One week!
Seven days!
168 hours!
Yes, I’m literally
HANGING BY A MOMENT
waiting for this release.
Book 2 of the Keeping Score Trilogy
comes out May 24th,
and I can’t wait.
So since it’s #TeaserTuesday, I thought I’d give you a little sneak peek.
“Babe, you awake?” Leo’s voice was low and husky, murmuring against my ear.
I snuggled a little closer to him. “Mmmmm. Kind of.” My bedroom was dark except for the faint glow of the streetlight just outside. Tonight, for the first time all week, I hadn’t dropped right off to sleep after I’d laid my head on Leo’s broad chest.
“I talked to my mom a little bit tonight before they all left.” His fingers moved in small circles on my upper arm. “She didn’t push, but she suggested I give you and your mother some space tomorrow. She said you two need to talk about some stuff and make decisions.”
Panic welled up inside me, and it was on the tip of my tongue to argue. But I knew deep down that Leo couldn’t stay glued to my side forever. We both had to figure out what was going to come next for us, just like my mom and I had to do the same.
“Yeah.” I swallowed hard. “She’s probably right.” I turned a little, resting my chin on Leo’s sternum, staring up into his face. “But don’t go far, okay? I’m not sure I’m ready to go cold turkey on my Leo addiction.”
He brushed his hand over my hair. “If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll sit in the car outside, just in case you need me.”
I sniffed. “You don’t have to do that. Maybe after breakfast, you could just go home for a little bit.”
“That works.” He crunched up, bending so that his lips could reach the top of my head. “Hey, Mia? We haven’t really talked about anything serious yet. I mean, about us. But I wanted to say this now, before anything goes any further.”
Trepidation gripped my gut. “I’m not sure I’m ready to deal with this.”
“Babe, no.” Leo slid me off him, rolling to lay on his side so that our faces were close together. “Nothing bad. I just wanted to say . . . I love you, Mia. I didn’t say it to you last week. I hoped you understood it, but I thought I better be clear. I love you. I loved you before, and I never stopped.”
I traced his jaw with one finger. “I love you, too, Leo. Still. Always. Forever.”
He released a breath as though he’d been holding it. “Okay. Good.”
I frowned. “Did you doubt that I did? That I do?”
“No, not really.” He nuzzled my neck. “But I wasn’t sure if you were ready to deal with me again. I know you needed me this week, but I was afraid once things started to settle down, you’d think that maybe I wasn’t worth the effort.”
Following my finger with my lips, I kissed his chin. “You’re worth everything, Leo. And I hate that it took my dad—what happened, I mean, to get us back together, but I’m not going to have any regrets anymore. Loving you is part of me, and so are you. I wouldn’t have made it through this week without you.” I paused, enjoying the feel of the late-night scruff on his neck. “That first day, before you got here, I wanted to die, too. It hurt so bad, and I felt like nothing was ever going to be right again. But then you came to me, and I’ll never forget that you were here for me.”
“I always will be.” He tipped up my chin and kissed my lips, softly. “Nothing in my life works without you.”
Want MORE? You can read a sample chapter here . . .
And if you preorder, the full book will show up magically in your ereader next week!
If you haven’t read WHEN WE WERE US yet, grab it now so you’re ready for next week!
