B. Celeste

It happened in stages.⁣ My father left.⁣ My twin sister died of an incurable autoimmune disease.⁣ My mother started breaking down.⁣ Then I was diagnosed with the very thing that took my other half from me.⁣ That was when I realized Mama’s eyes turned gold when she cried.⁣ So I moved in with my father and his new family—new wife, new son, new stepbrother.⁣ Kaiden Monroe made me feel normal.⁣ Hated. Cared for. Loathed. And … loved.⁣ Somewhere along the way, I’d found solace in the boy with brooding eyes.⁣ But everything happens in stages.⁣ And nothing good ever lasts.⁣

When I asked my best friend to run away with me at sixteen, I knew he’d say no.⁣ ⁣ He had football, an amazing family, and a happy home to go back to every day.⁣ ⁣ So the night I snuck out of his bedroom window after hugging him goodbye, I’d accepted I’d probably never see him again.⁣ ⁣ Then we both wind up at Lindon University four years later.⁣ ⁣ I’m barely picking up the pieces of my life when the boy whose initials I used to doodle hearts around approaches me at work.⁣ ⁣ Aiden Griffith. Lindon U’s star tight end.⁣ ⁣ Still as attractive. Still as dedicated.⁣ ⁣ With rumors of him being drafted to the NFL coming to fruition, I know it’s only a matter of time before we have to say goodbye again.⁣ ⁣ But he can’t seem to let me go no matter what I say, and I don’t think I want him to.⁣

When I decided to move across the country for college, I thought it’d be the perfect chance to reinvent myself. But then one party changed the course of my entire freshman year. And just when I think I’m about to drown in the foggy memories of my night spent partying at the football house, Daniel Bridges walks into my life. Lindon University’s wide receiver. A total flirt. And a total threat. Because he can help take away the memories I do remember from that night. What I don’t anticipate from the witty football player is the friendship we form as the months go on. Or how easy it is to fall for him as he teaches me how to trust again…and so much more.