It's a New Adult Christmas!
Thanks for joining us as we celebrate the holidays with thirteen
New Adult authors. Check out every stop leading up to December 24 to get
excerpts, exclusive content, and hopefully a cutie under the mistletoe! Be sure
to enter the rafflecopter to win a grand prize pack of an ebook from every
author!
Olivia Warren used to be a normal girl with a bright future. But on one fated night, everything changed.
Hiding the scars of her past up her sleeves, Olivia transfers her enrollment from Columbia University to The College of Charleston, determined to pursue her own dreams for the first time in her life.
She intends to allow herself a bit of alone time to heal... that is, until she meets Preston.
Preston is best friends with her roommate, completely hot, and off-limits. But the chemistry between them is instantaneous—and as the pair begins to spend more time with one another, their feelings for each other build into something undeniable, something powerful enough to heal Olivia’s deepest scars.
Olivia tries to put her own past behind her and trust Preston, but she discovers that his past might be more present than she ever bargained for…
Holiday scene
from PIECES OF OLIVIA:
“Rose Campbell.”
“Rose, it’s me. Rose?” I called through the noise. “Can you
hear me? Where are you?”
“It’s two days before Christmas, Olive. Where do you think I
am? I’m in hell with my family. Can’t you hear them in the background?” she
shouted over the wails of a baby.
I smiled. “Oh, well, I can let you go if
you—”
“Hang up this phone and I will ban you from my practice.
You’ll give me an excuse to slip out for a bit. Hold on.” I heard her mute her
cell and then a moment later she returned. “I have five minutes before my
ridiculous daughter-in-law seeks me out.”
“I didn’t know you had a son, Rose.”
“I have two sons and two horrifying daughter-in-laws. One
would think God would’ve granted me a reprieve after the first, but no. The
second is worse!”
I burst out laughing. “Ah, you know you love them. I can
hear it in your voice.”
She sighed. “It’s true. But they’re marks against my sanity,
and you know how closely I value my mind. Now, tell me, how is Westlake?”
“It’s . . . nice,” I said. “My parents have been really
supportive, which is unusual.”
“Or perhaps they have always been supportive and you are
only now seeing it.”
I thought about it. “Maybe.”
“Have you looked at the last
photo?”
“No. I’m afraid to do it here. I’m afraid my mom would walk
in and see me crying. I don’t want her to worry, ya know?”
“Let me tell you something, Olive. She is a mother. Worrying
is what we do. You could say nothing and she will worry. You could say everything and she will
worry. You have to face that photo at some point.”
“Oh, don’t I know it, but I plan to go kicking and
screaming.”
Just then my door burst open and my youngest niece, Everett,
toddled in. My eldest sister, Cameron, had three children, all of them named
something crazy. Brick, Talen, and Everett. A boy and two girls, all of them
bound to hate her for naming them such stupid names, but they were all
adorable, especially Everett.
She came over to me and dropped a chubby handful of Goldfish
onto my bed. “I share,” she said.
I giggled. “I can see that.”
“Olive, dear, I’m being summoned, and it sounds like you
are as well. I expect another update just after the holiday and then I’ll see you back in my office
the Monday you return.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Oh, and Olive?”
“Yes?”
“Merry Christmas. I hope you find peace this holiday.”
I swallowed. Her words were more touching than anything she
had ever said to me. I’d known Rose
for several months now, and while I felt close to her, I never really thought
she felt that same closeness
to me until that moment. “Thank you. Merry Christmas.”
I scooped Everett into my arms and started down the stairs
when my phone buzzed. I turned back and tilted my head so I could read the text.
Preston: What would you want for Christmas if you could get
anything in the world?
I thought about the question. In that moment, what would I
want? My gut reaction was that Trisha could still be alive. That they could all still be
alive. But for once, I allowed myself one selfish wish, something only for me,
something that celebrated my life now in the present. The life that I was
living.
I typed my answer over to him: You.
Preston: I hoped you would say that.
And then the doorbell rang. I glanced down at my phone, my
heartbeat kicking up. Surely not. He couldn’t. It was two days before Christmas. I told myself
that it was one of Mom’s friends or one of the kids, but I couldn’t keep myself
from running out into the hallway and down the stairs, Everett giggling in my
arms the whole way.
I stopped in the foyer as my mom was opening the door and
then he was there, staring at me with those ocean eyes that made everything in
my world right again. I set Everett down, tears pricking my eyes, and started
for him, fighting to keep myself from running. I crashed into his arms, and it
was like coming up for air. Everything my body needed was suddenly right there
in front of me.
“I’m sorry to just show up,” he said into my hair. “But I
couldn’t wait another day. I couldn’t wait another second.”
Melissa West writes heartfelt Southern romance and YA sci-fi
romance, all with lots of kissing. Because who doesn’t like kissing? Her work
is published by Entangled, Kensington, and Penguin. She lives outside of
Atlanta, GA with her husband and two daughters and spends most of her time
writing, reading, or fueling her writing addiction.
Connect
with Melissa:
Website: www.melissawestauthor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelissaWestAuthor
Newsletter: http://www.melissawestauthor.com/Newsletter.html
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