Book & Author Details:
Falling Fast by Tina Wainscott
(Falling Fast #1)
Published by: Loveswept
Publication date: June 16th 2015
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
(Falling Fast #1)
Published by: Loveswept
Publication date: June 16th 2015
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Synopsis:
Fans of Jasinda Wilder and Colleen Hoover will adore this emotional new small-town romance—a smoldering tale of first love and long-awaited redemption from USA Today bestselling author Tina Wainscott.
Raleigh West works in an auto shop day and night, trying to put his broken past out of mind. It’s been seven years since the fiery crash that landed his teenage sweetheart in the hospital . . . and him in jail. In an instant, he lost everything: his passion for racing, his hope of escaping his father’s shameful legacy, and the only girl he ever loved. Raleigh hasn’t seen her since that awful night. Never got a chance to apologize. And never forgave himself, either.
When brave, beautiful Mia Wentworth returns to the Florida coast for the first time in what seems like forever, it’s not to see Raleigh. Even so, the moment she arrives she can feel his presence like a gust of wind that gives her goose bumps. Opening her heart to him again seems impossible. But staying away? That might be harder still. Lucky for them both, Mia’s never been the kind of woman to take the easy way out.
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Excerpt:
Prologue
Seven years ago
Dear
Journal,
Here
I am again in this nothing little coastal town, not even a Starbucks or a
decent Wi-Fi. We usually spend a week visiting Grandma, but this year it’s the
whole summer while Dad consults on a dredging project.
If
I were like normal seventeen-year-olds, I’d be missing my friends. Only it’s
hard to have friends when you’ve spent half your life in and out of the
hospital, having to explain why you’re bald and why you’ve been out of school
for chunks of time. They either feel sorry for you or drift away because they
don’t know how to relate to you anymore. I understand, because I can’t relate
to them, either. It’s hard to sympathize with someone over a bad hair day or
getting grounded when you see how insignificant it is in the big scheme of
life. Besides, who wants to be friends with someone who might die, right? I
should know. I’ve lost a few friends I met at the hospital, and it’s
heartbreaking.
So,
yeah, I’m not normal. But I just passed the two-year mark after my last chemo,
so I am officially cured!
As
long as it doesn’t come back. Damn, I hate how that phrase rolls right into my
mind. But I still have nightmares about Dr. Cane walking in with that somber
expression, and me with that sinking
feeling while all I can think is NO, NO, NOT AGAIN!
Okay,
so forget that. I’m cured. PERIOD. I feel like I should be celebrating. There’s
this pressure to squeeze every ounce of life from every minute, but the
super-secret truth is, I just want to stay in my cocoon and be safe and
comfortable.
Being
in Chambliss is both, but I’m totally bored. Most of the beaches are really
small and covered in environmentally protected sea grasses or mangrove forests,
so the area isn’t developed or touristy. Grandma’s neighborhood is a bunch of
scrubland lots, with a scattering of older cottages on the Gulf. I don’t know
anyone, and I’m not good at striking up conversations. It’s easier in the
hospital, because you have something in common: “What d’ya got?” Then you trade
initials, like my ARMS, or AML or Wilms’ tumor, and then comes the long words
the letters stand for. And the war stories. Chemo, throwing up, the way the
foods you love smell horrible. Yeah, fun stuff, but it bonds you.
Today
Mom’s dropping me off at the garage so I can pick up the Lexus that was getting
fixed. I finally garnered enough pity for her to let me drive the car to the
public beach, where I might actually meet kids my own age. Alone. So excited!!
I’ve resolved that I will initiate a conversation with at least one person
today. So nervous!!
OMG.
So Mom drops me off, right? I make her leave instead of going in with me. It’s
Saturday, so the garage isn’t officially open. But the owner assured her that
the mechanic who uses the shop in the off hours will give me the keys and the
paperwork. When I walk to the open bays, I see muscular legs coming from
beneath a supremely hot, souped-up car. I should have noticed the car first,
though I’m not really a car girl. I’ve never considered myself to be boy crazy,
either. But those legs, bouncing to the beat of the rock song blaring on the
radio, are what snagged my attention.
What
the heck? I enjoy the view, lightly dusted legs with fair hair. Runner’s legs.
Finally, I feel guilty and a bit voyeuristic, so I try to get his attention.
Clearing my throat doesn’t do a bit of good over the music. I think about
touching that thigh, where the muscles tighten with his movements. Stroking my
fingers down the hairs that look silky soft. But, of course, I don’t! I’ve
never even kissed a guy. I could tap his beat-up sneakers, I suppose, but even
that’s more touching than I can consider.
Finally,
I kneel down and catch his profile. Strong nose and chin. Nice mouth, pursed as
he jerks on a wrench that’s clearly not moving a bolt. Eyebrows furrowed in
complete concentration. Yeah, I could stay there forever, too. But he must
catch my movement, because he looks over and says,“Oh. Hey,” then pushes out on
one of those mechanic’s skateboard-like things.
My
heart does this crazy bumping thing. He’s probably just a little older than me,
by the six o’clock shadow along his jawline and chin. And tall, over six feet,
wearing a tight black T-shirt that shows off broad shoulders. And gorgeous.
Eyes as blue as the afternoon sky, you know, when there’s a storm that makes it
dark and scary. And light brown hair with just a hint of red that’s a few
months overdue for a haircut. For a second, or however many I’m standing there
taking him in, I swear he’s doing the same to me as he wipes his hands. He
cracks a smile, and OMG . . . just OMG.
“You
must be Mia Wentworth,” he says. “Here for the Lexus, right?”
I
actually cannot talk for a second. So embarrassing. I do nod, so I’m not a
total loser. But I don’t want him to just hand me the key and shoo me off. He’s
the conversation I’m going to initiate today. I look at the car. It’s a Camaro,
with a big spoiler and red paint that glitters when the light hits it a certain
way. So I chat him up on the car. It’s his. He tells me he’s doing this and
that, things I have no idea about but sound fast. Then, with this secret smile,
he admits he races it. There’s a group of teens who race on weekend nights.
Different places every time, so the cops don’t catch on. He does this kind of
work for them, too, whenever they can scrape up the dough. That’s how he said
it: “dough.” So sexy, with his deep, husky voice. He’s not nervous or trying to
impress me, just casual and . . . cool.
Oh,
and his name is Raleigh. Like the city in North Carolina, he says, adding that
he doesn’t know why his mom chose it, since she died when he was five. His
dad’s killed too many brain cells to remember the inspiration. Raleigh tells me
this like it’s no big deal, yet I have a feeling he doesn’t just tell everyone.
Raleigh.
I love that name, but I simply say that I like it. It’s different. Staying
cool, right? Then he invites me to watch a race sometime. He winks and suggests
that I can be his pit crew, cheer him on. Like he probably doesn’t have a dozen
girls who happily do that already.
I
know I can’t possibly watch an illegal race at midnight. Not with my parents’
permission, anyway. But I say, “Sure, I’d love to,” because my heart is racing,
for sure, at the thought. He smiles like he’s looking forward to it. And I know
he’s trouble. Big, crazy, scary trouble. And for the first time I want—no,
CRAVE—that trouble. I crave the way he’s taking me in—a quick sweep of my body
in my tank top and shorts, flip-flops with the plastic gems encrusted on the
straps. and the toenails I’ve taken great pains to paint. He meets my eyes and
smiles in a soft, intimate way. Yep, biiiig trouble.
He
doesn’t know I’ve spent seven years of my life fighting cancer. That my short
hair is not a fashion statement. Or a choice. The way he looks at me, as though
I’m beautiful and healthy, makes me feel like I’ve never been sick a day in my
life. He’s trouble, all right. And I don’t give a damn.
AUTHOR BIO:
Tina Wainscott has always loved the combination of suspenseful chills and romantic thrills. She's published fifteen romantic suspense novels, as well as ten paranormal romances as Jaime Rush. Losing her nephew, a Marine, in the war made her realize that our military men are really the perfect heroes. Not only during the war but afterward as they try to stitch their lives and souls together once they're home. And so was born The Justiss Alliance, an agency where these men can find purpose, honor, and love outside the war zone.
~When five Navy SEALs take the fall for a covert mission gone wrong, the brotherhood of bad-asses join The Justiss Alliance, a private agency that exacts justice outside the law.~
WILD HEARTS
WILD ON YOU
WILD WAYS – May 2014
WILD NIGHTS – Nov 2014
For contests, sneak peeks and more, visit www.TinaWainscott.com. For more on her paranormal romances, go to www.JaimeRush.com.
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