INSIDE OUT by Lia Riley
(December 2, 2014; Forever E-Book; $3.99)
(December 2, 2014; Forever E-Book; $3.99)
When Talia first moved from California to Australia to study abroad, she never dreamed she'd find the love of her life. Bran understands her like no one ever has before. And despite the numerous challenges they've faced, they've always managed to figure out how to stay together. But this time they'll face their toughest hurdle yet. Is their love strong enough to keep them together?
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Excerpt
Who was I when I first fell in love with
Bran?
A person who had courage to stare down an
unfeasible situation and say, Sure, I’m up for the challenge.
Who was I when Bran threw himself at me
like a wounded animal, all claws, abandonment fear, spit, and fang?
A person who accepted that the moon has
two sides, light and dark.
Who am I now?
I feel like a lost soul rocking in the
corner, fresh out of ideas.
Bran pushes me through the long line until
it’s our turn at the passport desk.
“How long do you plan to stay in the
United States?” The customs official glances from Bran’s face to his passport
photo and back again.
My stomach squirms like a writhing snake.
We’ve avoided any discussion about future plans, focused instead on the short
term. I had to accept the reality that I couldn’t return to the Peace Corps,
even with the medical separation. I was too sick, too shattered. Our
discussions about the logistics of leaving Africa were easier to concentrate on
than the looming issue of what we were going to do with each other. I treated
the topic like an abandoned lot, filled with weeds and rusting cars, a subject
to walk past and pretend to ignore.
Now a stranger is forcing the issue.
“Until this one gets better.” Bran cocks
his head in my direction.
The woman scoots forward, peers at me with
a faint frown. “May I see proof of a return ticket, sir?”
Bran digs out the photocopy of his
itinerary. When we bought the tickets, he had to borrow money from his dad. He
hasn’t said much, but I know the fact must eat at him. Add another bitter drop
to my guilt bucket—soon it’s going to overflow.
“You’re on a temporary tourist visa.” The
customs agent flips the passport to a blank page and stamps with obvious
relish. “You have three months, starting now.”
Here we go again.
Visa issues.
Ticking clocks.
People imagine international romance is
excitement, hot accents, and adventure. They don’t want to hear about the
bureaucratic drudgery that threatens to harden the arteries of even the most
passionate hearts.
I thought I was going somewhere.
Nope.
I am an idiot Icarus who flew too close to
the sun.
Bran leans forward, his lips hover an inch
from my ear, his breath a hot caress on my cool skin. “You okay, Captain?”
“Fine.”
“What are you thinking, thinker?”
“I’m just sitting here, a sitter.”
We roll past an American flag overhanging
a framed photo of the president. His smile seems smug, as if to say, You really
thought you’d get away?
Yes, sir. I kind of did.
“We’re up next.” Bran hands a final
customs form to yet another officer who waves us toward big silver doors that
open and shut like gnashing teeth. On the other side is California. I can’t
shake the disorienting sense we’re heading in the wrong direction.
“Ready?”
Nope.
Bran crossed an ocean for me. I have to
find the way out of this black swamp, but I’m manacled to an island of
self-doubt, and the tide is rising.
After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, Lia Riley scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. When not torturing heroes (because c'mon, who doesn't love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about as-of-yet unwritten books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. She and her family live mostly in Northern California.
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