The problem I’m finding with all of these Shomi novels is that they all sound intriguing. There isn’t one I’ve read about so far that hasn’t made me want to dive right into it. This one is no different.
Seconds aren’t like pennies. They can’t be saved in a jar and spent later. Fate seeps through cracks and shifts like fog. Pluck a second out of time or slip an extra one in, the consequences will change your life forever. Is the man you love really the man you think you know, or is there a version of your life in which he’s your enemy? If you didn’t know who or what you were before, would you take a chance on becoming that person again?
L. Roxanne Zaborovsky is about to discover fate is comprised of an infinite number of wires, filaments that can be manipulated, and that she’s not the one at the controls. From the roguishly charming Mason Merrick—a shadow from her increasingly tenebrous past—to the dangerously seductive Leonardo Kaysar, she’s barely holding on. This isn’t a game, and the pennies are rolling all over the floor. Roxy just has to figure out which are the ones worth picking up.
Prologue (ARC)
It’s graduation day. I’ve got a million things to do. None of which includes going to the actual ceremony. I don’t think too much of that kind of stuff.
I look over at the shrink-wrapped square enshrining the cap and gown that I’ve abandoned on a side table. “A total bus station moment.”
Kitty twists the lollipop in her mouth, getting blue sugar syrup all over her fingers. A goldfish swims in the plastic bag she’s clutching in her other hand. “Yeah. But I’m kind of sorry I’m missing it.”
I shrug.
“You’re really not going?” she asks.
“Interview’s more important.”
Kitty’s eyes narrow. “You know, I think you scheduled it on graduation day on purpose.”
“Did not,” I lie. “They asked me to.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Like I said, graduation day is nothing but a bus station moment. All that waiting, it finally gets here, you get on for the ride and then you just can’t wait to get off.”
“Graduation is maybe the kind of bus you don’t want to miss.”
“I couldn’t care less.”
“Bullshit.”
“I’m serious.” I laugh. “College was only incrementally less painful than high school.”
Kitty nods. She pulls the lollipop stick out of her mouth and it comes out clean. She crams the used stick in her cargo pocket. “Well, I guess this is it.”
“I guess so,” I say, frowning hard and trying not to cry.
“You’re really not going to graduation?” she asks again.
“Nah.”
“Me neither.”
“I know. You’ve got a plane to catch.”
We stand there repeating ourselves because we don’t want to accept that everything’s about to change.
Kitty lunges forward for a hug, the bagged goldfish swinging wildly in her grip, water dripping off her wrist down my neck. As fast as she lunged forward, she pulls back. “We hate goodbyes.” She thrusts the plastic bag at me. “You’ll remember to feed him?”
I take the bag with a sigh. “I’ll remember. He’ll be here when you get back.”
“I don’t know,” Kitty says skeptically. “He’s pretty old.”
I hold up the bag and we watch the goldfish together. Then we look at each other.
“Well,” Kitty says, “I know you won’t try to kill him on purpose.”
We laugh to keep things from getting teary but, of course, they get teary anyway. Kitty picks up her last suitcase and opens the door. A sharp noise echoes down the inner staircase and we both jump.
She sticks her head out and looks both ways.
“What was that?” I ask.
She shrugs then looks back over her shoulder at me.
I echo Kitty’s words. “We hate goodbyes.”
Kitty’s black pigtails bob as she starts lugging her suitcase down the stairs, waving her hand behind her in farewell. She stops and turns and calls up to me. “Just remember, Roxanne, it can’t always be about tomorrow. Sometimes it’s about right fucking now.”
I shut the door and stand there for a moment listening to the clomp of Kitty’s combat boots on the stairs. They become less clompy with every step until there’s nothing left.
Sirens blare outside. I hold the goldfish bag up to eye level. “It’ll be fine,” I say, then look around for something to put him in.
The phone rings.
The doorbell rings.
I look between the phone and the door
…and I pick one.
This book is available from Dorchester. You can buy it here. You can read more about Liz Maverick on her website here and at The Rebels of Romance.
Wow – this sounds really good!