Expected Release: Late October 2013
~Synopsis~
Tatum O’Connell:
Some call me a party girl. People see me as happy, full of life, with
absolutely no cares in the world. They see what I want them to see. But no one
knows me - really knows me. Not even Noah Reese. Mr. Perfect is always watching me, most
likely judging every single imperfect thing I do. But, if Noah wants to keep an
eye on me, that’s just fine. I definitely don’t mind. I just hope he doesn’t
have any plans to save me from my new-found life of self-destruction because in
order to save me, he will have to see me…
And I’m never going to let that happen.
Noah Reese:
Perfect. That’s me. That’s the only acceptable way to be, according to
my father. Perfect grades. Perfect manners. Perfect athlete. Perfect SAT
scores. Perfect college. And recently, I was accepted into the perfect med
school. My future has already been mapped out for me and there’s nothing that
can change that. Not even Tatum O’Connell. That girl is out of control, yet for
some reason, I can’t seem to keep my distance from her. I watch her closely, hoping
that one day she’ll let me in, but watching her lead her life down the
dangerous path she’s on right now isn’t easy…
I have a feeling I’m about to find myself swept away by the hurricane
that is Tatum O’Connell.
~Teaser~
“Seriously, why are you even with him, Tatum? You
never seem happy when you are.”
Well, that sure turned her smile upside down. It also caused her to glare back at me.
“Like you have room to talk, Noah. Why are you with
Piper? You sure as hell never look happy
when you’re with her, either. You
usually look irritated, actually.”
Touché.
“Touché. You’re
right,” I shrug as I lean back against my chair, “We kind of have an agreement.
So, it is what it is. But, it’s nice to know you’ve been watching.” I give her
a quick wink.
She narrows her eyes as she sits back in her seat and
crosses her arms over her chest. “Well,
you might want to explain that to her, because I’m pretty sure she thinks
otherwise. Like, she probably has the
church booked and wedding magazines all over her apartment.”
It seems that even the mention of marriage also has an
adverse effect on my cardiac system. Or maybe it’s just any reference to Piper?
We are getting way off track here, so I scoot my seat
underneath the table, getting closer to Tatum and shift toward her, crooking my
finger for her to lean in as well. After a slight hesitation, surprisingly she
does. I shield the side of my mouth with
the back of my hand and lower my voice to a whisper. “Let’s drop the Piper
topic for a second, it’s giving me heartburn, and concentrate on you for a
second.” Her hardened mask breaks and she laughs even though I couldn’t be more
serious.
“I’m going to give you a loser lesson. Let’s call it, ‘Loser 101: Introduction to All Things Loser.’” Another small smile
breaks across her lips and I’m once again momentarily distracted by her
mouth.
Glancing back up, I look into her eyes and grin. “Okay, so number one. His name isn’t really Cash, you know this
right? His name is Herman. Not that
there’s anything wrong with that, but if he’s not man enough to even stand
behind the name his mother gave him, well?”
Tatum’s eyes widen and she covers her mouth. “How did
you know that?” she whispers back from behind her fingers. She looks like an
adorable little girl with her huge blue eyes gaping back at me. It’s
captivating. I burn the image into my
brain before letting her in on my secret.
“I’m a bartender.
I’ve seen his I.D. In fact, I
make him show it to me every time he comes into the bar because it makes me
laugh.”
She drops her hand, huge smile displayed. “You’re evil.”
“Yes, yes I am.” I hold up my pointer finger. “That’s number one. Number two…” I draw out, “He’s what? Twenty-four?
You know what I see every time he hands me that I.D. other than his name and
age? His goddamn huge-ass senior ring … from high school. He really needs to
learn to let go of what were probably the best years of his life and just move
on. So, if they still feel that their high school years are relevant – loser.
Lesson number two.”
I count it on my fingers as I lean in even closer and
whisper my final lesson in her ear. “The third one is the most important, so
listen closely.” I take a discreet whiff of her hair before continuing. “You
may not believe this but it’s the truth.
You deserve to be treasured. You
should be with someone who respects you, who makes you a better person, and
most of all who makes you happy. He,
however, treats you poorly. I see it every single time I’m around the two of
you, and I have to say it takes a lot of restraint on my part not to beat the
shit out of him when I see him do it.” I lean away from her and hold up three
fingers in front of her shocked-as-shit facial expression. “So, they don’t respect you and treat you how
you should be treated – loser. Lesson three.”
I clear my face of its smartass smirk so she
understands that I’m completely serious.
“Never settle for less than you’re worth. You don’t give yourself enough credit. Hopefully, one day, you’ll see what everyone
else sees.”
She graciously accepts my compliment with a half-smile
and after sliding herself back into her chair, she studies me intently.
“Interesting lesson there, Noah. Thank you for the wise words. But, as I
clearly displayed last night, I have issues.
Not everyone would take me back after what I did last night. But he did.
Because, he loves me. We all have our faults, not everyone can be
perfect, like you. I hope you know
that’s not meant to be an insult, so please don’t take it that way. I just mean that some of us are flawed and
have to deal with what we’re given.” She breaks from my eyes to watch the
waitress pick up the empty plates from our table. Once they’re cleared, she begins again, still
gazing off in the distance.
“Broken hopes and expectations can leave very, very
broken people. So, after a while, you learn not to aim so high, because when
people fail you, you land hard and there’s only so many times a person can be
shattered before they’re beyond repair.”
She brings her eyes back to mine. “What you’re so quick to label as settling, I simply call survival,” she
finishes with a defeated shrug of her shoulders.
After her statement, she casts her glance away from
mine to smile at the person passing by.
Although as usual, it’s not genuine. It’s the same one she plasters on
her face to appease everyone around her.
What the hell happened
to her?
The waitress conveniently drops the check off at our
table, providing Tatum the perfect way out of this conversation and therefore
any further interrogation. She stands
and pushes the chair out from underneath her with the backs of her knees.
“Ready?” she asks, purse already in hand and stepping towards the direction of
the register.
Well, I guess that’s all I’m getting from her for now.
I know it’s not much, but I’ll take it.
It’s not like I can actually concentrate on asking her
any more questions, because there’s one gigantic conclusion I’ve just drawn and
it’s currently blocking any other thoughts from entering my mind.
A person who judges someone without really knowing
them, without walking in their shoes, or without at least attempting to
understand what they’ve gone through or experienced during their lifetime –
loser.
Lesson number four.
Author Bio:
L.B. Simmons is a graduate of Texas
A&M University Texas
Connect with L.B.:
·
Website: http://www.lbsimmons.com/
·
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lbsimmonsauthor
·
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lbsimmons33
SERIES READING ORDER:
·
Mending Hearts #1 - Running on Empty: http://amzn.to/116pVVm
·
Mending Hearts #1.5
- Recovery:
http://amzn.to/19aaPmH
·
Mending Hearts #2 - Running in Place
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