Joey leans to the side and presses her lips against mine. I hold her there, cupping her cheek. When Jolie grunts, we both laugh and pull away.
“She’s jealous.”
I can’t help but laugh. “You know,” I say, flexing my arm. “I’m told I’m a catch.”
Joey rolls her eyes. “Only in your twisted reality, Joshua Freaking Wilson … and in mine, too.”
That’s a compliment that I’ll take to the bank!
The End!
To my crew, as always, thank you for everything that you do to help bring each idea to life. You guys put up with a lot of harebrained ideas and I appreciate it. Amy, Audrey, Tammy and Veronica – you guys work so hard to make sure everyone knows about my stories, thank you.
The design team, Sarah and Emily, thank you for always being there!
Thank you, Melissa and Virginia, thank you for dropping everything and helping me out.
To my family – as always I appreciate everything you do.
Heidi is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author.
Originally from Portland, Oregon and raised in the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in picturesque Vermont, with her husband and two daughters. Also renting space in their home is an over-hyper Beagle/Jack Russell, Buttercup and a Highland Westie/Mini Schnauzer, JiLL and her brother, Racicot.
When she isn’t writing one of the many stories planned for release, you’ll find her sitting courtside during either daughter’s basketball games.
Read on for a sneak peek at LAST CHANCE: A Second Chances novel by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, L.P. Dover.
“Crank, you stupid piece of donkey shit. Just two more miles, that’s it. I promise to never starve you again!” I yelled, slamming my hands against the steering wheel. I turned the key one last time, but the damn thing just sputtered. Groaning, I closed my eyes and rested my head against the wheel.
My sister was busy working at the restaurant we owned, and my best friend was most likely busy with her new, dreamy, football-playing husband. I had no one to call. When had I become such a loser?
Huffing, I pulled a pair of shorts and a tank top out of my bag and stripped down. If I was going to walk two miles in the blistering heat, I wasn’t going to do it wearing a blouse and pants. Already drenched in sweat, I got out of the car and winced as the sun beat down on my skin. There wasn’t a single cloud to hide the unforgiving sun. Summer was brutal in North Carolina.
“This has to be payback for something,” I whined, trekking alongside the road. It was two o’clock in the afternoon, the worst time of day. Either everyone was at work, or at home, relaxing by their pools. I was never going to let my car get below a quarter of a tank again. Ever.
A couple of people honked their horns, but no one stopped. What ever happened to southern hospitality?
A rumble came up from behind and a muffled shout called out, “Lara!”
Jerking to a stop, my breath caught in my lungs. I was surprised he would even take the time to pull over for someone in need. Luke Collins was all about getting pussy, twenty-four-seven. And I hated the fact I’d ever had a crush on him. Granted, he had gotten much worse since losing Kate to Cooper, but he was just such a douchebag. I guess putting his dick in whatever skank he could find was his way of dealing with a broken heart.
“Lara?” he shouted again.
Placing my hands on my hips, I turned, the light breeze from cars driving by blew my blonde hair into my face. He shut off his bike and slid off his helmet, his hair drenched in sweat. He gave me a smile that made me shiver. Damn him. “What do you want, Luke?”
“I saw your car down the road and figured you needed help.” He paused and raked his gaze down my body. “Unless you’ve got a new job I don’t know about. You are looking pretty hot in those shorts.”
I scoffed and muttered, “I guess I should’ve expected that, having a vagina and all.”
He squinted and leaned forward. “What?”
“It was good of you to notice,” I said loudly. “But I don’t think many men will want me after I’ve been out here, sweating my ass off.”
His gaze lowered to my hips. “We don’t want that, now do we, cupcake? I like it the way it is. Where are you going?”
Rolling my eyes, I took a step back and continued walking backward, refusing to give him another chance to check out my ass. “To the gas station. My car ran out of gas.”
Grinning from ear to ear, he started his bike and slowly trailed me.“I see. Then it looks like I get to rescue you.”
“More like patronize me. Why are you even here? Don’t you have some groupies waiting for you somewhere?”
He chuckled and nodded toward something behind me. “Head’s up.”
Gasping, I turned around and almost walked headfirst into a road sign. I dodged it and turned right back around, giving him my front once again.
“I know my face is gorgeous and you can’t get enough, but maybe you should turn around and watch where you’re walking.”
“As if.” I huffed. “I don’t want you staring at my ass. I know how you are.”
“Then get on my bike. I’ll take you to get some gas.”
“No thanks. I’ll do it on my own.”
He revved his engine, his smile fading. “No, you’re not, Lara. Now get on the damn bike.” Turning around, he unhooked the extra helmet from the back and held it out to me. “It’s a hundred degrees out here, you’re being ridiculous.”
I huffed and continued walking. “I’ll be fine.”
Slamming on the brakes, he got off his bike and stalked toward me. “You don’t have any water, and I don’t see anyone else stopping to give you a hand. Now stop being a silly woman, and get on the fucking bike.”
“What, are you going to make me? Get over yourself. I’ll be fine.”
He cracked his knuckles. “I’ll chase you down. You can’t outrun me, cupcake. I wouldn’t even try.”
He was right, and it drove me crazy. I didn’t want to be indebted to him under any circumstances, but would I really cut my nose off to spite my face? It was scorching out, and I didn’t need to get heatstroke over this. “Fine, I’ll come with you,” I said, giving in.
A triumphant smile splayed across his face and I wanted to smack it off. He held the helmet out to me and I put it on, not having any idea how to work the straps.
Grabbing my waist, he pulled me toward him. “Here, let me fix it.” His fingers brushed against my neck as he tightened the straps. After he was done, he stared at me with his sea-green eyes. “Feel okay?”
I nodded, though my patience was shot. “Peachy.”
He got on his bike first and held out his hand. “Have you ever ridden before?”
“No.” My stomach turned in knots.
He smirked. “You’ll be okay, I promise. We don’t have to go far. All you need to do is reach around my waist and hold on tight. It’ll be over before you know it.”
Taking my hand, he held it while I straddled his bike. It wasn’t one of those big Harley ones either; it was a sleek, black sport bike. I reached around his waist to hold on, and my body was flush with his. After he put on his helmet, his hand landed on my thigh and my body tightened.
“You ready?”
“I think so.”
He patted my leg and I sucked in a deep breath. Here we go.
Continue Reading Last Chance now
TWISTED REALITY
© 2016 HEIDI MCLAUGHLIN
The right of Heidi McLaughlin to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her under the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000. This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior written permission of the publisher. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resembla
nce to actual people, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
COVER DESIGN: Sarah Hansen at Okay Creations.
EDITING: There For You Editing
COPYEDITING: Virginia Carey
INTERIOR DESIGN:
www.emtippettsbookdesigns.com
Table of Contents
Title Page
Books by Heidi McLaughlin
About Twisted Reality
Chapter 1 – Joey
Chapter 2 – Joshua
Chapter 3 – Joey
Chapter 4 – Joshua
Chapter 5 – Joey
Chapter 6 – Joshua
Chapter 7 – Joey
Chapter 8 – Joshua
Chapter 9 – Joey
Chapter 10 – Joshua
Chapter 11 – Joey
Chapter 12 – Joshua
Chapter 13 – Joey
Chapter 14 – Joshua
Chapter 15 – Joey
Chapter 16 – Joshua
Chapter 17 – Joey
Chapter 18 – Joshua
Chapter 19 – Joey
Chapter 20 – Joshua
Chapter 21 – Joey
Chapter 22 – Joshua
Chapter 23 – Joey
Chapter 24 – Joshua
Chapter 25 – Joey
Chapter 26 – Joshua
Chapter 27 – Joey
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Author the Author
LAST CHANCE by LP DOVER
Copyright Notice
Twisted Reality (Blind Reality #2) Page 20
