Escaping Me by Elizabeth Lee will be on sale August 2-9! Check out the excerpt below and grab the book today!
Title: Escaping Me
Author: Elizabeth Lee
Genre: NA/Contemporary Romance
Published: July 30, 2013
All she wanted to do was forget. Forget the memory of walking in on her boyfriend in the middle of, well, another girl. Forget how she had her entire life planned out. And, forget about being perfect all the time. Unfortunately, she was Whitney Vandaveer and despite the fact that she moved to the middle of nowhere – she couldn't.
He always knew he would never be more than nothing. No job, no money, no future. Cole Pritchett had accepted the fact that he would always be the screw up and he was okay with it. Until he met her.
Here's the thing they quickly found out – sometimes we all need a little help escaping who we think we are.
I hold my head
back and walk toward the delivery truck.
Cole's eyes are down on the clipboard he is holding in his hands as he
double-checks what he has to take off the truck.
“You're
a little late to take me up on the drink offer,” I tease as I cross the gravel
drive toward him, shuffling my flip-flops against the rocks. I am hoping that maybe he is a morning
person and will be in a better mood than the last time I saw him. No such luck. He looks up at me quickly, adjusting the bill of his hat to
shade his face, and then back down at his clipboard. Not even the hint of a grin on his lips. Wow. His expression is as cold as it was
last night when he walked away from me.
He shakes his head, albeit subtly, but to me it is like a flashing neon
sign that says, “Go away.”
He sets the
clipboard down on the hood of the truck, his eyes never once drifting back to
mine. Instead, he turns his back
and walks behind the truck. He
lowers the gate and pulls the pallet lift, loaded up with whatever it was my
mom ordered. As he lowers the lift
to the ground, he keeps his focus on what he is doing. It is painfully obvious that he is
avoiding looking at me. Maybe I
should have looked in the mirror again?
I thought my fitted pink t-shirt and black cotton shorts were cute
pajamas. Maybe I was wrong. Do
I look that horrible this morning?
“Just
put it outside the barn doors over there,” I say between clenched teeth. Who the hell does this guy think he
is? Never in my life have I been
so callously ignored. I glance over
my shoulder at my mother and Mallory, who are still watching from the kitchen
window. I roll my eyes at them and
turn back to see if Mr. Personality has finished what he came here to do. As infuriating as this situation is
becoming, I can’t help but notice how fantastic his ass looks in his
jeans. The worn denim hangs from
his narrow waist perfectly—not cowboy tight and not gangster loose. The gray t-shirt that is stretched
across his back reads Wilson Lumber Yard with their catchy slogan underneath—“We
Got Wood”. I fight back a
giggle. At least someone has a
sense of humor. He unloads the
pallet and has the lift back in the truck, all while managing to completely not
acknowledge my existence.
“I'll just go ahead and sign
for this so you can be on your way,” I say as he climbs out of the back
of the truck. This time, the icy
tone of my voice catches his attention. I can feel his eyes on me as I walk to
the front of the truck. “I'd
hate to keep you from the obviously more important things you would rather be
doing.” Leaning over the hood, I
pull a pen from the holder on the top of the clipboard. My frustration with his attitude is
made perfectly clear as I furiously click the plunger on the top of the
pen. My eyes are busy scanning for
the space I am supposed to sign when a sudden shadow is cast over my
shoulder. I can feel his breath on
my neck and his body resting behind mine.
It must be the nature of the position we are in because I have to fight
the urge to back into him. To feel
his hard body against my backside.
My skin is on fire and my brain immediately tries to reason that it is
anger as opposed to something else.
“Do
you mind?” I snap, turning to tell him to back off. But he doesn’t. Instead, he places his hands on the truck,
catching me between his muscled forearms and pinning me between his delicious
body and the truck. Even under the
bill of that hat he is always wearing, I can see his shaded eyes narrow in on
mine. It isn’t with contempt or
agitation—it is something else.
Yes. He is looking at me
like he wants to tear my clothes off, and I would let him.
He closes the
distance between us. Here we are,
chest to chest. The air around me
instantly thickens, making it nearly impossible to breathe. His eyes go to mine and then to my
lips, the same way they did at the bar.
He takes in a shallow breath, and I can tell he is having a hard time
breathing, too. I’m not sure if I
should duck out from under him and run or throw myself against him. I've never been so intimidated or so
turned on in my life. It is
infuriating. He licks one corner
of his lips and I think for sure he is going to kiss me. Seconds tick and he still hasn’t
moved. Is he waiting for me to
give him the okay? Does he really
want to kiss me? I raise my chin
slightly and let my eyes close. I
hold my breath, waiting for his lip to fall on mine, and forget every reason I
should be mad at him for. That is
until he utters three words that manage to remind me.
“No
signature required.”
I love a book with a super-hot, tattooed bad boy. They’re my weakness – my kryptonite. Add a dysfunctional past, and I just can’t resist them. *sigh* As soon as I read that Cole was tall, dark and tattooed with a druggie for a mother and a daddy in jail, I was all in.
Wesley Thorton’s trophy wife. It’s too bad I can’t look the other way on infidelity. My life probably could have been almost perfect.
Her:
Poor Whitney… She’s had one hell of a year. After walking in on her boyfriend of 4 years doing the horizontal tango with some redheaded skank, she decided to pack up her life and spend the summer at her mother’s house with her younger sister, Mallory. When I first read that the two sisters grew up in separate homes I thought it was odd. How do you just split up siblings like that? As it turns out, it was probably best for both of them. Mallory is free spirited and laid back like their mother, while Whitney is much more uptight and a definite rule follower just like dear old daddy. In fact, Whitney has basically been groomed to be a trophy wife. It didn’t seem all bad until she realized that the trophy “owner” was a big-fat-cheating liar! Her life has been turned upside down but with the help of her mother, Leanne and little sister, Mallory, she’s trying to figure out just exactly who she is and what she wants from life.
Him:
Cole is nothing but a big mess. He’s got major anger management issues, comes from a less than stellar family and lives in his big brother’s shadow. He thought he was in love once that is until big brother stole her out from under his nose. Finn even added a pregnancy to the mix which basically sealed the deal. Even though it hurt like hell, Cole couldn’t blame Finn. He had to believe his brother was clueless. I mean, the guy was constantly saving his ass and keeping him out of jail by pulling strings and cashing in favors. That doesn’t sound like that type of brother who would plot to ruin your love life. When things reach a boiling point, Finn encourages Cole to get out of town. He’s called in the last of his favors and one more incident could land Cole in the slammer. After packing up his belongings, Cole makes his way to another small town to start over. His brother lined up a job at a local lumber yard with a man named Hank. Maybe, just maybe he’ll be able to keep his temper in line and make something of himself.
I push through the pain, sweat, and tears that are trying to keep me from finishing this run. I should have listened to my body but the only thing I can focus on is running away from the past… and then nothing.
Them:
Saving a girl who’s passed out from heat exhaustion doesn’t happen every day. Finding that she feels perfect in your arms only complicates matters. Cole isn’t looking for love. Ha! The only experience he’s had with that four letter word did not end well. Determined to stay away from this striking beauty, Cole drops her off at home with her mother and gets the hell out of dodge. Imagine his surprise when he sees her later that night at a local bar. When they bump into one another, Whitney offers to buy him a drink as thanks. Too bad Cole is playing hard to get. That doesn’t deter Whitney. She sees something in Cole and is not going to give up easily.
Eventually, Cole caves and a “friendship” forms. Of course it can’t be smooth sailing. I think everything and everyone who could stand in the way of this relationship, does. We’re talking about crazy exes, overprotective fathers, overactive imaginations, and even life changing chances. Everything seems to be pulling these two love birds apart. I liked the placement of the drama during the story. Usually you read a book and once you get to around 70 or 80 percent of the way through, the story takes a dramatic turn and drama ensues. In this little gem, the drama pops up all over the place. It kept me on my toes and questioning what would come next. I also liked that most of the time it was resolved relatively quickly. There weren’t pages and pages of ‘woe is me’ writing or overly extended fight scenes. In my opinion, there was just enough angst to give you that heart clutching feeling without completely shattering it altogether.
“Don’t be silly!” She playfully swats my arm as she slides into the seat next to me. You can’t lose people. You lose things. Like keys. Or your mind sometimes,” she laughs, “but not people. If you and Cole are meant to be, it will work out.”
Escaping Me was an entertaining, sweet, quick read which kept me on my toes and rooting for true love. I appreciated the fact that both Cole and Whitney were imperfect. They had flaws much like you or I do. Seeing Whitney come into her own and stand up for herself was simply beautiful. Reading about Cole realizing he’s worth more than he initially thought was inspiring. Oh, and don’t get me started on Leanne and Mallory. They’re women after my own heart. Their free spirited outlook on life was refreshing. Hell, at least Whitney had somewhere good to run to when she decided to leave her old life behind. Sometimes when you think you’re running away, you’re actually running to the thing you need most.
I highly recommend you give this book a chance. If nothing else, add it to your TBR list. You won’t be disappointed with your purchase.
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Born and raised in the middle of a Midwestern cornfield (not literally, that would be weird), I’ve spent my entire life imagining stories. Stories where the right guy always gets the right girl, first kisses are as magical as they are on the big screen and anything is completely possible if you believe.If I’m not reading, writing, enjoying drinks with my amazing group of girlfriends or chasing around a sarcastically funny kid, I’m probably watching television shows that were created for teenagers, while my husband teases that I’m too old to watch them.
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