There's no use denying it. They're right. I was smiling. And it was because of Nash. That boy makes me smile. After the accident, I went an entire year without smiling, but now it seems like I smile all the time, sometimes not even realizing it.
Later that day, as we all sit down for dinner, I look around the long dining room table and think about how much my life has changed. Two years ago, I was having Thanksgiving dinner with my mom, Greg, and Ben. Last year, I had Thanksgiving with Lou. And this year? I'm spending it with Nash, his brothers, his dad, my new friend, Jen, and Lou. I'm not related to any of them, but they've all become like family to me and I'm grateful to have them.
Like Nash said, sometimes life gives you something good to make up for all the bad. My family was taken from me, and that was really bad, the worst thing that's ever happened to me. I thought my life was over. I'd given up. Until a truck backfired next door and I fell to the ground and a tall handsome stranger came over and helped me up. And that handsome stranger has been helping me ever since. He's my something good.
And now, months later, I have a whole new family. A whole new life. But I'll never forget my past. My family lives on through me. I will never forget them. They will always be with me. I love them, and they will always be with me.
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From the Author
Want to read more about the Wheeler boys? Jake's story is coming soon! And if you liked Nash and Callie's story, please tell a friend or leave a review.
Find news about upcoming books as well as sneak peeks and bonus scenes at allieeverhart.com, Facebook, or Twitter.
Books by Allie Everhart
The Jade Series
(New Adult Romance/Suspense)
Choosing You
Knowing You
Loving You
Promising You
Forever You
Finding Us
Becoming Us
Always Us
Garret: A Jade Series Companion Novel
The Kensingtons
(Romantic Suspense)
Needing Her
Keeping Her
Protecting Her
Only Her
Contemporary Romance
Next to Me
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If you like new adult romance, be sure to check out Choosing You. Here's the description and prologue.
Choosing You
When Jade is given a scholarship to an elite private college in Connecticut, she sees it as a chance to finally escape her painful past and get a fresh start. She's determined to succeed and that means keeping her focus on school and not guys. But that plan falls apart her first day on campus when Garret, a wealthy prep school boy with swimmer abs and a perfect smile, offers to help her move in.
Jade tries to push him away but she can't deny her attraction to him and Garret won't let her. Things quickly heat up between them, but then come to a sudden halt when reality hits and Jade realizes that a relationship with Garret may never be possible. He comes from a world of wealth where there are rules, including rules about who he can date. And not following those rules has consequences.
As the two of them try to overcome the obstacles working to keep them apart, Jade is confronted with another challenge. On her 19th birthday, she receives a letter that her now deceased mother wrote years ago. In it are revelations that explain her traumatic childhood but also make her question the past she's been running from.
PROLOGUE - Choosing You
October 30
The lines on the track are like a map telling me where to go. I follow their orderly path, my arms and legs moving in a rhythmic pattern. My body repeats the motion effortlessly, leaving my mind to replay what just happened.
I see a girl at a party. She's drinking. She never drinks. Ever. But there were no other options. It was history repeating itself. Like the script had already been written and she just had to let the scene play out. For 18 years, she promised herself this would never happen. And then it did. She lost all control within a matter of seconds.
That girl was someone else. I will never be her. And I will never be her mother. I refuse.
My legs take longer, quicker strides as I become aware of my body again. I pump my arms because I'm not going fast enough. I still feel all of it. The confusion. The rage. The pain. And I just want it to go away.
The cold night air clings to my skin, cooling the sweat and sending an icy chill through me. My arms and legs ache and my lungs burn from inhaling the frigid air. But I keep going. Because I like feeling this pain. I understand it. And it keeps my mind off the pain that I can't understand.
A drop of rain hits my face. Then two, then three. Soon rain pours from the sky, stinging my skin.
"Jade, what the hell are you doing out here? I've been looking everywhere for you! Jade!"
It's Garret, the boy who made the girl live out that scene at the party. The scene that was never supposed to happen.
My eyes remain on the lines in front of me and I run past him like he's not even there.
"Jade, stop! Wait!"