Synopsis
The
equations are simple.
Piper Ashby + Brad Ashby = Twin Siblings
Brad
Ashby + Tanner McCain = Best Friends
Piper
Ashby + Tanner McCain = Off limits
Tanner
and I abided by the rules. We stayed on our designated sides of the
relationship
circle.
Ignoring
swarming butterflies.
Brushing
off skipped heartbeats.
Settling
on lingering stares.
Here’s
the secret … a hand extended over that invisible line once, exponentially
changing the equation. I was convinced we could make our relationship work
until Tanner broke the trust he embedded in me from the age of seven.
One
deceit of mega proportions and the relationship we built for that short month
vanished. I swore never to speak to him again and it’s worked. Until now—two
years later, when my brother’s wedding places me face-to-face with the best
man—Tanner McCain.
Leaving
one equation to be solved. Can love surface twice?
Teaser
Soon,
I’m unable to focus, and I have no choice but to take a break to recoup some
energy. Gripping the side of the pool, I toss my goggles on the cement and lay
my head on top of my hands, leaning over the edge of the pool. Mentally
tormenting myself on my recent obsession with Tanner McCain, I’m surprised when
the echo of someone else in the pool alerts me.
There
goes my therapy for today,
I think to myself.
I
hastily grab my goggles and rest them on my head. My eyes glance up to see if
the person is one of my teammates, but what I find halts my breathing. Tanner
snakes into the water, gracefully picking up each plastic rope and ducking
underneath, until he reaches the lane right next to me. I gulp down the last of
my saliva when he casually swings back and forth on the lane separator closest
to me.
He’s
breathtaking with his goggles resting on the top of his head and his strong
biceps holding his body up in the water. “I thought I’d find you here.” His
classic smirk from last night is back in place.
“You
did?” Immediately, I hate my timid and unsure voice. Even worse, the
hopefulness it’s laced with.
“Want
to race? Loser chooses Truth or Dare?” He doesn’t make eye contact with me.
Rather, he peers across the empty pool.
“So
I can lose?”
Every
swimmer from here to California beats themselves up on their workouts,
imagining their fingertips on that tile wall before Tanner’s.
He
chuckles. “You know I only use half of my energy when I go against you.”
I
cup my hand and drag it across the pool, splashing his face. He shakes his
head, water droplets spraying off his divine features.
“Jackass,”
I say, my back against the tile wall. I purposely don’t allow my body to win
the fight to break the distance between us.
“I’m
kidding. Come on.” His head nods toward the other end of the pool. “One lap.”
Then,
out of nowhere, a confident creature rises within me. I want to pick his brain
and dig through the layers to discover exactly why he sought me out in this
pool so early in the morning and why his hands roamed places on my body they
never ventured before last night. Most of all, I want to know how he left me
without even a good-bye.
“What
do I get if I win?” I raise my eyebrows at him a few times for competition.
About the Author
Michelle
moved around the Midwest most of her life, transferring from school to school
before settling down in the outskirts of Chicago ten years ago, where she now
resides with her husband and two kids. She developed a love of reading at
a young age, which helped lay the foundation for her passion to
write. With the encouragement of her family, she finally sat down
and wrote one of the many stories that have been floating around in her head.
When she isn’t reading or writing, she can be found playing with her kids,
talking to her mom on the phone, or hanging out with her family and friends.
But after chasing around twin preschoolers all day, she always cherishes her
relaxation time after putting the kids to bed.
Author Links
Facebook
♥ @michellelynnbks ♥ Website ♥ Goodreads
Author Page
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