Blog Tour, Excerpt, & Giveaway for Wish I May By Lexi Ryan
BOOK SUMMARY:
I grew up wishing on stars.
My father taught me to believe…in destiny, in magic, in happily ever
after. Dreams were my scripture and the starry night sky was my temple. Then
Mom stopped believing, left him, and took us with her. At the age of sixteen, I
cashed in my dreams to pay the rent, pawned my destiny to keep my sisters
together.
Now, seven years later, I’m returning home, grieving the death of my
mother, and settling my sisters back into the life Mom threw away. I never
intended to stay. I don’t want to deal with my father, who is so invested in
the spiritual world he forgets the physical. I don’t want to face William
Bailey, whose eyes remind me of the girl I was, the things I’ve done, and the
future I lost.
This would all be easier if Will hated me. As it is, I have to hold my
secrets close so they won’t hurt him more than they’ve already hurt me. But he
wants to be in my life. He wants what I can’t bring myself to confess I sold.
He wants me.
I find myself looking to my stars again...wondering if I dare one more
wish.
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Excerpt:
It’s a beautiful day, unseasonably cool for late
August in Indiana and a nice break from last week’s heat. Sunlight reflects off
the water and makes her dark hair shine.
“I guess you’re here about the texts I sent? I can
only apologize. I had a little too much tequila.”
I am, but that seems trivial in light of the argument
I just overhead between her and her father.
“Do you need money? I can loan you—”
“Please don’t. I already owe you for the groceries
and the space for my massage studio.” She looks out at the river. “We’ll figure
it out. We always do.”
I let it drop—for now—and we walk in silence.
“You could do something for me,” she finally says.
Anything.
“What’s that?” We wander onto a little dock and pause to look out at the water.
“See if there are any adjunct positions open at the
college? Dad could use the work. Philosophy, religion. Anything like that. You
know he’s qualified.”
“I’ll make some calls, but don’t get your hopes up.
The fall semester starts on Monday, so they probably have all the classes
covered.”
She lets out a long, slow breath, her shoulders
falling. “Right.”
“I’ll put in some calls. There are always temporary
grant-funded positions he could consider for the short term. Research, maybe?”
“I appreciate it. I really do.” She turns and wraps
her arms around me and buries her face in my chest. “I’m lucky to have you.”
I hug her back, pulling her close. God, I love the
way she feels in my arms. Her hair is silky soft against my nose and I inhale
deeply.
As if suddenly remembering herself, she stiffens and
pulls away. “Sorry about that.”
“Hmm…about those text messages….”
She grins and hits my stomach with the back of her
hand. Her cheeks blaze red with her blush. “And here I thought you were going
to let me off the hook.”
“Maybe for the first three, but that last one isn’t
something a guy forgets.”
She drops her gaze to the wooden planks of the dock.
“I guess this is the part where I tell you that nothing can happen between us.”
“I don’t think we’ve been reading from the same
script,” I mutter.
“You haven’t asked me why I didn’t come to prom. You
haven’t asked why I ended things.”
A crane spreads its wings and glides low over the
water. “I figured you would have already told me if you wanted me to know.” But
my stomach folds over brutally at the reminder. Even seven years later, the
memory still hurts.
“Can you promise not to ask me?” Her voice is so
soft, and she’s studying me.
“If I asked, would I want to know the answer?”
She shakes her head and her eyes fill.
“You know my mind is going to answer the question
anyway. I’ve had seven years to imagine what happened. The answers I’ve
imagined have run the gamut. I’ve been pissed and worried and then pissed all
over again. If you think not knowing is
better, you’re wrong.” Stepping forward, I cup her face in my hands. Her eyes
are moist but determined, and her cheeks are dry. I’ve thought about Maggie’s
words a lot in the last few days. “I think you’d be amazed what I’ve been able
to forgive of people, Cally. And none of them have been you. If you slept with
someone while we were still together…,” I trail off as she closes her eyes.
“Don’t,” she whispers.
The light from the midday sun warms our shoulders,
and the painful silence of regret wraps us in its barbed embrace.
Nothing can be done about the past, and I don’t need
to know what happened to forgive her.
“I promise,” I say quietly.
Excerpt © Lexi Ryan, 2013
Author
Information
Lexi
Ryan, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author,
writes romances with humor, heat, and heart. A former college English
professor, Lexi now writes full time from her home in Indiana, where she lives
with her husband and two children.
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