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About AS LONG AS YOU LOVE ME:
Most people dream about getting out of Sharon, Nebraska, but after three years away, Lauren Barrett is coming home. There are the justifications she gives to everyone else—missing her family, losing her college scholarship. And then there’s the reason Lauren can’t admit to anyone: Rob Conrad, her best friend’s older brother.
Football prowess and jaw-dropping good looks made Rob a star in high school. Out in the real world, his job and his relationships are going nowhere. He can’t pinpoint exactly what’s missing until Lauren comes back to town, bringing old feelings and new dreams with her. But he’s the guy that women love and leave—not the one who makes them think of forever.
Though she’s terrified of opening up, Lauren’s ready to take that chance. Because the only thing more important than figuring out where you truly belong is finding the person you were meant to be with.
Football prowess and jaw-dropping good looks made Rob a star in high school. Out in the real world, his job and his relationships are going nowhere. He can’t pinpoint exactly what’s missing until Lauren comes back to town, bringing old feelings and new dreams with her. But he’s the guy that women love and leave—not the one who makes them think of forever.
Though she’s terrified of opening up, Lauren’s ready to take that chance. Because the only thing more important than figuring out where you truly belong is finding the person you were meant to be with.
Excerpt:
I was
eating salted dark chocolate fudge with a tiny fork when he said, “So you want
to hear the story?”
“Most
definitely.”
“Let me
set the stage. You were just turning eighteen, still in high school. Which
makes me a perv, I’m aware.”
I shook my
head. “It doesn’t count since you didn’t hit on me.”
“I try not
to be creepy, it’s one of my life goals.”
“So far,
you’re succeeding. Fudge?”
He took
the bite from my fork, and I couldn’t help but recall all of the manga I’d
read, where girls went crazy over the indirect kiss. Deliberately I licked the
fork when I brought it back to my mouth and he seemed to forget to speak. It
took a full minute of him watching me eat before he resumed the narrative.
“You and
Nadia were in her room, getting ready for some party. I could hear you
upstairs, laughing, but back then, we never hung out.”
“Yeah,
Nadia was very much ‘your world, my world, let’s not cross dimensions.’”
Rob
nodded. “I was watching TV with my dad when you came down wearing a red dress
and suddenly, you were all oomph and bam.”
“I
remember that dress. Still have it, I think.”
“That
night, I couldn’t take my eyes off you. It sucked when I realized you were
headed out to hook up with some high school assholes.”
“There was
no joy in Mudville for me that night. Nadia got drunk and locked herself in the
bathroom because her dipshit boyfriend was making out with somebody else in the
garage.”
“If I’d
known, I’d have beat the shit out of him.”
I smiled
to take the sting out of my reply. “That’s why we didn’t confide in you more.”
“Anyway,
that’s it, not much of a story, huh? Before, you were the sweet kid who hung
around the house and stared at me a lot.”
“And
after?”
“Honestly?”
“Please.”
Fixing my gaze on his face, I watched the sheepish smile widen.
“I
wondered what you looked like naked. A lot. Felt like a deviant, too. Because
there’s a certain kind of guy who’s attracted to high school girls in his
twenties, and I definitely didn’t want to be one of those. But I’d still think
about asking you out and then remember you were my sister’s friend, and how
awkward would that be, plus you were still in school, and I knew you wouldn’t
be sticking around past graduation.” He hesitated, as if I might yell at him
again for what came next. “And I knew you were too smart to be drawn in by
physical stuff or the fact that I played football, so I figured—”
“It was
best not to make a move.”
Rob
nodded. “At the time, it was the only play I could make.”
“Or not
make,” I murmured. “You never let on at all. I never guessed.”
“Yeah,
well. I learned early on not to show people how they’re making me feel.
Otherwise I’d always be the dumb kid crying in a corner.”
“You’re
not like that with me anymore,” I admitted, just realizing it.
“I trust
you,” he said softly.
I melted
around a mouthful of fudge.
Other Books in the 2B Trilogy:
The Shape Of My Heart (11/25/14)
About Ann Aguirre:
Ann Aguirre is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author and RITA winner with a degree in English Literature; before she began writing full time, she was a clown, a clerk, a voice actress, and a savior of stray kittens, not necessarily in that order. She grew up in a yellow house across from a cornfield, but now she lives in sunny Mexico with her husband, children, and various pets. Ann likes books, emo music, action movies, and she writes all kinds of genre fiction for adults and teens, published with Harlequin, Macmillan, and Penguin, among others.
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