Faking It (Losing It, #2)(62)

Broken skin and broken kin

The end of you feels like the end of me.

“There’s a scream in my soul

’Cause I’ll never feel whole

I’m stuck in the moment. My mind’s on repeat fingernails scrapeCCowlmy Trapped in an instant I can’t delete “Time unravels, my life unspools

The future has made us all into fools You’re lying there, and I’m stuck in my chair All I’m allowed to do is stare.”

I got so choked up on the verse that my voice broke, and I had to take a break and repeat some of the guitar part before I was able to come in for the next verse. Cade was so in tune and perceptive that he followed me easily.

“We’re all slaves to the grave

Helpless to save

So we close our eyes to shut it out

Instead it becomes what we’re all about.”

I closed my eyes, and I did see it all as I sang. I remembered the images that had flashed through my mind of a life without Alex. I’d thought of all the moments in my life that she would miss, and how nothing would ever be the same without her. I was at nine years now, and though nothing was the same without her, life also wasn’t as bad as I had pictured it would be.

I glanced at Cade. Life wasn’t bad at all.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you to William Morrow and Amanda Bergeron for believing in my writing, and working so incredibly hard to get it out into the world so quickly. And Amanda, thank you for helping make Cade as awesome as he is. Thank you to Jessie Edwards for being made of awesome and believing in sunken ships with me. Thanks also to Molly Birckhead, Pam Jaffee, and allG">Imagine the





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FINDING IT

Most girls would kill to spend months traveling around Europe after college graduation with no responsibility, no parents, and no-limit credit cards. Kelsey Summers is no exception. She’s having the time of her life . . . or that’s what she keeps telling herself.

It’s lonely business trying to find out who you are, especially when you’re afraid you won’t like the you that’s found. No amount of drinking or dancing can chase away Kelsey’s loneliness, but maybe Jackson Hunt can. After a few chance meetings, he convinces her to take a journey of adventure instead of alcohol. With each new city and experience, Kelsey’s mind becomes a little clearer, and her heart a little less hers. Hunt helps her unravel her own dreams and desires, but the more she knows about herself, the more she realizes how little she knows about him.

?” she askedI owI wondered if



Coming Soon from William Morrow





1

I couldn’t keep their names straight, and I wasn’t even drunk yet.

I kept calling Tamás István. Or was that András? Oh, well. What did it matter? They were all hot with dark hair and eyes, and they knew only four words in English as far as I could tell.

American. Beautiful. Drink. And dance.

As far as I was concerned, those were the only words they needed to know. At least I remembered Katalin’s name. I’d met her a few days ago, and we’d hung out almost every night since. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. She showed me around Budapest, and I got generous with Daddy’s credit card on occasion. Not like he would notice or care. And if he did, he’d always said that if money didn’t buy happiness, then people were spending it wrong.

“Kelsey,” Katalin said, her accent thick and exotic. “Welcome to the ruin bars.”

I paused in ruffling István’s hair (or the one I called István, anyway). We stood on an empty street filled with dilapidated buildings. I knew the whole don’t-judge-a-book-by-its-cover thing, but this place was straight out of a zombie apocalypse. I wondered how to say “brains” in Hungarian.

The old Jewish quarter—that’s where Katalin said we were going.

Oy vey.

It sure as hell didn’t look to me like there were any bars around here. I looked at the abandoned neighborhood, and thought, At least I got laid last night. If I was going to get chopped into tiny pieces, at least I went out with a bang. Literally.

I laughed, and almost recounted my thoughts to my companions, but I was pretty sure it would get lost in translation. Especially because I was starting to question even Katalin’s grip on the English language, if this was what “bar” meant to her. I pointed a crumbling stone building and said, “Drink?” Then mimed the action, just to be safe.

One of the guys said, “Igen. Drink.” The word sounded like ee-gan, and I’d picked up just enough to know it mean, “yes.”

I was practically fluent already.

I cautiously followed Katalin toward one of the derelict buildings. She stepped into a darkened doorway that gave me the heebiest of jeebies. The tallest of my Hungarian hotties slipped an arm around my shoulder. I took a guess and said, “Tamás?” His teeth were pearly white when he smiled. I would take that as a yes. Tamás equaled tall. And drop-dead sexy.

One of his hands came up and brushed back the blond hair from my face. I tilted my head back to look at him fingernails scrape of her ”. His extst, and excitement sparked in my belly. What did language matter when dark eyes locked on mine, strong hands pressed into my skin, and heat filled the space between us?