Happy Release Day: Before You by Amber Hart
We're so excited to celebrate the release of BEFORE YOU by Amber Hart from Kensington Teen! This multicultural romance has us swooning!
ABOUT BEFORE YOU
Some say love is deadly. Some say love is beautiful. I say it is both.
Faith Watters spent her junior year traveling the world, studying in exquisite places, before returning to Oviedo High School. From the outside her life is picture-perfect. Captain of the dance team. Popular. Happy. Too bad it’s all a lie.
It will haunt me. It will claim me. It will shatter me. And I don't care.
Eighteen-year-old Diego Alvarez hates his new life in the States, but staying in Cuba is not an option. Covered in tattoos and scars, Diego doesn't stand a chance of fitting in. Nor does he want to. His only concern is staying hidden from his past—a past, which if it were to surface, would cost him everything. Including his life.
At Oviedo High School, it seems that Faith Watters and Diego Alvarez do not belong together. But fate is as tricky as it is lovely. Freedom with no restraint is what they long for. What they get is something different entirely.
Love—it will ruin you and save you, both.
EXCERPT:
“Hi, I’m Faith Watters.”
Those are the
first words I speak to the new Cuban guy in the front office. He grimaces. He’ll
be a tough one. I can handle it, though. He’s not the first.
I can’t help but
notice that he looks a lot like a model from the neck up—eyes the color of oak,
strong bone structure. Everywhere else, he looks a lot like a criminal. Chiseled,
scarred body … I wonder for a second about the meaning behind the tattoos scratched
into his arms.
One thing’s clear.
He’s dangerous.
And he’s beautiful.
“I’ll show you to
your classes,” I announce.
I’m one of the
peer helpers at our school. It’s not my favorite thing to do, but it counts as
a class. Basically I spend the first two days with new students, introducing
them around and answering their questions. Some parents with kids new to the
school voluntarily sign their students up, but it’s only mandatory for the
international students, of which we have a lot. Mostly Latinos.
This
Cuban guy towers over me. I’m five six. Not tall. Not short. Just average.
Average is good.
This guy’s not
average. Not even a little bit. He must be over six feet.
I
glance up at him, kind of like I do when I’m searching for the moon in a sea of
darkness.
“Looks like you
have math first. I’ll walk you there,” I offer.
“No
thanks, chica. I can handle it.”
“It’s
no problem,” I say, leading the way.
He
tries to snatch his schedule from my hands, but I move too fast.
“Why
don’t we start with your name?” I suggest.
I
already know his name. Plus some. Diego Alvarez. Eighteen years old. Moved from
Cuba two weeks ago. Only child. No previous school records. I read it in his
bio. I want to hear him say it.
“You
got some kinda control issues or somethin’?” he asks harshly, voice slightly accented.
“You
got some kind of social issues or somethin’?” I fire back, holding my stance. I
won’t let him intimidate me, though I’ll admit, he’s hot. Too bad he has a
nasty attitude.
The
side of his lip twitches. “No. I just don’t mix with your type,” he answers.
“My
type?”
“That’s
what I said.”
“You
don’t even know my type.” No one does. Well, except Melissa.
He
chuckles humorlessly. “Sure I do. Head cheerleader? Date the football player?
Daddy’s little girl who gets everything she wants?” He leans closer to whisper.
“Probably a virgin.”
My
cheeks burn hot. “I’m not a cheerleader,” I say through clamped teeth.
“Whatever,”
he says. “Are you gonna give me my schedule or not?”
“Not,”
I answer. “But you can feel free to follow me to your first class.”
He
steps in front of me, intimately close. “Listen, chica, nobody tells me what to do.”
I
shrug. “Fine, suit yourself. It’s your life. But if you want to attend this
school, it’s mandatory for me to show you to your classes for two days.”
His
eyes narrow. “Who says I want to attend this school?”
I
take the last step toward him, closing the gap between us. When we were little,
Melissa and I used to collect glass bottles. Whenever we accumulated twenty,
we’d break them on the concrete. When the glass shattered, the slivered pieces
made a breathtaking prism of light.
I cut myself on the glass by accident once. It was
painful, but worth it. The beauty was worth it.
It’s funny how the bottle was
never as beautiful as when it was broken.
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ABOUT AMBER HART
Amber
Hart grew up in Orlando, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia. She now resides on the
Florida coastline with family. When unable to find a book, she can be found
writing, daydreaming, or with her toes in the sand. She's the author of BEFORE
YOU, AFTER US, UNTIL YOU FIND ME, and sequel to UNTIL YOU FIND ME (untitled as
of yet). Represented by Beth Miller of Writers House.
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