us for the You and Everything After Release
Day Event, with Ginger Scott, and hosted by Wordsmith Publicity. Visit the tour
homepage for a complete list of events and blogs.
that teenaged girl who has MS. You haven’t met me, but you’ve seen me around.
You probably know my sister. We’re twins, and she’s the pretty one. Maybe
you’ve heard about my reputation, how much I like to hook up at parties—how
easy it is to get me in bed, get what you want, and forget about me after.
Forget what you think you know. I’m leaving
that girl behind.
College is all about new beginnings. So from
now on—I’m just Cass. And the rest…it isn’t written yet. And no one else gets
to write my story for me.
——–
“Tyson Preeter doesn’t do can’t.”
That’s exactly what I want people to think
when they see me. I am strong, invincible, confident, intelligent—arrogant. I’m
the man who always finds a way around, over and through—until there’s nothing
left. Since losing my ability to walk six years ago, I’ve relearned life. I
don’t need sympathy. I don’t want charity. And I don’t do love.
It’s better this way, saves my disappointments
for me, and me alone, and it saves my strength for everything I want.
But Cass Owens is about to wreck everything.
She’s about to steal all of my strength away from me, because she needs it
more. She’s about to break all of my rules, and break down all of my walls.
She’s about to own me…completely.
And I’m about to let her.
Excerpt
thought I felt foolish about being younger. But that was before I made a floor
display of every cliché low-self-esteem brochure printed in the state of
Oklahoma. Naturally, the most embarrassing one is in Ty’s hands right now.
to Love Yourself So Others Will Too,” Ty reads, flipping the book in his hands
and skimming his eyes over the description on the back. I take this opportunity
to scoop everything else up in my arms and sit on the floor with my legs
crossed, quickly stuffing things back in my bag. “Oh, this is good. Wait,
listen to this one…”
starts to quote a few of the passages, mocking the stereotypical affirmations
and examples in the book. I know they’re stupid—and hearing them now, I’m not
sure why I picked the book up. But reading it made me feel good an hour or two
ago. “Wow, what class is making you read this shit?” he asks, finally putting
the book down. His laughter cuts short when he sees me, my eyes buried in my
lap.
not for a class,” I say, looking up long enough to get the book from him. “My
stuff’s in the dryer. Just…just knock on my door when it buzzes done.” I leave
quickly, clutching my things close to my chest and feeling ridiculous.
don’t bother to zip my bag up again, instead carrying it all into my room and
letting everything spill out into a pile on my bed. I don’t know what made me
check all of these things out. It all started with the book Ty was reading,
actually. My hands gravitated to it while I was looking through some of the
health and wellness books. At first, my attraction was the same as Ty’s—I found
the book amusing. But some of those cheesy sayings actually rang true,
especially the ones about feeling inferior to siblings and how we use self-deprecating
humor as a crutch. Next thing I knew…I had two books, four magazines, and a
dozen brochures.
knock on my door is soft. I hadn’t shut it all the way when I walked in, so he
takes advantage and comes all the way into my room with little warning.
already?” I ask, doing my best to pretend none of that happened. I pick the
pillow up from my lap, laying it over the embarrassing evidence.
Ty responds, moving closer until he’s at the foot of my bed. Without pause, he
slides from his chair to the bed until he’s sitting next to me. He picks up the
pillow, and my stomach sinks. His smile is soft as he scoops everything into my
bag, and slides it all to the floor, closing the distance between us even more
until his hand is suddenly cradling my cheek.
so we’re clear here, I mean this,” he says, pressing his lips softly against
mine as his other hand moves to my chin, tilting my mouth toward him. I’ve been
kissed by some pretty convincing boys in my life, each one wanting to make me
believe something by the way their mouth worked against mine, the way their
tongues coaxed their way inside. This one kiss from Ty was like removing a
blindfold.
GingerScott is a writer and journalist from Peoria, Arizona. She is the author of
four young and new adult romances, with her fifth title, This Is Falling, set
to release in late August 2014.
Scott has been writing and editing for
newspapers, magazines and blogs for more than 15 years. She has told the
stories of Olympians, politicians, actors, scientists, cowboys, criminals and
towns. For more on her and her work, visit her website at http://www.littlemisswrite.com.
When she’s not writing, the odds are high that
she’s somewhere near a baseball diamond, either watching her son field pop
flies like Bryce Harper or cheering on her favorite baseball team, the Arizona
Diamondbacks. Scott is married to her college sweetheart whom she met at ASU
(fork ’em, Devils).