Can’t Help Loving You
Eve Kasey
Publication date: March 29th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Ava
What happens when you meet the boy of your dreams in a bookstore?
You pretend you’re not leaving for college in the morning, and instead spend the night falling hard for his blue eyes, dimples, and creative soul – even if Maddox is a poetry hater.
You pretend you don’t get that tattoo in his honor.
You spend the next ten years telling yourself that a corner of your heart isn’t taken by a boy from your past.
When you see those blue eyes again, you pretend you don’t feel seen—awake—for the first time in a decade.
You remind yourself that you said yes to a man you didn’t want to marry, and now you’re stuck.
You tell yourself that this is the life you wanted.
But it isn’t. Not anymore.
Maddox
What happens when you run into the woman you haven’t stopped thinking about for a decade? The wild-haired, free-spirited sunshine girl from your past?
You pretend she’s not at that brewery with her fiancé, your new friend. Leo. The man who can make or break your design career.
You pretend neither of you see that Leo is keeping secrets and close to breaking.
You pretend you don’t know how miserable Ava is with her life, how she only lights up when you’re around.
You tell yourself you don’t ache for the one woman you can’t have.
But you do. You want her as badly as she wants freedom, and the time has come to stop pretending.
—
EXCERPT:
“Sunshine, that’s my shirt,” he rasped out.
Falling silent, Ava wrapped her arms around her torso and rocked on her toes. “I know. I wear it when I’m sad. Or scared.”
Maddox couldn’t name the emotion exploding through the cells in his body.
Fuck every consequence.
“You’re killing me. You’re right here, right fucking here, and still untouchable. You are killing me.”
Ava’s gasp hung in the frigid air.
“I get it. He’s a fucking hero and you’ve known him all your life. I’m just a guy you spent one night with forever ago. But it’s killing me how much I want you, Ava. Could you be any more beautiful right now?”
His sunshine-girl-turned-snow-angel blinked a few times. Her shocked expression hardened, and she crossed her arms over her chest. He could not get over the fact that she wore his hoodie for comfort. Fuck, couldn’t she see what that meant?
Maddox wanted to sprint up the last three stairs and sweep her into his arms, cover her with kisses that she dreamt about for days. Ava? She looked glacial.
“First I have Leo, who won’t share enough. Now I have you, who shares too much.” Her voice dropped several decibels but her gaze held steady. “I know that you wonder, Maddox. So do I, when I let myself. But I won’t act on the history, this connection, between us. Neither will you.” Her eyes were blue fire. “I call your bluff.”
Maddox moved one step closer. Ava’s arms dropped away from her body, her stance straightening. No matter how tough she looked, she was going to lose this battle of wills. The sweatshirt proved it. Maddox’s soul had been singing her song for a decade. He was done with the solo.
So fucking done.
Her relationship was over. It was holding her back. Ava deserved better. So did Maddox.
“What bluff? I need you. I think you need me. Not together is not right, simple as that.” His heart was close to bursting. “We belong together, Ava. Tell me we don’t.”
“I know you’ll behave.” Her voice rang with warning. “You’re Leo’s friend and mine.”
One more step. Heat radiated from her body, but she was shivering.
Maddox shook his head, drowning in emotions—hope—so deep he could barely breathe. “I’m not your friend. I’ve seen you come apart underneath me. I’ve kissed your lips in darkness, when your taste was my only sense. I’m not your friend, Ava. I’m just a man, and not even a good one at that.”
Author Bio:
Eve Kasey started composing stories in childhood, both in her head and with an electric typewriter loaded with pink paper. She writes for a design firm by day and reads independently published romance novels by night.
Eve writes contemporary romance that balances sweetness and steam while aiming to teach readers something new. Her books are where nerdy meets dirty. She believes romance novels can be a platform to portray healthy relationships and attitudes towards sex.
Eve lives in Washington state with her very stylish husband and two children.
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Thanks for sharing!
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