------------------

 
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

 

 

EXCERPT

“Thank you for doing this,” Iain said, the pad of his index finger tracing over the design Naomi had created for Whitman’s Revival. “To be honest, I wasn’t sure I’d hear from you again. You kind of ghosted me.” He glanced up in time to catch her looking away guiltily. “Yeah, about that—” “I’m not asking you to explain yourself. I get it. We had some fun, and now it’s time to move on.” Naomi’s eyes came back around, the guilt replaced with what Iain thought looked a whole lot like contemplation. “Funny you should mention that.” “Funny how?” “I was thinking,” she said, her finger swirling a pattern on the table that separated them. “You’re leaving in two months, and it would be a shame if we didn’t spend that time ... hanging out.” Her eyes bored into his, as if daring him to misunderstand. His lips quirked up into a smirk. “Why, Miss Klein, are you asking me to fuck you senseless until I board a plane back to Ireland?” She tossed him a wicked smile full of promise. “You have to admit; we’re pretty damn good at it.” “The best,” he agreed. He felt his chest sawing in and out as his breathing became deeper and more labored. Iain couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt such heady anticipation. Oh, wait, yes, he could. It was that night in San Francisco when he and Naomi had practically run from that dive bar to his hotel. He’d been so ready for her that he’d ripped her dress off before the door to his room had locked behind them. “So, what do you say, Brennan? You want to spend the next sixty days seeing how many orgasms we can give each other?” That was all the invitation Iain needed. Abruptly, he stood, his chair scraping over the black-and-white-checked linoleum and then crashing to the floor. He stalked around the fifties-style diner table and fisted his hands in Naomi’s hair. He bent at the waist and let his lips hover scant centimeters from her parted ones. He could feel the warmth of her breath mingling with his own. “What do you say we get started on that now?” She licked her lips. “Yes, let’s.”

 

 

 

PURCHASE THE PREVIOUS BOOK FROM THE SERIES

Purchase THE DISTILLER'S DARLING Now!

Amazon US | iBooks | Nook | Kobo

 

-------------------------------

 

 

About the Authors

Rebecca Norinne writes sexy romance from the heart. Her heroines are bold and headstrong, and her heroes will do anything for the ones they love.
When not banging away at the keyboard, she is watching rugby, enjoying a pint of craft beer, or traveling the globe in search of inspiration for her next book.
Originally from California, Rebecca currently resides in Dublin, Ireland, with her husband.


Author Links

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

 

 


 

Jamaila Brinkley writes historical romance with a hint of magic. Her Wizards of London series features thieves, duchesses, witches, and more indulging in mayhem and romance in Regency England. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America, and was a finalist in the Romance Through the Ages contest in 2015.
Jamaila came to romance as an avid reader of fantasy and science fiction, and found that her favorite historical romances seemed ripe for an injection of magic. Her favorite historical period is currently the Victorian era, and she’s never happier than when immersed in a multi-book family series.
Jamaila lives outside Baltimore, Maryland in a house that is perpetually under renovation with her husband and twin toddlers. You can find her blogging about romance, writing, parenting, cooking, and more on her website at www.jamailabrinkley.com, and posting pictures of her lunch on Twitter as @jamaila.

 
Author Links

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Newsletter | Goodreads

 

 

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

#ReleaseBlitz: The Fragile Ordinary by Samantha Young

   

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Impossible Vastness of Us and the On Dublin Street series comes a heartfelt and beautiful new young adult novel, set in Scotland, about daring to dream and embracing who you are. THE FRAGILE ORDINARY is now available where all fine books are sold. Order your copy of THE FRAGILE ORDINARY today!

 

   

About THE FRAGILE ORDINARY

 

I am Comet Caldwell.

And I sort of, kind of, absolutely hate my name.

People expect extraordinary things from a girl named Comet. That she’ll be effortlessly cool and light up a room the way a comet blazes across the sky.

But from the shyness that makes her book-character friends more appealing than real people to the parents whose indifference hurts more than an open wound, Comet has never wanted to be the center of attention. She can’t wait to graduate from her high school in Edinburgh, Scotland, where the only place she ever feels truly herself is on her anonymous poetry blog. But surely that will change once she leaves to attend university somewhere far, far away.

When new student Tobias King blazes in from America and shakes up the school, Comet thinks she’s got the bad boy figured out. Until they’re thrown together for a class assignment and begin to form an unlikely connection. Everything shifts in Comet’s ordinary world. Tobias has a dark past and runs with a tough crowd—and none of them are happy about his interest in Comet. Targeted by bullies and thrown into the spotlight, Comet and Tobias can go their separate ways…or take a risk on something extraordinary.

 

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indie Bound | Amazon Kindle

iBooks | GooglePlay | Kobo

 

“Endearing and relatable, Comet-the girl who is searching for her place in this world-will shoot through the sky and into your heart.”

— #1 New York Times bestselling author Erin Watt


       


EXCERPT

  By the time we got to the house and I let us into my bedroom, I was a jittering wreck. Massive waves of nervous energy were emanating from Tobias, making me worse. He was rarely nervous about anything. Once inside my room, I waited impatiently as Tobias slumped down on my bed, elbows on knees, head in hands. I shrugged out of my jacket and unwound my scarf. Still waiting. “Comet,” he huffed, not looking up. “Sit down, okay, you’re making me nervous.” “You’re making me nervous.” I sat on the armchair across from him. “You and Stevie didn’t kill someone, did you? Did Dean dispose of the body for you and now he’s blackmailing you?” Tobias’s broad shoulders shook and he lifted his head to stare at me with amusement tinged with sadness. “You’ve got to stop reading so many books.” “Never.” He smiled at me, his look so tender that I squirmed with the need to shoot across the room and throw my arms around him. Instead I met his gaze and asked directly, “What happened back there?” “I just chose you over Stevie,” he said. I swear my eyebrows must have hit my hairline at this pronouncement. “What?” “Stevie and some of the guys have been hanging around Dean more and more. Dean is a dealer. And he’s part of something bigger—we’re talking an adult-sized, criminal gang who deal drugs and steal cars for a living. Dean deals cocaine to kids. Blair Lochrie High School is one of his grounds. He sells to quite a few kids there.” At our high school? Class A drugs at our high school? “Bloody hell,” I whispered, “Where have I been?” “Where I prefer you—safe with your nose stuck in a book.” “Tobias…Stevie?” Hearing the worry in my voice, he winced. “I tried, Com. I tried to keep him out of it, but he’s so messed up and I couldn’t stop him. I hung around to make sure he was okay.” “Is that why you’ve been avoiding me?” God, please let that be why he was avoiding me. “Yes.” A million apologies swirled in his gorgeous eyes. “I didn’t mean for Stevie to find out about you, because I didn’t want you anywhere near the stuff he was getting involved in. But then you two got along, so well I thought you might…have feelings for each other, so I told him that he either stopped hanging around Dean or he stopped hanging around you. He agreed keeping you out of that stuff, away from the boys, was better for you. So we stopped coming around as much and then stopped coming around at all. Tonight was his initiation into Dean’s crew. It was supposed to be both our initiations, I guess, because Dean was sending Stevie to some other party with drugs, and I was following Stevie as backup. Now I’m not.” There was so much to process in what he’d just said. My brain blurted out the first thing it wanted to deal with. “Stevie and I don’t have feelings for each other. I don’t like Stevie, Tobias.” His eyes widened as my tone implied that I liked someone else. “No?” “No.” “Good. Because I just left him to that hell.” He stood up and started pacing back and forth. “I tried to help him even if it meant hurting you, and he just let himself get pulled further down into that crap.” I stood up, reached out to touch him, to slow him down. He stilled, looking at my hand on his arm. “What did you mean? You chose me over Stevie?” “Comet, Dean made it clear that if I left with you, I couldn’t go around there or anywhere near him again. So I either had to stay and go with Stevie as his backup on a drug deal and leave you to handle Dean on your own, or I could walk out of there with you and leave Stevie to do it alone. For good.” His gaze moved over my face, as if he were committing each feature to memory. My heart started thudding so hard the blood rushed through my ears. “So you chose me.” “Of course,” he choked out. “I’d never let anything happen to you. And seeing you there…I never want to see that crap touch you again. It was a wake-up call for me. I don’t want to be a part of that shit either. That’s not me.” Seeing something in his expression made me brave in a way I never thought I could be. Knees trembling, I stepped up to him and placed a hand on his chest, over his heart. His chest was strong and hard beneath my hand, his body heat surrounding me and that woodsy, spicy, citrusy scent he wore teasing my senses. I wanted to sway into him, hold him tight, and never let go, but I had something important to say first now that I had his absolute attention. “Being a good student, working for something, achieving something, playing hard at football…it wasn’t all for your dad, Tobias. There is no maybe about it. Deep down you want those things for yourself, too. You’re smart and good and such a special person.” I gave him a tremulous smile, wondering if how I felt for him was as obvious to him as it was to apparently everyone else. “You deserve the life you really want.” His chest rose and fell faster beneath my hand as we stared into one another’s eyes. Tobias licked his lips, as if he was nervous. “What if I want to get my grades back up?” “Then I’ll help.” “And join the rugby team?” “Then you’ll try out.” He nodded and slowly lifted his hand to cover mine. He took a step closer to me, his breathing sounding a little shaky. The thud of his heart racing beneath my palm made mine accelerate. My legs shook and my fingers curled into Tobias’s shirt. “And…what if what I really want…is you?” Joy flooded me. I can’t truly describe the feeling. The euphoria. The excitement and thrill and fear and worry that cascaded through me at the thought of being with Tobias King. No matter the plethora of emotions that came with his question, my answer was instant and absolute. “Then you have me.”  




   


About Samantha Young


  Samantha Young is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of adult contemporary romances, including the On Dublin Street series and Hero, as well as the New Adult duology Into the Deep and Out of the Shallows. Every Little Thing, the second book in her new Hart’s Boardwalk series, will be published by Berkley in March 2017. Before turning to contemporary fiction, she wrote several young adult paranormal and fantasy series, including the amazon bestselling Tale of Lunarmorte trilogy. Samantha’s debut YA contemporary novel The Impossible Vastness of Us will be published by Harlequin TEEN in ebook & hardback June 2017 Samantha has been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award 2012 for Best Author and Best Romance for On Dublin Street, Best Romance 2014 for Before Jamaica Lane, and Best Romance 2015 for Hero. On Dublin Street, a #1 bestseller in Germany, was the Bronze Award Winner in the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2013, Before Jamaica Lane the Gold Medal Winner for the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2014 and Echoes of Scotland Street the Bronze Medal Winner for the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2015. Samantha is currently published in 30 countries and is a #1 international bestselling author.  

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