EXCERPT

“Have a good run?” I walk over to her.

“It was all right. I don’t usually run on a track.”

“You should’ve come with me. I ran a couple miles around campus.”

She shakes her head. “That’s not far enough. I usually run 8 or 9 miles.”

I sit down next to her, so close we’re almost touching. I want to see if she’ll move away. She doesn’t, but she looks at me like I’m crazy for sitting this close.

“Eight or 9 miles? You must be a serious runner. I’m a swimmer. I only run to improve my cardio for the pool. I do a couple miles at a normal pace and then I do sprints on the track.”

She points to it. “Go ahead. It’s all yours.”

“Why don’t you do them with me?” I say, challenging her. “Let’s race.”

If she agrees to my challenge, I might just love this girl. The girls I’ve dated in the past would never race me. None of them were athletic and they’d never even consider doing something that might mess up their hair and make-up.

But Jade’s not wearing make-up and her hair’s already a mess. A sexy mess; long brown waves pulled back into a ponytail, wet around her hairline, a few strands hanging loose around her face.

“I’m a distance runner, not a sprinter,” she says. “But a distance runner can beat a swimmer any day. This should be easy.” She stands up and starts stretching her legs.

She actually agreed to race me? But wait. Did she just insult me? Nobody insults me. This might be the first time this has ever happened.

“You think you can beat me, huh?” I do some stretches even though I’m already warmed up from my run. “So what’s with the insults? You don’t like swimmers?”

She shrugs. “Swimmers are okay. I just don’t think they have to work that hard. I mean, the water makes you basically weightless. It’s easy to go fast when you don’t have to drag your body weight around. You don’t get that benefit with running.”

Did she seriously just insult me again? And now she’s picking on swimming? My favorite sport? The thing I love most in the world? What the hell? I don’t even know what to say to that, so I ask her to clarify.

“Are you shitting me? Did you just say swimmers don’t work hard?”

“Yeah, why?” I see a slight smile cross her face. She’s trying to get to me. She knows exactly what she’s doing. Pushing my competitive edge to the limit. And it’s totally turning me on.

“Game on, Iowa girl. Get your ass in position.”

I set myself up in lane one of the track.

She saunters over to lane two, yawning like I’m boring her. She stretches her arms behind her back. “Do you need a head start?”

“Damn, you’re annoying.” I smile, but it’s true. This girl’s annoying, but in a good way. In a way that challenges me and keeps me guessing. “We do one lap around. Ready? Three, two, one. Go!”

She takes off down the track and damn, she’s fast. I’m doing an all-out sprint and have a much longer stride and I can’t even come close to catching up. By the time I make it around the track one time, she’s already halfway around it for the second time.

“Stop! We’re done!” I yell it at her and she stops and runs back. I’m bent over with my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath, sweat dripping off my face. “Okay, I admit it. You’re fast.”

“Fast? That was my normal pace.”

I’m assuming she’s kidding but she’s not that out of breath so maybe she’s serious.

I straighten up and wipe the sweat off my forehead. “Remind me never to do that again.” I walk over and get my water bottle. “You should sign up for cross country or track. You’re really fast.”

She meets me at the edge of the track. “Nah. I ran cross country in high school. Now I just run when I’m stressed.”

“What are you stressed about? School?”

“No. I didn’t mean that I only run when I’m stressed. I run for all kinds of reasons. Like today I ran because it’s nice outside and I’m bored.”

“You want some?” I offer her my water bottle because the girl’s been running for God knows how long in this scorching hot heat and has no water. She hesitates, like she doesn’t want to put her mouth where mine just was, but then snatches the bottle from me and takes a drink. “If you’re bored, let’s do something. I’ll show you around and we can grab lunch somewhere.”

“I can’t. I have stuff to do. I need to unpack and make my bed.”

Make her bed? That’s her excuse for why she can’t go out? How long could it take to make a bed?

As she takes another drink of water I check out her body again. Lean, with good muscle definition, but she still has feminine curves. Fucking hot. I try not to stare.

She hands me my water bottle and I take a drink, more than happy to put my mouth where hers just was. But no water comes out. Not even a drop. “You drank the whole thing! What did you do that for? I’m dying here.”

“You didn’t say how much I could have. You should really be clearer next time.”

I can’t figure this girl out. She seems to have no interest in impressing me, which is something I’m not used to. Last night I had two girls who didn’t even know my name offering me a threesome. And now I have Jade drinking all my water and not even caring that she’s standing here dripping sweat with no makeup on and messy hair. And she insulted me. Twice.

“Fine. Give it here.” She holds her hand out. “I’ll go fill it up for you.”

“Forget it. I’m heading back now anyway. I can’t do any more sprints after that.” I walk away, then turn back. “Aren’t you coming?”

Two can play at this game. She thinks she can get rid of me with her insults? And beating me on the track? And drinking all my water? Not a chance. When I want something, I go after it. And I’ve decided I want Jade.

I like this girl. She’s tough. Competitive. Doesn’t give a shit what people think. And there’s something about her that gets to me in a way no other girl has. I don’t know what it is, but it’s nagging at my insides, tugging at my chest, getting in my head.

“You go ahead,” she says. “I’ll stay here and stretch.”

“We’re having lunch.” I say it like she has no choice in the matter. “Come on. Let’s go.”

I walk up the hill toward the dorm and when I look back, Jade’s following me. I turn back and smile. Score one for Garret.

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~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When Jade is given a scholarship to an elite private college in Connecticut, she sees it as a chance to finally escape her painful past and get a fresh start. She’s determined to succeed and that means keeping her focus on school and not guys. But that plan falls apart her first day on campus when Garret, a wealthy prep school boy with swimmer abs and a perfect smile, offers to help her move in.

Jade tries to push him away but she can’t deny her attraction to him and Garret won’t let her. Things quickly heat up between them, but then come to a sudden halt when reality hits and Jade realizes that a relationship with Garret may never be possible. He comes from a world of wealth where there are rules, including rules about who he can date. And not following those rules has consequences.

As the two of them try to overcome the obstacles working to keep them apart, Jade is confronted with another challenge. On her 19th birthday, she receives a letter that her now deceased mother wrote years ago. In it are revelations that explain her traumatic childhood but also make her question the past she’s been running from.

EXCERPT

After dinner, we go back to his room. It’s the first time I’ve been to the second floor. The hallway stinks like beer and sweat. Luckily Garret’s room doesn’t have that odor and it’s much cleaner than I imagined it would be. He has a ton of electronics, including the big TV he mentioned along with a surround sound system. And there are at least 100 movies sitting in a big cardboard box on the floor.

“Pick whatever you want,” he says as I flip through the movies.

“You have quite a setup here. It’s like your own movie theater. I don’t even have a TV.”

“You don’t? You need a TV, Jade.”

“No, I don’t. If I want to watch something I’ll just use the one down the hall.”

“That one barely works. If you want to watch TV, come up here.”

“I’m not going to do that. I hardly ever watch TV anyway. Here. Let’s watch this one.” I hold up a cartoon, trying to keep a straight face. “It says it’s about some dogs that solve crimes.”

“How did that get in there? That’s my little sister’s movie.”

“It’s okay, Garret. I don’t care if you like cartoons.”

“That is not my movie. She must’ve stuck it in the box when I wasn’t looking.”

I laugh. “Yeah, sure she did.”

“Give it here.” He reaches for it, but I won’t let him have it. I quickly stand up, holding it behind my back with one hand while putting my other hand out in front of me trying to keep him away.

He quickly backs me up against the wall, forcing my outstretched hand against his hard chest. I lower it to my side as he leans his hand on the wall near my head. Then he slowly reaches behind me with his other hand to get the movie. Our bodies are now touching and our faces are just inches apart. My heart is beating erratically and I struggle to keep my breathing steady as I feel his body against mine.

“Jade.” He gazes down at me with this incredibly sexy smile. “Give me the movie, please.” I try not to stare at his lips but they’re so close and so inviting.

The movie is still in my hand wedged between my lower back and the wall. I push my hips forward slightly to release it, which positions me even closer to him. As he goes to take the movie, I accidentally drop it and he catches it, right behind my butt. I feel his hand there and I freeze as my face heats up. He slowly takes his hand out from behind me and rests it on the wall by my head. I realize I’ve been holding my breath and I force myself to breathe again.

I look up and our eyes meet. “For the last time, the movie is my sister’s. But if you really want to watch the crime-fighting dog cartoon, we’ll watch it. Or,” he pauses and that sexy smile reappears, “if you want to do something else, we’ll do something else.”

I know from his tone what ‘something else’ is and I really, really want to do ‘something else’ but I promised myself I wouldn’t get involved with a guy at college. Unfortunately, I’ve never been very good with promises.

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Description of The Jade Series

The Jade Series is a New Adult Romance that follows the relationship of Jade and Garret in their first year of college. In Choosing You, (Jade 1), Jade and Garret meet on Jade’s first night at Moorhurst College and despite their strong attraction to each other, they’re not allowed to date because of the strict rules that control Garret’s life. In Knowing You, (Jade 2), Garret breaks the family rules and begins dating Jade. Their relationship grows deeper but issues from Jade’s past complicate matters. Loving You (Jade 3) shows Jade and Garret growing closer as a couple but also hints at the trouble that lies ahead in Promising You (Jade 4), in which a new challenge emerges for Garret that could interfere with the future he wants with Jade. Originally, book 4 was the end of the series, but fans wanted more of Jade and Garret, so Allie published Forever You, which kicks off a new storyline for this couple that will continue in Finding Us (releasing Oct. 3).

Books in THE JADE SERIES

Choosing You (Jade #1)

Knowing You (Jade #2)

Loving You (Jade #3)

Promising You (Jade #4)

Note: Promising You was originally planned as the end of the series so you could choose to finish the series with this book.

Forever You (Jade #5)

For Jade Series fans who want more Jade and Garret, this book kicks off a new twist to the storyline that will continue in forthcoming books.

Finding Us (Jade #6) – releasing October 3

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