BLURB
Everyone wants something…
But why can’t I figure out what Noah James wants out of our relationship? His sister hates me hell, the whole town fears me, and if he knew what I’m capable of, he’d leave like everyone else.
I’ve terrorized the quaint town of Smugglers Cove, blazing a trail of self-destruction when anyone gets too close. So when Noah buys the cottage next door and finds out about my past, he creates a list of childish activities to complete together.
I try to keep him at arm’s length, but every-time I think I’ve scared him off, he’s back for more. He’s always there when I need him and even when I don’t.
One thing’s for certain, people like me don’t end up with Noah James.
***
Noah:
Samantha Simmons stole my heart the minute I saw her standing near the bar, in an off-white dress, at my little sister’s wedding. Everyone warned me about the infamous villain of Smugglers Cove, but I never thought it’d be impossible to stay away.
When I move in next door, she lets me in on some of her secrets and reveals a side of her few have uncovered. The more she lets me in, the more I want to defend her and prove there’s more to her than a bad reputation.
Each-time I think I’ve earned her trust, all hell breaks loose. She’s scared to let me in but I’ll wait until she sees,
She may be the villain in everyone’s story but I think she deserves a happily ever after.
EXCERPT:
“Don’t do that,” I say. “Don’t shut me out.”
“Go away,” she warns.
“No,” I say. “Talk to me, Sammy.”
“I can’t!” she yells at me.
I step toward her, lowering my voice as emotion threatens to crack my voice. “I can’t help if you keep fucking pushing me away.”
“Stop it,” she spits the words.
“I’m not going to leave you,” I say, holding onto her hands before she rips them away. “Nothing you say to me, nothing you do is going to convince me you aren’t worth it.”
Her chest heaves as tears stream down her cheeks. Her lips are parted, ready to fight back, ready to tell me how wrong I am, how I won’t understand.
This moment is do or die, leave it all on the table.
I take another step toward her, and crush my lips against hers, showing her how I feel before I tell her.
“I love you,” I pant against her lips. “I think I’ve loved you since the first day I met you when you wore white to my sister’s fucking wedding.” I laugh. “I fucking love you, Sammy girl. Don’t push me away. You can shut the world out. Just leave me in this one with you.”
She leaves her forehead pressed against mine, our noses breathing in the smell of one another.
“I can’t,” she whimpers, swallowing down the building emotion. “I can’t love you, Noah. I can’t risk losing you.”
Her voice cracks with each word. My ears ring as though a bomb has detonated near us, and I guess, in some metaphorical sense, one has.
“You lose all the fucking time when you push everyone away,” I say, my voice cracking under the pressure of each word. “Isn’t it worth trying to stay for once? To work through it rather than shut me out?”
“I’ll never be what you need,” she says. “I’ll never be able to give myself to you completely, to trust you fully.”
“Bullshit,” I snap.
“It’s not bullshit. You made a mistake ever thinking you could change me.” She sighs before hammering the final nail in our coffin. Her eyes locked on mine full of honesty and meaning. “I was your biggest mistake. You’re just too stubborn to acknowledge it.”
Author Info
In the 3rd grade, Anna won a notable mention for her holiday story in her small hometown's daily paper. Since then, no awards have been won but the writing has, fortunately (or not––depends on who you ask) continued. She is now the author of two small-town Alaskan romances with a third set to be released in 2022. Her stories feature tales of friendship, bouts of laughter, and lots of swoon-worthy moments. She shares stories of adventure, love, and loss all the while remaining true to the quirkiness of the loveable small town she grew up in.
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