Violet Hayes’s life is a mess. Between her stalker, Preston, refusing to leave her alone, her parents’ case still being unsolved, and falling behind in school, she always feels on the verge of losing it. When some unexpected news comes her way, it’s the final straw and she ends up doing something that almost costs her life. Thankfully, she survives and makes a promise to herself to put her life back together and to try and figure out exactly how she feels about Luke Price, the one person that’s always there for her.

But as a recovering alcoholic and gambler, Luke has his own struggles to overcome. He’s also fallen in love with Violet, but fears telling her the truth, that it will scare her away or worse, she won’t reciprocate the feeling. Plus, there never seems to be a right time to say it, either the case, Preston, or life getting in the way.

Can the two of them ever get enough peace in their lives to conquer their fears and finally tell each other the truth about how they feel?

It’s like he’s fighting to breathe, his solid chest rising and falling heavily with each breath he takes. “You have to start trusting me.”

“I do trust you. Too much,” I whisper, shutting my eyes. “You could crush my heart if you wanted to.” The silence that follows is maddening.

Did I just say that out loud?

One…

Two…

Three…

Time feels endless as I wait for what comes next. I hear him shift on the seat, feeling him scoot closer

“Violet, open your eyes.” His breath dusts my cheeks.

I swiftly shake my head, smashing my lips together. “I can’t.” But I find myself opening my eyes anyway and he’s so close, only inches away from me.

“I would never ever hurt you,” he promises, his hand gently cupping the back of my neck, fingers spreading across my skin. His touch sends a shot of tingles across my flesh and causes me to shiver as he guides me toward his lips. But I’m already leaning in, an invisible current pulling me toward him, like two magnets about to collide.

When we do crash into one another, it’s dangerously intoxicating, steals the air from my lungs, and sends my heart slamming in my chest. I’m already falling again to that place where I feel helpless yet safe. Emotions press their way to the surface, this time too strong to ignore. It hits me like lightning, an electric current surging through my body, overwhelming heat that both brings me alive and kills me at the same time.

I think it’s then that I know what I’m feeling. The thing I’ve been trying to avoid for days now, and I’m both terrified out of my mind yet alarmingly at peace.

Jessica Sorensen is a #1 New York Times and USA Todaybestselling author who lives with her husband and three kids in Idaho. When she’s not writing, she spends her time reading and hanging out with her family.

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