Emma Walker was a writer who'd lost herself to someone else's anger--who had given up on ever feeling like herself again.
Evan Levesque was a rock-god--the one all the woman wanted, but he'd never gotten used to the loneliness between the stage and real life.
With just one cup of coffee they'll begin a journey of self-discovery at each others sides, but can Emma handle Evan's fame while dealing with her own demons? Emma's checkered personal past, a bad relationship that haunts the edges of her memories, threatens to make everything implode on them when Evan takes matters into his own hands.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but your words...they'll destroy my soul--Can Emma handle being put back together and facing who she's become because of it?
GENRE: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Mild to moderate sexual content
Published June 20th 2013
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Excerpt:
"Not every love is all that it's cracked up to be," I whispered, my voice cracking. "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words...they’ll destroy my soul."
"You're so beautiful, how could anyone—"
"Treat something beautiful like it's their possession?"
I averted my eyes from his and watched as his chest rose in a deep breath. I didn’t want to see the pity I’d seen in the eyes of my peers as they watched me disappear into nothing. I didn’t want his pity, and I hadn’t needed theirs. His thumb caressed my face as he tilted my chin so my eyes met his taking in my face. His expression showed somehow he understood.
"I do get it, you know...in a way."
It didn’t make sense that he could.
"I'm someone that everyone is always judging— they don't like my songs, they rip them to pieces...and I don't have to tell you that not everyone loves my tattoos or my bad boy image—even though I'm not who they think I am..."
"So you're not the man slut they make you out to be?" I teased, trying to change the subject. It wasn't something I really wanted to go into.
I pulled away from him and nodded to one of the empty classrooms. He followed me in and grabbed a chair, spinning it around and sitting in it backwards. He was perfectly framed by the dated blackboard behind him as he rested his head on top of his arms before he answered me.
"I've loved many women. I'm not going to lie to you, and I don't want to, but it never works...vanity always gets in the way."
He sighed. "It always ends the same—someone else in someone else's arms. I don't think I've ever had someone worth fighting for. It's just never been worth the effort."
"Do you think that's really love, then?" I asked as he stood and made his way to the blackboard.
He picked up the chalk and threw it in the air before catching it and writing across the surface, what is love, exactly?
I continued to snap pictures as he wrote it and even as he turned to look at me.
I put the camera on the desk in front of me. "Lust turned into something more...respect,"
"Trust."
"Passion."
"Admiring someone for who they are when the lights go off..."
"Even when it's not as glamorous as when they are on."
"Finding perfection in the errors of human nature," I finished as he pulled me into his arms, a hand pushing an escaped piece of hair away from my face. In that moment, as his soft lips met mine, the dream became real. I let go of all of it; the pain, the anger and then the fear rose up within me. I wanted it to never end and I knew it would. I'd probably never see him again—I'd never feel the warmth of his hand in mine, the roughness of his guitar-calloused fingers against my skin as they gently cupped my chin, or the taste of him on my lips—worst of all was the emptiness I suddenly felt inside as I thought about never really hearing his laugh and letting everything go. He pulled away and rested his forehead on mine, his eyes closed as he sighed.
"I don't want to bring you home—I don't want to go," he finally said.
About the Author:
Cassandra doesn't remember a time when she wasn't writing. In fact, the first time she was published was when she was seven years old and won a contest to be published in an American Girl Doll novel. Since then Cassandra has written more novels than she can count and put just as many in the circular bin. Her personal goal with her writing is to show the reader the character's stories through their dialogue and actions instead of just telling the reader what is happening. In 2012 she became a published Young Adult author, releasing In Between Seasons (The Fall, #1) and Walking in the Shadows. In 2013 she branched out by using her artistic illustrating talents to publish her first Children's novel, The Adventures of Skippy Von Flippy: Tales of Friendship (Skippy Tales, #1). Cassandra will also release her first New Adult novel, Love Exactly, in the Spring of 2013.
Cassandra is a freelance professional photographer known for her automotive, nature and architectural shots. She is the owner of
Gio Design Studios, a photography and publication marketing company that designs covers and marketing materials for authors utilizing the company's photography. She is currently studying to receive a degree in Marketing. Cassandra is happily married to the man of her dreams and they live in the rolling hills of New England with the other loves of her life their dogs, Bubski and Kanga
