Are we worth the risk, or will we both go down in flames?
BLURB:
Not all love stories have happy endings. Some are destined to crash and burn.
Growing up, I was the youngest member of my family. Sheltered and protected by my older brother and his friends. Always on the outside looking in. College was supposed to be my chance for a fresh start. My opportunity to figure out who I am and what I want.
I thought I knew what I wanted until he charged back into my life and changed the game.
Cooper Sinclair was my brother’s best friend long before he became my stepbrother.
A navy SEAL who’s owned my heart since the day we met. Loving him was easy. But time was never on our side, and stolen moments only last so long.
Are we worth the risk, or will we both go down in flames?
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My Review:
My Rating: 4 Stars
Carys has had feelings for Cooper ever since he became her brother's best friend. The only problem is that Cooper is now her step brother since her mother married his father. Cooper has been away in the Navy, but is on leave when he runs into Carys at the same town she's going to college at away from her family. The two reconnect and Carys has flourished being away from her family and trying to become her own person. The two soon realize their is chemistry between them, but because they are step siblings they try to fight against it. Now they have to figure out if it's worth it to be together or to let it go. I love how Carys is maturing and becoming the woman she wants to be and not the protected little sister her brother thinks she is. I also loved Cooper and his squad and how once he makes up his mind he goes for what he wants. I was so frustrated when I got to the end and the cliff hanger! September 7th can't come fast enough and I can't wait to see what's going to happen next. I don't want to say too much because I feel like if I say anymore it will become too spoilerish but I don't normally read step brother books, it's not usually my cup of tea, and I didn't want this one to end because I enjoyed it so much. This book helps answer the question of if love is worth the risk.
EXCERPT:
Coop . . . what changed?” I can’t believe I’m asking, but I need to know. “Why now?
What made you look at me now?” My words stay soft. Unsure.
Cooper presses his lips to the top of my head before answering, and I inhale his clean scent, memorizing it, so I can still smell it once he’s gone. “Do you really think I only just saw you, Carys?”
I tilt my head back and run my hand up his neck to the back of his head. If I ever want this to be more, I have to be honest. “I guess I do. This last week has been different.
You’ve been different.”
With an almost imperceptible shake of his head, he agrees with me. “I guess I have, but so have you. When I met you, you were a freshman in high school. Your brother was my best friend, and I was about to turn eighteen. There was no way anything could have happened then, but I promise you, I saw you. I always saw you.” Coop crosses his legs at his ankles and gets comfortable.
“I saw how you would beam up at Murphy any time you two were in the same room. I paid attention to the way you’d talk about being a Broadway star one day and saw every single show you performed on Kroydon Prep’s stage once I moved to town. My favorite was Rent. You killed it, but I didn’t like when you had to die for a minute at the end.”
A cool breeze blows in through the doors, and goosebumps scatter over my bare skin.
Not as much a reaction to the cold as the realization that this man has always seen me.
“I watched you get quiet when there were too many people around. The way you prefer to be surrounded by people you know, people you feel safe with. I know the freckles across your nose and cheeks get darker in the summer and you hate the ocean at night.
I’ve been watching you for a long time, baby. But our family situation is complicated. I haven’t figured out how we’re going to deal with all that yet. But seeing you last week away from everyone else.” He trails the tips of his fingers along my throat, and I shiver as the heat building between us comes close to incinerating us both.
“You’re not that kid anymore, Carys. Neither of us is.”
I lay my face against his shoulder and hide my eyes. “I saw you too, you know?”
Laughter rumbles up his exquisite chest. “Yeah. You weren’t as good at hiding it as I was.”
“You asshole,” I laugh and try to yank away from him, but he tugs me back.
“Hey, now. Don’t be like that. I liked the way you looked at me.”
We lie in the quiet of the room, listening to the storm outside play its own tune as sleep slowly tugs at the two of us.
“Sing me something, Carys,” he whispers as the weather rages on.
Without overthinking it, I sing the old Lifehouse song we danced to years ago while I run my fingers over his chest. And by the time I sing the last words of the song, his breathing has evened out, and his strong, hard body has relaxed around me.
Everything but the grip he has on me.
That’s tighter now than it’s ever been.
On my body and on my heart.
About Bella
Bella Matthews is a Jersey girl at heart. She is married to her very own Alpha Male and raising three little ones. You can typically find her running from one sporting event to another. When she is home, she is usually hiding in her home office with the only other female in her house, her rescue dog Tinker Bell by her side. She likes to write swoon-worthy heroes and sassy, smart heroines with a healthy dose of laughter thrown in.
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