He groans. “Your video game.”
***
Much later in the evening, after Brenna falls asleep on the floor playing her video game, Wyatt goes to the back room. He returns a few minutes later, holding two guitars, and then he extends one out to me. At first, I start to decline since Brenna’s only a few feet away, but he places the Fender in my lap. Taking my hands in his, he wraps my fingertips around the neck of the custom black guitar.
He sits across the room from me on the loveseat, gripping his guitar, and a tiny smile builds on my lips when he strums the opening of “Send the Pain Below.” It’s one of those songs that I’ll never forget, that will always have a special meaning for me, but it seems so wrong when we’re supposed to be trying again.
Grabbing my pick off the side table, I start playing a new song. He pauses, and it takes him a moment to figure out the chords I’m struggling to strum through. Even though he doesn’t know it well because he’s never been an Incubus fan, he catches on quickly as we pick through the song about love surviving the bad things.
When we reach the last line of the song, I can’t help but sing along softly. “Without love, I won’t survive.”
His eyes never leave mine, and I think about our bad times and our good. I’m hopeful that, this time, things will work, so we can make new memories that won’t hurt so damn much.
Still, I savor every part of our past.
-The End of Savor You-
Acknowledgments
Thank you so much to my readers—to YOU—for being so amazing. Your enthusiasm and support for my books amaze me on a daily basis, and I feel so blessed to have you. Thank you for all the emails, reviews, and Facebook messages. You rock my world!
To Kelli Maine, Michelle Valentine, and Kristen Proby—You ladies constantly brighten my day, putting up with my randomness and making me laugh. I love you girls like a love song, and I can’t WAIT to rock Vegas with you all! :)
Christine Bezdenejnih Estevez, you are one amazing chick! Thank you for keeping me organized and for loving my books. BIG HUGS for everything you do (and it’s a lot)!
To Rebecca, my ass-kicking agent—Thank you for all your wisdom and support. You keep me sane!
To Jovana Shirley with Unforeseen Editing—You are so incredibly talented! Thank you for taking Savor You and marking it up with your red pen of greatness. I’m so grateful for all your insight and suggestions!
Thank you to my early readers: Lisa Kane, Lisa Rutledge, Tracey Kruger, Dawn Martens, Aimee Pachorek, Lourdes Sanchez, America Matthew, Kim Person, Stacy Kestwick and Jennifer Wolfel. I appreciate you ladies so much for taking the time to read over my pages and for giving me insight. Your opinions are invaluable to me.
Thanks to Letitia Hasser at RBA Designs for creating such a beautiful book cover. Your artwork brings Kylie to life!
To Cris Hadarly, Becca Manuel, and Abbie Dauenheimer—Thank you ladies a million times for being so effing creative. I love the trailers and collages, and I smile like an idiot every time I look at them.
To the bloggers in the romance community—THANK YOU! Your support and love for my books mean so much to me. I appreciate you all more than you could ever imagine. Thank you for taking such good care of me and all the other indie authors!
And to my family—You guys rock my socks! (Don’t look at my feet right now because they’re mismatched.) Thanks for encouraging me to follow this dream of mine. I love you guys.
Wrecked
A New Adult Romance By
Emily Snow
Wrecked Copyright
Copyright © 2014 by Emily Snow Books
Cover designed by Letitia Hasser, RBA Designs
ISBN: 9781310410604
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher in writing. For information message emilysnowbooks@gmail.com.
Synopsis
Two years ago, Evie’s sister died, leaving her lost. Existing without really living. Coping the only way she knew how: by wrecking things.
Last year, Evie exposed her dad’s affairs, finished ripping apart her relationship with her longtime boyfriend, and completely ruined her music scholarship.
But today, she’s reinventing herself at her new university. Desperate to break away from all the destruction she’s caused, Evie’s ready to start over. For her sister, who never even had a chance. And for herself.
Then Rhys, her new voice instructor, happens.
He’s gorgeous and insanely talented, but he’s also a part of the dark past Evie is trying to overcome. Rhys’s brother is the reason why her life went up in flames, the reason why Lily, Evie's sister, is dead. But even though Rhys is the last person Evie should ever want, for the first time in two years, wrecking things seems...right.
The Playlist
“Hanging On” by Ellie Goulding
“Riverside” by Agnes Obel
“Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus
“Human” by Civil Twilight
“All the Right Moves” by One Republic
“All Falls Down” by Kanye West
“Adolescents” by Incubus
“Delicate” by Damien Rice
“Lovesong” by 311
“Counting Stars” by One Republic
“Mirrors” by Justin Timberlake
“Heartbeat” by The Fray
“Avenue” by Agnes Obel
“Breathe (2 AM)” by Anna Nalick
“Fix Me” by Ten Years
“Yesterday” by The Beatles
“Lonely Boy” by The Black Keys
“The Monster” by Eminem ft. Rihanna
“Heaven Knows” by The Pretty Reckless
“Between the Raindrops” by Lifehouse & Natasha Bedingfield
“Say Something” by A Great Big World
“Slowly Freaking Out” by Skylar Grey
“Stay” by Rihanna & Mikky Ekko
“Don’t Say A Word” by Ellie Goulding
“Everlong” by Foo Fighters
“Under the Milky Way” by Sia
Dedication
To the Your Toxic Sequel Support Group -
You girls kick ass and do Lucas proud everyday.
Thank you for your awesomeness.
Prologue
Two Years Ago
“You sure she won’t figure out I’m here?” my boyfriend, James, murmurs into my ear. His warm, minty breath fans strands of my long chestnut brown hair, coursing a tingle down my spine. Tilting my head, I look back into his gray eyes and notice the flash of pleasure in them because of my visible reaction to him. There’s a definite note of apprehension there, too, thanks to his odd fear of my mom.
She’s too scared to kill a spider, much less come after him with a weapon just because she catches him inside my bedroom. “Evie?” James groans. “I’d hate for her to start shooting at me.”