Reagan Landry is months away from college graduation, but instead of excitement, she’s frozen by the fear of letting go — of her ex-boyfriend, of the comfortable life she created for herself in Portland, of the years-long search for her older sister who abandoned her as a homeless teen. When she’s finally forced to decide what’s next, Reagan is met with another complication — her ex’s best friend, Noah Burke, who seems determined that she embraces what could be instead of what has been.
Drunkenly hooking up with his best friend’s ex, Reagan, is a mistake, but being secretly in love with her is so much worse when things seem one-sided. A disenchanted frat boy about to fail out of college, Noah has been living out someone else’s dream after a horrible accident five years earlier. Just when he thinks he’s lost any chance he has with Reagan, she surprises him by agreeing to spend the summer together at his family’s ranch in Montana.
And suddenly what started out as a complication between them becomes serious...until the past starts ripping apart their future.
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Noah
Books, that’s all I notice of her room. That, and Reagan’s reddened eyes glaring back at me.
“You going to let me in?” I ask, my arms stretched straight against her doorjamb.
She frowns, her hand clasped tightly over her bedroom door. “No.”
I don’t know if anything has ever sounded so finite. It feels like shit to be the guy she doesn’t want. “You’ve known about them, Rea. It shouldn’t be a surprise.” I look behind me down the stairs, not sure if Ethan or Hunter are still in the living room. “Let me in.” I lean in, my voice a forced whisper. “I’m not talking about this out here.”
“I’m not talking about this at all. Nothing happened.” She glances behind her at the rabbit bouncing around in its cage as if she wished it were a guard dog.
She can shut down another day, but not tonight. I wedge myself in the door and step inside.
Reagan clutches her tea, her shoulders squared against me. “Get out.”
I shut the door and fall back against the wall. “I will. Tell me again after you set down your tea and admit you’ll let him go.”
“I don’t have to tell you anything.”
“Then don’t.” I close the distance between us, caught up on the sight of her mouth and the bangs that are too long and hide her eyes. I swear she wears them that way on purpose.
“Where’s your paper?” she asks.
“We’re going to work on that now?”
“Why not? I have the rest of my life available now.”
I arch my brow. That’s awfully dramatic, even for her. “It’s a date.”
“How long have you known about Beau and Matisse?”
“When I moved him in. It’s pretty fucking obvious.” When she stares back, her eyes wide, I feel like such an asshole. “Give it up. You’re never going to date him again. You need me to keep saying it?”
Reagan runs up and shoves my chest, her forgotten tea spilling all over me. “I don’t know what the fuck your problem is, but shut up.” She shoves me again, my head knocking back against her door. “Leave me alone. I want you to fucking stay away from me.”
Her hands clench at my shirt, her breathing heavy. I open my mouth but she silences me, pushing me back again. I take it. I take her anger and the broken look haunting her eyes. I breathe it in because I might not deserve Reagan, but I deserve her hate.
“Noah,” she says, her voice shaking.
My hand slowly slides to hold her waist. Her arms stiffen, pinning me to the door. “Stay away.”
I grab her cup and head downstairs to an empty house. I spot the twelve-pack in the kitchen and haul it back upstairs. She comes out of her bathroom, wiping her face roughly with the heel of her hands. “I get why you’re flunking now,” she says, walking around me to sink down onto her mattress. “All this time I thought you were smart and not applying yourself. You’re just an idiot. Get. Out.”
“Can’t. Hard of hearing.” I crack open a beer and sit on her bed, beside her. “You’ll be okay, you know?”
“I swear to God, Noah, if you don’t get off my bed…”
I turn to her, curious.
Her hands grab my face, not gentle. There’s nothing gentle about her. She’s a human cactus. Then her mouth crashes against mine, rough and searching.
And I make the biggest fucking mistake of my life and kiss her back like I’ve wanted.
Rebecca Paula Bio:
Rebecca writes smart, emotional New Adult and historical romances featuring flawed characters struggling to find their place in the world, from Paris to Portland. She’s a lover of rainy days, an unabashed anglophile, and a devote Earl Grey tea drinker. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and their very spoiled cat, Bella. A wanderlust connoisseur, Rebecca can be caught daydreaming about her next travel adventure when not writing.
She is the author of EVERLY AFTER, BETWEEN EVERYTHING AND US, and the upcoming releases ETIQUETTE WITH THE DEVIL, A PROPER SCANDAL, and ANYTHING MORE THAN NOW.
Rebecca loves hearing from readers and writers. You can follow her on Twitter @beckapaula or find out more about her and her books at www.rebeccapaula.com.
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