Spotlight: 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. Order your copy of THE FRAGILE ORDINARY today!

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.

Excerpt

As much as I was desperate to see Tobias and afraid to at the same time, I’d like to think I’m not that self-absorbed. I did offer to spend the rest of the day with Vicki, not wanting to leave her alone when she was feeling so down about her parents’ separation, but she insisted she had a ton of work to do for the show.

I knew the show meant a lot to her and Steph but I was kind of glad it would be over soon. It had stolen all their time, and yes, as petty as it may seem, I was jealous it had brought the two of them closer together.

Nerves returned with a vengeance as I made my way to the esplanade. Not only was I jittery over my confusing conversation with Vicki about what it was Tobias wanted from me, but I was tense over meeting up with Stevie. We were basically about to hand him an ultimatum, and ultimatums usually didn’t turn out well.

As soon as I saw Tobias standing outside the Espy my heart started to pound, my pulse thrumming hard in my neck. He turned and caught sight of me and began to stride up the street toward me. His pace quickened and he seemed so determined my knees quavered a little.

When he reached me I opened my mouth to say hello, but the greeting died on my lips as he cupped my face in his warm hands and bowed his head to kiss me.

Shock, thrill, fear, want, all mixed inside of me as I closed my eyes and clung to his arms. His lips were soft, coaxing, brushing against mine, teasing me. Heat flashed through my body from the tips of my toes to my cheeks, and I leaned in, looking for something beyond even this. This felt nothing like Ethan’s kiss.

It was lovely…and yet…I wanted more.

Tobias drew his lips from mine ever so slightly and murmured against them, “Open your mouth.”

I flushed even hotter at the command but did so without hesitation. When his mouth returned to my mouth he touched his tongue to mine, just a flick, a torment that made me whimper in confusion. Everything within me seemed to tighten, coiling into an increasing tension as his tongue danced more forcefully with mine. It was a dance I easily followed, kissing him back with more fervor, my fingers digging into his arms.

This was the more I’d been waiting for.

This was everything.

He broke the kiss, gasping my name against my lips.

I blinked, discombobulated. My whole body hummed with an urgency I’d never felt before.

Tobias leaned his forehead against mine as we sought to catch our breaths and equilibrium. “I should have done that last night,” he finally whispered.

Relieved laughter bubbled out of me in giggles that made him smile with such affection that I wondered how I could have possibly doubted his feelings for me. Tobias King liked me. Me. Comet Caldwell. If someone as special as Tobias could like me so well, maybe I was a little bit special, too?

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About the Author

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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Read an excerpt from Tempting the Laird by Julia London

From New York Times bestselling author Julia London, comes TEMPTING THE LAIRD—the fifth standalone novel in her Highland Grooms Series!

Mystery and desire cloak the Scottish Highlands

Unruly. Unmarried. Unapologetic. Catriona Mackenzie’s reputation precedes her everywhere she goes. Her beloved late aunt Zelda taught Cat to live out loud and speak her mind, and that’s exactly what she does when Zelda’s legacy—a refuge for women in need—comes under fire. When her quest puts her in the path of the disturbingly mysterious Hamlin Graham, Duke of Montrose, Cat is soon caught up in the provocative rumors surrounding the dark duke. Never one to retreat, Cat boldly goes where no one else has dared for answers.

Shrouded in secrets, a hostage of lies, Hamlin must endure the fear and suspicion of those who believe he is a murderer. The sudden disappearance of his wife and the truth he keeps silent are a risk to his chances at earning a coveted parliamentary seat. But he’s kept his affairs tightly held until a woman with sparkling eyes and brazen determination appears unexpectedly in his life. Deadly allegations might be his downfall, but his unleashed passion could be the duke’s ultimate undoing.

Excerpt

Catriona was suddenly nudged with an elbow. “I can’t believe he’s come in,” whispered Miss Wilke-Smythe.

“Pardon?”

The young woman nodded in the direction of the tall man with the green ribbon. “That is the Duke of

Montrose,” she whispered excitedly. “Look, there’s the coach from Blackthorn,” she said, nodding toward the window.

Catriona looked at the man’s back again.

“You’ve no doubt heard of him, haven’t you?” asked Miss Wilke-Smythe.

Catriona shook her head. “Should I have?”

“Yes!” Miss Wilke-Smythe said in a near squeal. She clamped her hand down on Catriona’s arm and squeezed with alarming strength. “He’s quite notorious,” she said, her brown eyes glittering.

He didn’t seem so notorious to Catriona. “Why is that, then?”

Miss Wilke-Smythe leaned even closer, so that Catriona could feel her breath on her neck, and whispered, “They say he murdered his wife.”

“What?” Catriona blinked. She turned her head to look at the young woman. “You jest,” she accused her.

“Not in the least! Everyone says so—they say she simply disappeared. One night, she hosted a table set with so much china and silver that armed guards stood before the mansion. And the next day, she vanished, just like that,” she said with a snap of her gloved fingers. “One moment she was here, and the next, vanished. No one has seen her since.”

Catriona looked at the broad back of the man at the window. “That’s impossible.”

“You must hear it from Lord Norwood!” Miss Wilke-Smythe said, referring to Uncle Knox, who happened to be the Earl of Norwood. “He relayed it all to me.”

“All right, then, that’s enough of this,” her uncle suddenly said, and stood up, swaying a bit on his feet. “Time I see my darling niece home, I should think. Where are her trunks? Has someone got her trunks?”

“Well, I haven’t got them,” Lord Furness said, and staggered to his feet, too. In fact, there was a lot of rattling about as they all stood, casting around for discarded cloaks and reticules, hats and bonnets. In the flurry, Catriona tried to get a look at the duke’s face, but his back was very much to the door, and Vasily Orlov chose that moment to sidle up to her with a leering sort of smile. “Norwood was remiss in mentioning the beauty of his niece,” he purred.

Catriona stepped away from him and followed her uncle as he and his party stumbled into bright sunlight.

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About Julia London

Julia London is the New York Times and USA TODAY best-selling author of more than thirty romantic fiction novels. She is the author of the popular Cabot Sisters historical romance series, including The Trouble with Honor, The Devil Takes a Bride, and The Scoundrel and the Debutante. She is also the author of several contemporary romances, including Homecoming Ranch, Return to Homecoming Ranch and The Perfect Homecoming. She has over 100,000+ Facebook followers, is the recipient of the RT Book Reviews for Best Historical Romance and a six-time finalist for the prestigious RITA award for excellence in romantic fiction. You can visit her website JuliaLondon.com. She lives in Austin, Texas.

Spotlight: Strong Hold by Sarah Castille

Strong Hold
Sarah Castille
(Redemption #5)
Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication date: July 3rd 2018
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

“Shayla?”
For the longest moment Zack’s brain couldn’t process the sight in front of him.
Seven years, ten months and twenty-seven days. That was how long it had been since he’d seen her. That was how long it had been since he’d lived a life without regret.

Fight promoter Zack Grayson is on the prowl for a rising star. As the top recruiter of a prestigious MMA promotion company, he wants to take someone where he was never able to go: the top of the professional league. He didn’t expect that someone to be the woman he loved…and left.

Top-ranked MMA amateur fighter Shayla “Shilla the Killa” Tyler built walls around her heart when Zack left her seven years ago–and again when her husband turned violent. Now, seeing Zack is nearly enough to send those walls crumbling. But she can’t risk the exposure of the limelight, and she definitely can’t risk another heartbreak.

As Shayla and Zack grow closer, though, business turns personal. And once their passion unleashes, there’s no going back…

Redemption Series:
Against the Ropes (Book 1)
In Your Corner (Book 2)
Full Contact (Book 3)
Fighting Attraction (Book 4)
Strong Hold (Book 5)

What People Are Saying About Sarah Castille’s Redemption series:
“Powerful. Gritty. And sexy beyond belief. Sarah is a true master!”–Opal Carew, New York Times bestselling author of His to Claim
“Emotionally charged, amazingly sexy, and flat out fantastic.” —Fresh Fiction for Full Contact
“Castille continues to introduce characters who are both intense and vulnerable. The females are more than a match for the men in their lives, and these guys are worth their efforts.” —RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars for Full Contact

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—

EXCERPT:

“That kiss,” he whispers, his breath hot against my ear. “In Torment’s office. That was nothing?”

“Aside from the fact that we risked both our lives, and you have to pay a heavy price, and I maybe got a little hot from all the activity…nothing.”

“And when we touched…” He slides one arm around my waist and pulls me close as if we were alone and not in the Redemption parking lot where, no doubt, we are fueling the overactive gossip mill. “When I held you…nothing?”

My cheeks burn at the memory. “A friendly hug.”

“And back there in class…” His hips press up against mine, and his voice drops to a sensual growl. “When I had you underneath me with your hands pinned above your head totally at my mercy…nothing?”

I open my mouth, but nothing is exactly what comes out.

Zack responds with a satisfied grunt. “Something.”

“Don’t let it go to your head.” I grit my teeth and look away. “It was a natural physiological response. I’m genetically programmed to be attracted to handsome, sexy men in peak physical condition. Survival of the species and that sort of thing.”

He laughs, and oh God, I missed that deep, rich rumble that rolls right through me. “What about this?” He taps my head. “I’ve heard the brain can overcome basic instinct and genetic programming. Free will and that sort of thing.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not working right now. I think it’s the gi.” Unable to stop myself, I run my hand along the edge of his gi, my fingers trailing over the hard muscles of his chest. “It’s…distracting.”

His muscles tense under my touch, and a growl vibrates in his chest. “You’re distracting.”

“We’re supposed to be keeping it professional,” I remind him, pulling my hand away. I watched his body change from boyhood through his gangly teen years and then fill out when he reached his early twenties. He was ripped back then in a way that made heads turn, but his muscles now are thick and hard, ripened by age and hundreds of fights. When I last saw him, there was still some boy left in the way he held himself, a slight unease with his body. But now, he is all confidence and power. Pure solid man.

Zack grabs my hand and presses it against his bare chest, right over his heart. “You’re not making it easy. Your jealousy…knowing you care…feeling that connection… You don’t know what that does to me.” He is on me before I can part my lips, one hand firm around my neck, his lean, powerful body caging me against the car. His mouth claims mine, stealing my breath away with a kiss that sends a scorching wave of heat through my veins.

“Professional means no kissing,” I say when he lets me up for air. Without thinking, I trace the edges of the scar on his forehead, a bitter reminder of Matt’s misdirected anger when Zack brought home his mangled bike.

Zack covers my hand with his, trapping it against my cheek. “No kissing,” he agrees. “Unless you touch me, and then I can’t be held responsible for my actions.”

“Fine. No touching.” I pull my hand away, pleased that we are setting out some ground rules so I don’t have to worry about wanting to tear his clothes off in the gym.

His naughty hand skims the side of my face, his thumb stroking over the apple of my cheek as he tips my head back, forcing me to look at him. “I can’t train you if I don’t touch you, especially when we’re rolling on the mats like we just did in class.”

“Okay. Professional touching. Nothing else.”

He licks his lips like a predator about to feast. “Unless you want something else.”

I press my lips together and scowl. “Stop qualifying everything. I know exactly what you’re trying to do, and it’s not going to work. You can’t seduce me, Zachary Grayson. You know exactly what professional means. Now let’s shake on it.”

He cups my face between his hands and tilts my head back. “Kiss.”

“You had your kiss—”

Without warning, his hands drop to my hips, and he yanks me against him. His mouth crushes mine, and his tongue slides between my lips, touching, tasting, claiming. I startle at the urgency of his kiss, the raw heat, the fierce desire. I shouldn’t kiss him back, but I can’t resist the dark temptation, the firm hand that has found its way to my nape, holding me in place as he coaxes me open for the slow, relentless possession of my mouth.

Blood pounds in my temples, my hunger for him raw and wild. My hand slides up his chest and over his shoulder. I pull him closer, my fingers clutching the soft, silken strands of his hair. My heart pounds in my chest, and the world shatters around me.

Author Bio:

Sarah Castille is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Redemption Series, Ruin & Revenge Series, Sinner’s Tribe Motorcycle Club series, and Legal Heat series. A recovering lawyer with a fondness for dirty-talking alpha males, she now is a full-time writer, who lives on Vancouver Island. Sarah’s books have been listed as Publisher’s Weekly’s Top Ten Picks and Best Summer Reads, and Amazon’s Best Romance Books of the Year, and have won numerous reader’s choice awards including the Holt Medallion.

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Cover Reveal: Wrecked by Shana Vanterpool

Wrecked
Shana Vanterpool
(Charming Knights #1)
Publication date: August 2nd 2018
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult

Welcome to Charming High.
Sorry, we’re fresh out of charm …

Hallie:

I am a star.
I’m not famous, before you make that mistake.
Although, I guess I kind of am. Or I will be anyway. My future was planned long before I was born.
The definition of a star is a fixed luminous point in the night sky that is an incandescent body like the sun.
I am a star. I am fixed. I am luminous only when no one is looking. I was stuck to repeat the same night every single day.
Until I met Wreck. And he showed me how alive I could feel within my cage.

Wreck:

I am a knight.
I’m not a knight in shining armor, before you start thinking I’ll save you.
I am a knight in raging darkness.
Until I met Hallie. And she showed me how to break free of my battle-torn armor.

Wrecked is the first book in the Charming Knights series by Shana Vanterpool. An exhilarating upper YA contemporary romance series set deep in the lives of Charming High’s most beloved football team. Where the limits of good and evil are pushed, desires and dreams are twisted, and readers are immersed into the lives of people who have it all. Except their freedom…

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Author Bio:

When I walk into a book store I feel at home. When I smell the pages of a brand new book things make sense. When I read I am who I always wanted to be. I read to escape and I write so others can as well. My family, my actress dog Bella, coffee, and a steamy love story are a few of my most precious things.

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Spotlight: Twelfth Floor by Monica Corwin

Twelfth Floor
Monica Corwin
Publication date: July 3rd 2018
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

This isn’t your high school Shakespeare.

Violet Cesario fled the shipwreck of her father’s company to Illyria Pharmaceuticals. As the newly appointed, and untried CFO, the board gave her thirty days to prove her worth. Thirty days to bring up the numbers. Thirty days to fend off the advances of her secretary, Olivia. Thirty days of hiding her submissiveness inside a dominant’s shell.

Thirty days gets complicated when Duke Orsino, the CEO, offers her a deal. Help him win over Olivia and he will sway the board in Violet’s favor. If she agrees to teach him the games behind dominance and submission Violet’s career will be made. As the play turns more and more true to life, the lines blur between fantasy and reality. Can Violet hide her desire for Duke long enough for him to woo Olivia? And if he succeeds can Violet endure it for the sake of her career?

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—

EXCERPT:

Chief Financial Officers didn’t last long at Illyria. Handling billions of dollars seemed to weigh on even those who chose the profession as a career. The appointment of Violet Cesario had gone against the board’s request. I was the one who selected her, despite the impressive and complete collapse of her last company.

However, the research I conducted on the matter showed more than gross negligence on the part of the company’s owner. I wasn’t going to hold that against her, but the board did, and would, if she didn’t survive her first thirty days. They’d try to hold it against me too. Until I’d not so subtly remind them of the last time they went to war with me.

My question, or goading, didn’t cause even a flicker of anxiety to cross her features. When purposefully hiring new executives, I pushed them, pounded them into the ground, and walked across the ashes of who they were before they came to my company. All this in preparation to make them the best at their job. And yet, my usual tactics didn’t seem to faze her. Not the show I put on as she entered the building, not my goading…which made her more than interesting to me. I’d met far weaker men than the woman sitting across from me with the ice in her eyes.

The board controlled my CFO position, until their last incompetent choice lost us a quarter-million-dollar asset. Now, the board submitted to my selection. And I would prove my choices were irrefutable. If not God damn impeccable. “You’re aware of the thirty-day mandate the board put on your employment?”

She shifted her legs, carefully sliding one long lean calf over her other knee. Not even stockings in the way of her smooth skin’s passage. In any one else, I would have considered it a seduction technique, but not this woman. As if her body language screamed two different things at once: ‘come closer’ and ‘back the hell off’. Or maybe that was the point. Draw them in only to crush them under her four inch heels.

“I’m not sure if that was a question or a statement.” She paused briefly before continuing. “The probationary period is a clause in the contract I signed.” Her tone called me a bastard in the nicest way I’d ever heard it. I loved a little fire in a woman. Even more so in a woman forging an intimate relationship with my money. By the second Violet was accruing more respect than I’d been preparing to dole out.

“Of course,” I said, mimicking her caustic tone. Why did I need a reaction from her so badly?

She gave me nothing but a careful blink.

Maybe working with Violet might prove more fun than I originally estimated. I didn’t interview her personally, and there were no pictures with her file, so when I arrived, I expected a thirty-something powerlifting champion in a pinstriped suit. Violet had almost a delicacy about her inviting wariness. Meeting her in person, I wanted her to do well, for her benefit—not only mine. “I’m here to tell you how you will succeed in your goal.”

A line formed in the middle of her forehead as she considered my words. “And why would you do that? Isn’t it in your best interest to choose the right person for the job, not the make the person fit the job?”

“Usually, but I went to bat to hire you. Challenging the board with my choice. If you succeed, it looks good for me, and it keeps me from having to vet and hire yet another CFO.” I didn’t reveal my ongoing clash with the board about new executive hires. Or that the probationary period resulted from my pushing them about bringing her specifically.

She forced out a controlled sigh, and I watched her for any other outward reactions to me, the conversation, the thirty-day time limit on her employment. Absolutely nothing. Incredible.

“I can see the logic in that.”

I glanced over at Olivia to see if she got a reading on Violet that I missed. Olivia was better than most when it came to insight about other women.

Or maybe I just wanted a stolen moment to watch her. The only woman who eluded me. To be fair, I’d never put in much of the chase to catch her.
Even dressed for work, without the skintight dresses and sky-high heels, she looked like an idea.

Something yet for me to discover.

At the club we both attended, secretly on my part, of course, she always looked even better, more like a revelation.

Something I knew all along.

With her head bent over the notepad she held in one hand, she scribbled in quick, precise strokes. I realized Violet had been talking while I’d been gawking. I glanced up to find a silent Violet studying me with her head cocked to the side.

Between seconds, between heartbeats, between her look and my silence…she knew.

We stared each other down, Olivia completely oblivious to the growing tension stretched taut between Violet and me. A tension built precariously on a shared secret.

Violet repeated what I’d missed. “And what did you suggest, Duke, to preserve my place here?”

My name thrown in a gauntlet was not something I could ignore. I narrowed my eyes at her. I didn’t enjoy puzzles. And the five minutes I’d spent with Violet told me she’d be far more difficult to decipher than most.

“Olivia,” I said, not even looking at her, still grappling in the strangest battle of wills with Violet. “Will you give Ms. Cesario and me a moment?”

Author Bio:

Monica Corwin is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author. She is an outspoken writer attempting to make romance accessible to everyone, no matter their preferences. As a Northern Ohioian, Monica enjoys snow drifts, three seasons of weather, and a dislike of Michigan football. Monica owns more books about King Arthur than should be strictly necessary. Also typewriters...lots and lots of typewriters.

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Read an excerpt from Why Not Me? by Ashley Erin

He didn’t choose me, and now he wants his second chance.

Allie Vincent has a good life. All of her boxes are checked off.

Sweet boyfriend? Check.

Awesome job? Check.

Great friends? Check.

Life is going according to plan. That is until the man who broke her heart seven years ago comes crashing back into her life.

Suddenly those checked boxes no longer seem important.

Her once neat life is now in turmoil as she’s caught between a past love and a current one.

A choice between two men.

One is her best friend and partner for the past six years.

The other makes her heart race, but he left her shattered.

One is safe, secure.

The other is a risk she doesn’t know if she’s willing to take . . . again.

Excerpt

Allie

Waking up after an awful night’s sleep, I drag myself out of bed toward the bathroom. Glancing behind me to a sleeping Brendan, his curly hair sticking out all over the place makes me smile. The hole in my heart that was reopened yesterday afternoon has a Band-Aid over it. The safe comfort of Brendan’s arms preventing me from leaping into a black hole of memories.

The same arms that put me back together, protecting the cracks from breaking even further all those years ago, held me together once again last night. It kept that question that taunted me for years, why not me, from resurfacing.

Brushing my teeth, I avoid looking in the mirror. I’m mad at myself. I’m angry that I’m so weak a person that someone from my past still has so much power over my emotions. That he still holds a large piece of my heart, even after he stomped on it. That even now, I’m still wondering why not me, even though I shouldn’t be.

After seven years, I should be able to look at him and be angry that he ended things over the phone, or better yet, not feel anything at all.

I should be able to look at the man who has loved me for six years and realize I have what I need. Yet, I can’t shut off the way he still permeates my thoughts on a regular basis. I’ve tried. I’ve tried every single day since that night.

Yanking a brush through my hair, I relish in the pain I deserve as it rips through the tangles.

He chose someone else. Someone he said I didn’t need to worry about. He picked her, not me. Brendan picked me. He loves me, every part of me. With him, I’ll never need to wonder or doubt his feelings. He is safe, he loves me, he makes me laugh, and we have a wonderful life together.

“Good morning.” Brendan walks into the bathroom, stretching his arms above his head before wrapping them around me. Looking up, I’m surprised to see he looks sad. His voice is muffled as he speaks into my hair. “You didn’t sleep well last night.”

Closing my eyes, I breathe in his comforting scent. “I had a nasty headache from the accident. I’m going to see a physical therapist this morning.”

Angling my head when he leans down to kiss my neck, I smile into the mirror as our eyes meet and ignore the wrenching guilt about not telling him the full story behind the accident.

“Do you want me to come with you?” He turns me to face him, lifting me onto the counter so he can step between my legs.

Panic fills me at the idea of Brendan seeing me near Landon. He knows me too well, he’ll know something’s up. Clasping his shoulders, I lean forward to kiss his cheek. “Nah, enjoy your morning. I don’t know how long I’ll be.”

He smiles as he kisses me once more before turning to switch on the shower, the warm steam doing nothing for the chills running through my body.

I finish getting ready for the day, tying my hair into a messy bun before throwing on sweats and a hoodie. It’s tempting to dress up, but I won’t give in. I shouldn’t need to impress him.

Maybe there’s a silver lining to this weird and uncomfortable situation. This will give me an opportunity to finally have closure on the Landon issue. That’s what I’ve needed all these years. A chance for the door that was left slightly ajar in my mind to finally shut. Not that I would ask him why he picked her instead of me, but an opening to say a real goodbye, not a heartless sever over the phone.

Two hours later I’m parked outside of Landon’s clinic, Freedom Physical Therapy, trying to find the strength I need to go in, get evaluated by Landon, and get out unscathed and hopefully ready to finally let go.

Slinging my purse over my shoulder, I take a few calming breaths before leaving my car and entering the building. No one is at the front desk, in fact the entire open space is empty. This is my opportunity to leave, to walk out and not look back. I start to turn, but before I can take a step Landon comes out of an office I didn’t notice in my cursory glance.

“Allie, I’m glad you made it.” His eyes scan over me, a trail of heat following the path of his gaze. He steps in close, pressing his thumb into the tender skin around the large bruise on my forehead. Before I can think about what I’m doing, I’m leaning into his touch, my eyes drifting shut.

There is something unique about the way his hand feels on my skin. The connection is powerful, the draw instant, and I find myself falling into another memory.

Landon is kissing my neck, specifically the spot that instantly makes me moan in need. The palms of his hands rub my back, before pressing into my lower back to pull me into his arms. It’s a stolen moment, one we shouldn’t be taking, but all common sense and morality flies out the window when we’re together.

“Allie . . .” His words are tortured. He needs this as much as I do, but his guilt is starting to eat at him. He needs to make a choice.

With a sharp breath, I jump back as I think about the consequences of what’s happening. He probably hasn’t thought about me since that night, or if he has they’ve been fleeting thoughts that don’t matter. He let go of us. Unlike me, I’ve never quite let go. Tears fill my eyes as pain shoots through my neck, but the pain in my heart is even worse.

“Oh—shit—ow.” The words are a low groan, the pain in them a mixture of physical and emotional.

“I hit you pretty hard yesterday. Hang your coat over there and then sit on that exam table over there.” The gravelly tone of his voice reminds me of every time we were together. It’s the first indication that he might be as impacted by my presence as I am his.

I hang my coat, the burn of his eyes as they track me feels familiar. When I turn around, I let myself meet his gaze straight on. He’s intent, his blue eyes darkening as we stare at each other. I examine every feature, every twitch. And I see it. He feels everything I feel.

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About Ashley Erin

Ashley Erin lives in Alberta, Canada where winter and summer compete to take over. She wears flip flops as soon as it’s above freezing, because her hatred of socks outweighs her dislike of snow. Her boyfriend stays with her despite a penchant for adopting rescued cats and dogs without permission. Their two dogs and four cats are spoiled rotten. When Ashley isn’t writing, she is reading or working with horses.

Ashley is a self-published author of contemporary and new adult romance. Follow her on Facebook to keep up with her current and upcoming releases.

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