ALL THE
WAYS YOU SAVED ME by Jamie Howard
E-Original published by
Swerve
Publication Date: November
1, 2016
ISBN: 9781250119926
Price: $3.99
Book Description
Bianca Easton is
the perfect senator’s daughter.
Law school?
Check.
Camera-ready
smile? Check.
A dull and boring
existence? Double check.
But that was
before. Before she lost her best and only friend in a tragic
accident. Before she found that friend's unfinished bucket list.
Definitely before she turned her life upside-down by deciding to stay
in New York for six months to finish it.
It's while she's
checking off her first item on the list--buy coffee for a
stranger--that she meets Ian Mathis. Between the tattoo sleeve
curling up his right arm, his guitar-roughened fingertips, and the
secrets shadowing his past, he's a complication Bianca doesn't need
but desperately wants.
With every item
they cross off the list together, Bianca uncovers a piece of herself
that she's buried under what's expected, all the while breaking her
own rules by falling hard for Ian. But when her six months run out,
Bianca has to decide if she's willing to risk her empty but
picture-perfect life for a chance at real, messy love.
Buy Links
SMP Romance:
http://smpromance.com/contemporary.html#all-the-ways
Excerpt
“I didn’t mean
to wake you.”
He ruffled a hand
through his hair. “Did we . . . have plans?
No,” I said,
hugging the Chinese food to my chest and suddenly feeling like a huge
idiot for showing up here unannounced. “No, I just thought I’d .
. . surprise you.”
With one hand on
the door, he leaned toward me and sniffed. “Chinese food?”
“Yeah.” I
passed him the bag and shoved my empty hands in my pockets. “I
should’ve called, I’m sorry. I can just . . .” I hitched a
thumb over my shoulder.
“What?” Ian
stepped back and pushed the door open farther. “No, come in. Sorry,
I’m still half-asleep. Don’t mind me.”
Tossing a glance at
him over my shoulder as I walked by, I headed for the kitchen. “I
like your glasses.”
“My what? Oh.”
His hand darted up to touch them, and he smiled at me sheepishly.
“Forgot I had them on. I feel like such a dork in them so I never
wear them out.”
“Really?” I made a concerted effort to try and calm my pulse,
which was thrumming out an unsteady rhythm. “I dunno. I think
they’re kinda sexy.” My eyes shifted from the floor to his face,
then back again.
“Yeah?” A smile
peeked out from between his lips, and his hand drifted up to rub
against the back of his neck. The lean muscles across his chest and
stomach rippled with the motion. I definitely wasn’t going to ask
him to put a shirt on this time.
I nodded, glancing
around his kitchen at the cherry cabinets. “Where do you keep your
plates?”
“Plates?” He gestured off to the
left. “Over there.”
I had to reach for them, and my
still-sensitive skin protested the stretching. I winced, and switched
hands, reaching with my right rather than my left.
“Hurt yourself?”
“Not really.” I pushed two plates
across the kitchen island toward him. “Just managed to cross off
another item on my list.”
His forehead crinkled, and then his
eyes sharpened. “You got a tattoo? Without me?”
“I texted you, but you were busy.”
“Right.” The small frown was
momentary and gone almost as soon as it appeared. “So, let’s see
it.”
Grasping the edge
of my shirt, I pulled it up, leaning back against the counter behind
me. The tattoo was just visible beneath the edge of my very unsexy
sports bra, but my skin was still too tender for anything with lace
and underwire.
His thumb skimmed over my ribcage. “I
carry your heart,” he read, his finger pausing on the very far edge
where a tiny, purple and blue lily was inked, looking like it was
plucked straight out of a watercolor painting.
“It’s part of
this poem Renée used to have hanging on the wall. When she was
little, that’s what she wanted to do—poetry. Except she was never
any good at it. Horrible, really. Her mom pulled out her old school
stuff once and showed me—” Ian’s thumb landed on my lips, and
it wasn’t till I looked up with him that I realized my eyes were
swimming in tears.
I took in a
shuddering breath, trying to tamp down my feelings. “That line
doesn’t just remind me of her, it’s the truth. Renée’s always
with me.”
Ian nodded, his fingers skimming over
my cheek to tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “You miss
her.”
“Every day.”
His eyes squeezed
shut. “Every day.”
I cleared my
throat. “So, what do you think?”
His hands circled
my waist. “Pretty risky spot to pick for your first. Had to hurt
like hell.”
“It did.” A
nervous laugh slipped out, my heart pounding so hard it was a wonder
he couldn’t feel it. Then again, maybe he could.
I invaded his
space, setting my fingers on the image of the raven that covered his
right ribcage. “I can’t even imagine sitting for something like
this. Talk about pain.” The bird was captured in mid-flight, wings
stretched high so that the tips of its feathers nearly reached his
armpit, while the claws curled just above the start of his V muscle
that swooped up like a waiting branch.
“I’ve dealt
with worse.”
It was the flat way
he said it, like all the emotion had been leeched out of him and
there just wasn’t an ounce left to put into those words. We weren’t
talking about tattoos anymore. My hand flattened against his side,
and his skin burned hot against my always cold fingertips.
“Ian.” I don’t
know whether it was a statement or a question, or if it was a
question, what in the world I was asking, but it seemed to do the
trick. His eyes shifted up to mine, brimming with a pain that was so
evident, I wanted to do nothing more than erase it.
I rocked up onto my
tiptoes, sealing my lips over his, and letting my hand drift up the
expanse of his chest to curl around the back of his neck. He didn’t
fight me when I pulled him down to me, and his tongue took no time
finding its way into my mouth to taste me. I tasted him right back—a
hint of spearmint, like he’d brushed his teeth right before
slipping into bed.
Bianca is hit with tragedy just after graduating from Law School. She changes her plans and plans to finish her friend's unfinished bucket list. Bianca's parents are cold and not very nice and don't approve of her plans. I loved Bianca. She is a down to earth girl that would make an awesome friend. When doing an item on the list she meets Ian. Ian is kind of a mystery at first. Ian has stuff in his past and is a little closed off. I loved how he and Bianca fall into a friendship and than more. This one is a great story that I would recommend you check out.
4 Amazeballs Stars!
Author Bio
JAMIE HOWARD
spends her days as a legal and compliance specialist. She holds a
Bachelor's degree in Art from Ramapo College. When she's not tapping
away at the keyboard, you can find her devouring books and perfecting
her gaming skills. She lives with her husband, son, and three dogs in
New Jersey, and is almost always awake early enough to see the sun
rise, even on the weekends.
Author Links
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/JRHoward9/@JRHoward9
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