Excerpt and Giveaway: Garret by Allie Everhart

Published: September 19th, 2014 

Description:

This full-length novel is Garret’s point of view from CHOOSING YOU (The Jade Series #1).

My life is nothing but rules. Rules for how I act. How I dress. Who I date. Who my friends are. I hate the rules and yet I keep following them. Until I met Jade. Being with her is forbidden. She’s not one of us. She’s not allowed in my world. But I don’t care. She’s different and I like her and I want her. And the fact that she wants nothing to do with me makes me want her even more.

But my father won’t allow it. Neither will the people around me. Being with Jade means making deals, blackmail, bribes–whatever it takes to keep my relationship with her a secret.

Jade has no idea what my life is like. She doesn’t know the rules. She doesn’t know about my family and what they’re involved in. And although I can’t tell her all my secrets, there’s one rule she must know: Never ask questions. It’s a rule that I live by. Because in my world, knowing the answers can get you killed.

When Jade is given a scholarship to an elite private college in Connecticut, she sees it as a chance to finally escape her painful past and get a fresh start. She’s determined to succeed and that means keeping her focus on school and not guys. But that plan falls apart her first day on campus when Garret, a wealthy prep school boy with swimmer abs and a perfect smile, offers to help her move in. 

Jade tries to push him away but she can’t deny her attraction to him and Garret won’t let her. Things quickly heat up between them, but then come to a sudden halt when reality hits and Jade realizes that a relationship with Garret may never be possible. He comes from a world of wealth where there are rules, including rules about who he can date. And not following those rules has consequences. 

As the two of them try to overcome the obstacles working to keep them apart, Jade is confronted with another challenge. On her 19th birthday, she receives a letter that her now deceased mother wrote years ago. In it are revelations that explain her traumatic childhood but also make her question the past she’s been running from. 

EXCERPT

After dinner, we go back to his room. It’s the first time I’ve been to the second floor. The hallway stinks like beer and sweat. Luckily Garret’s room doesn’t have that odor and it’s much cleaner than I imagined it would be. He has a ton of electronics, including the big TV he mentioned along with a surround sound system. And there are at least 100 movies sitting in a big cardboard box on the floor.

“Pick whatever you want,” he says as I flip through the movies.

“You have quite a setup here. It’s like your own movie theater. I don’t even have a TV.”

“You don’t? You need a TV, Jade.”

“No, I don’t. If I want to watch something I’ll just use the one down the hall.”

“That one barely works. If you want to watch TV, come up here.”

“I’m not going to do that. I hardly ever watch TV anyway. Here. Let’s watch this one.” I hold up a cartoon, trying to keep a straight face. “It says it’s about some dogs that solve crimes.”

“How did that get in there? That’s my little sister’s movie.”

“It’s okay, Garret. I don’t care if you like cartoons.”

“That is not my movie. She must’ve stuck it in the box when I wasn’t looking.”

I laugh. “Yeah, sure she did.”

“Give it here.” He reaches for it, but I won’t let him have it. I quickly stand up, holding it behind my back with one hand while putting my other hand out in front of me trying to keep him away.

He quickly backs me up against the wall, forcing my outstretched hand against his hard chest. I lower it to my side as he leans his hand on the wall near my head. Then he slowly reaches behind me with his other hand to get the movie. Our bodies are now touching and our faces are just inches apart. My heart is beating erratically and I struggle to keep my breathing steady as I feel his body against mine.

“Jade.” He gazes down at me with this incredibly sexy smile. “Give me the movie, please.” I try not to stare at his lips but they’re so close and so inviting.

The movie is still in my hand wedged between my lower back and the wall. I push my hips forward slightly to release it, which positions me even closer to him. As he goes to take the movie, I accidentally drop it and he catches it, right behind my butt. I feel his hand there and I freeze as my face heats up. He slowly takes his hand out from behind me and rests it on the wall by my head. I realize I’ve been holding my breath and I force myself to breathe again.

I look up and our eyes meet. “For the last time, the movie is my sister’s. But if you really want to watch the crime-fighting dog cartoon, we’ll watch it. Or,” he pauses and that sexy smile reappears, “if you want to do something else, we’ll do something else.”

I know from his tone what ‘something else’ is and I really, really want to do ‘something else’ but I promised myself I wouldn’t get involved with a guy at college. Unfortunately, I’ve never been very good with promises.

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About the author:
Allie Everhart writes books about dating, love, and romance. She’s also a freelance health writer for magazines and websites. She loves to read as much as she loves to write. And when she’s not reading or writing, she’s outside running, which is when she gets her best book ideas.

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