Mari Carr continues the Perfect Storm series this week with an all-new mistaken identity, twin switch, small town romance, and I have a sneak peek for you.
Excerpt
“Why did you and Tommy break up? Haven’t you two been dating for a while?”
She sighed slowly, and he was worried he’d crossed a line. He felt as if every wall between them had fallen in the course of a single embrace, but that obviously wasn’t going to be true for Lark.
“Just over two years,” she finally said. Her words were coming in that halting manner she’d adopted off and on today. It had happened countless times, and it confused the shit out of him. It was as if she was measuring every word before she said it, which was completely out of character. Or at least, he’d always thought so. Lark had a habit of thinking after she spoke, never before.
Today, and even right now, she was cautious. Like she was afraid of saying the wrong thing.
“I’ve actually broken up with him before, but my resolve to walk away never really stuck, so I always went back.”
“So you dumped him?” Grayson wasn’t sure why he was so relieved to hear that, but part of him was glad to know she hadn’t had her heart broken. He didn’t like the idea of anyone hurting her.
“We’re kind of different.”
Grayson couldn’t stop himself from snorting. “No shit.”
Again, she took his comment in stride, giggling. “He’s a bit of a stick-in-the-mud, isn’t he?”
Grayson lifted one shoulder. “Your words, not mine. But yeah, and that’s probably saying something, coming from me.”
She laughed, even as she shook her head. “You’re not a stick-in-the-mud. Grumpy, maybe, but you’re also very funny.”
Her compliment warmed him, and he thought back on the day, about how they’d gotten downright punchy as the afternoon wore on and exhaustion set in. They’d cracked each other up, creating backstories for the tipsy festivalgoers as they walked by.
Then Grayson realized he hadn’t really gotten an answer to his question. After all, Lark had dated Tommy for two years. She had to know from the start how different they were, so what had changed that made her break things off? “I asked Jace about his friendship with Tommy once, because the guy’s super serious, and I couldn’t figure out why Jace hung out with him so much.”
“What did Jace say?” she asked, clearly curious.
“He said that what Tommy lacks in humor, he makes up for in loyalty. He said he’s dependable as hell and rock solid.”
She considered that, then nodded. “Yeah. That’s true. He is. I guess that’s why it’s been so hard for L—me to break things off.”
“Why did you this time?” Grayson had never really considered Lark’s relationship with Tommy in the past, because why the hell would he? He hadn’t been close to either of them. But as he thought about it now, he could see they were a big-ass mismatch.
“I finally got tired.”
“Of,” he prompted.
“Of him trying to change…me. Trying to make me be quiet or talk less or not laugh so loud. Tommy gets embarrassed when I draw attention to myself. He prefers calm, order, predictability.”
“And you’re basically human chaos.”
She laughed at the description. “That describes L—” she cleared her throat, “me perfectly.”
This wasn’t the first time she’d stumbled over her words today. Each time she did so, her eyes darted away from his and she closed her mouth. Stopped talking.
He placed his thumb under her jaw, trying to draw her attention back to him. “Don’t stop now,” he urged.
“He used to say I didn’t have to fill every silence. I always hated when he said that.”
His jaw tightened instantly. That pissed him off more than it should have. Because it was like the pot calling the kettle black. A lot of Grayson’s issues with Lark in the past were because of those exact same things. It rubbed against the grain to think he might have more in common with Tommy than he cared to admit. He tried to soothe himself with the knowledge that he at least knew how to laugh.
“You shouldn’t let anyone try to change you.” The words came out rougher than he intended, and her gaze lifted to his.
She smiled. “That’s what I said to L—um…Tommy. I think if you love someone, you should accept them for who they are, not who you want them to be.”
Grayson nodded. “You’re right. You shouldn’t have to become less just to please someone else. It sounds like you made the right decision breaking things off.”
Her bright smile told him he’d said the right thing.
“Thanks,” she agreed.
They fell silent, simply looking at each other…and something in the air shifted, thickened. The silence stretched.
“I feel safe here with you,” she whispered.
The confession hit him square in the chest. Because there was something deeper beneath the words. Something that sounded like wonder. Like safety wasn’t something she expected to feel.
“Good,” he replied, confused by her comment. Lark had always seemed so fearless. Right now, half awake yet sleepy, she appeared almost vulnerable.
Grayson didn’t remember deciding to touch her. He simply lifted his hand, gently brushing her cheek.
She inhaled slowly but didn’t pull away. Her eyes searched his.
“Tell me to stop,” he said, lifting his head from the pillow as he moved closer.
She didn’t move, didn’t speak.
The space between them narrowed slowly, as every instinct in his body screamed at him to take his time, to proceed with caution. He paused when only a few inches separated them, her breath hot on his face. He gave her time to say no.
She didn’t.
Instead, her tongue darted out, wetting her lower lip.
That was all the permission he needed. The last of his restraint shattered.
He lowered his mouth to hers slowly, giving her one last chance to stop him. The kiss was soft at first, as he tested it out. She froze for just a moment, but then…holy hell…she kissed him back.
Heat exploded through him. Her lips were warm and sweet and a little tentative, but when she sighed against his mouth, something inside him came undone, and he kissed her deeper.
Grayson put everything he had into the kiss, trying to tell her without words what he’d known the second he held her at the festival.
She was his.
And he would move Heaven and Earth if that was what it took to claim her.
For one perfect moment, she responded completely. Her fingers curled in his T-shirt, gripping it tightly, and her body melted into his.
Grayson had never felt more lost and more found, all at the same time.
He wanted more, wanted to pull her on top of him and spend the rest of the night kissing her, until neither of them could breathe. He wanted to explore every inch of her, to possess and caress and claim.
That same word flashed behind his closed eyes.
Mine.
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Perfect Storm - Recommended Reading Order
(standalone stories with interconnected characters)
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