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Book Blurb & Info
Author: Amy Gregory
Genre: Contemporary Romance 18+
Publication Date: November 1, 2013
Her destiny was written for her, long before she was ever born. She embraced it, wanting nothing more than to give everything within her back to the sport in which she was considered royalty. Her family’s legacy would live on, revered by all. And she thrived on the long work days she spent teaching at the academy her blood was tied to. Alexandra Sterling needed that dirt track as much as she needed her next breath.
That same track was the one that drew in a young student years before. Alex had given her heart away the day they met, knowing that he belonged to only her. For years she’d waited, knowing without a single doubt that he’d make her his when the time was right.
But…she’d never asked Dallas if he felt the same way.
Her hurt leaves her vulnerable, her days dark and her instincts dulled. After one night of hell, Alex is lost. Her world is crumbling around her, and without her lifeline and best friend beside her anymore, there’s nothing to keep her from sinking with it.
Dallas Hunter is a pro rider on the motocross circuit, following in the footsteps of his father Eli. For Dallas, it’s always been Alex, but he’s kept his feelings locked away out of fear, his love for their family, his biggest obstacle.
One short and chilling phone call to her puts him on high alert. Knowing something is terribly wrong sends him racing across the country, back home, back to her. But what he finds almost kills him.
Now he’s watching her slip away right before his very eyes. Figuring out how to help Alex before it’s too late, might turn out to be harder than any race he’s ever ridden. And he has to do it with his team and sponsors screaming at him from the other side, trying to pull him back to the world he’s dedicated his entire life to.
Dallas knows he has to help his best friend, the woman he loves…and do it without tearing his family apart.
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That same track was the one that drew in a young student years before. Alex had given her heart away the day they met, knowing that he belonged to only her. For years she’d waited, knowing without a single doubt that he’d make her his when the time was right.
But…she’d never asked Dallas if he felt the same way.
Her hurt leaves her vulnerable, her days dark and her instincts dulled. After one night of hell, Alex is lost. Her world is crumbling around her, and without her lifeline and best friend beside her anymore, there’s nothing to keep her from sinking with it.
Dallas Hunter is a pro rider on the motocross circuit, following in the footsteps of his father Eli. For Dallas, it’s always been Alex, but he’s kept his feelings locked away out of fear, his love for their family, his biggest obstacle.
One short and chilling phone call to her puts him on high alert. Knowing something is terribly wrong sends him racing across the country, back home, back to her. But what he finds almost kills him.
Now he’s watching her slip away right before his very eyes. Figuring out how to help Alex before it’s too late, might turn out to be harder than any race he’s ever ridden. And he has to do it with his team and sponsors screaming at him from the other side, trying to pull him back to the world he’s dedicated his entire life to.
Dallas knows he has to help his best friend, the woman he loves…and do it without tearing his family apart.
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Add to Goodreads
Series Info
Other books in this series:
Excerpt from Alex's Destiny
Years of roaming every inch of the Noland property left an intricately detailed map ingrained in her head, memorized for life. Instead, she stayed, not wanting to be rude to her family. As she stood there, the sun gave way to the moon. The dark purple lining the horizon was the only evidence it left behind. She couldn’t help but feel her heart break. Not the earth-shattering pain of a sudden loss, or that at the mercy of death, but a slow, piece-by-painful piece kind of heartache.
The kind where emotions whirled around inside her, at war with one another. Feeling stupid, desperate, and confused, she tried to remember when she knew. There wasn’t some crystal clear moment. Not a black and white answer. Dallas had just always been hers. She never questioned it, never saw their ages as an obstacle, and until this week, she didn’t think he had either. Alex just knew Dallas would wait for her.
That was what hurt the most. Well, two things actually. Being wrong—and being empty.
For the first time she felt hollow and questioned her entire path. Her foot slipped, landing hard on the ground below the fence. She shook her head and closed her eyes. It was supposed to be Dallas. He would retire from racing and join the staff of the academy.
They were supposed to have the big white wedding. They’d spend their years teaching side-by-side as the fairy tale ending lived on around them.
There’d been no question in her mind over the years. All she knew was there wasn’t supposed to be a different woman in her spot by his side. Feeling the sting, she screwed her eyes tighter then swiped at the tears that fell, despite her best effort to prevent them.
The hand on her lower back made her flinch in surprise. She’d been so lost in her own world she hadn’t heard him approach. Without a word, she knew the scent, the hold was one she’d felt a million and one times.
Dallas.
She tried to be angry, to hold onto the feelings that made her flee the house in the first place. She couldn’t. At his touch, even through clothing, his warmth melted the ice in her veins that quickly formed during the last few minutes of solitude. Another tear—another swipe at it.
“Alex.”
She didn’t answer, instead she shifted her cheek to rest the opposite direction to avoid him.
“Alex, talk to me. Please.”
Suddenly his touch burned her, seared her. Jerking away from the source of pain left her standing face-to-face with him.
“You don’t love her, Dallas.” Her mouth fired off the accusation before her brain engaged. Either way, the words were spoken. His silence was deafening. The admission painful. However, she knew she’d been right, even without seeing the narrowing of his eyes or the flare of his nostrils. He’d never lied to her—ever. And she knew he couldn’t start now.
His mouth twisted, his brow knitted tighter. In the glow of the light from the shop, she saw his torment as he searched for words. He didn’t have to. Alex saw the answer in the gray eyes she knew so well. Her imaginary world had been just that—totally one-sided and in her head only. The security and love she’d felt from him over the years vanished, and the foundation of her world crumbled. The walls started to shift. Her heart was breaking, the cracks deepening at warp speed.
Her only choice—run.
Stepping away from the penetrating gray, she made a half turn, only getting an arm’s length away as he reached out to stop and spin her back. “Don’t you dare walk away from me, Alex.”
The command was crisp and the deep tone had her body reacting to his order. Frozen to her spot, she stood absolutely still. It could’ve been because of shock—it wasn’t. The pounding in her chest left her reeling. He held her tightly by her upper arms. Unable to move, she shivered in his hold.
Fire sparked again. “Don’t dare walk away? Excuse me? You have no right—”
“Stop. Now.”
Her eyes flared as she clenched her fists at her sides. “You made your choice.” She spat out as she twisted in his hold, trying to free herself.
He gave her a light shake, after a long minute she realized she was going nowhere until he decided to let her. Gritting her teeth and panting in anger, she glared at the man she’d spent a lifetime loving. It wasn’t anger she saw mirrored in his eyes.
“You’re too young.”
The lines deepened and his head tilted to the side as if he was pleading with her to understand. That wasn’t going to happen. Not now, not ever. “Bullshit! I’m twenty-three, Dallas. What’s your little friend? Twenty?”
“Stop it, Alex.”
Again, his voice stilled her, but only momentarily. “Damn it, Dallas. You stop. Look, I get it. I was stupid. I just always thought…never mind. Just let me go.”
“No.” He shook his head, frowning as pain crossed his face. “You’re just—”
“I know. You said it once. I’m not old enough. Whatever. I’m old enough to know you don’t always get what you want.”
Embarrassed, hurt and frustrated, she yanked out of his hold. Turning, she stepped away in the opposite direction, but not before she heard his last comment.
“That makes two of us.”
Stalling, her shoulders deflated. There was nothing more to say so she continued walking away. Away from her past, her present…and away from her future.
Character Interview
Character Interview – Alexandra Sterling & Dallas Hunter, Molly & Carter Sterling, James & Karen Noland.
Interviewer (Jamie): Good morning to you all, thanks so much for taking the time out of your busy day to let me come into your home, which is magnificent I must say, and talk to you.
James: We’re happy to have you here.
Jamie: So we know how things ended last week, it was all over the news and in the papers (they all seem to deflate at the same time) but let’s go back to the beginning. (They all take a collective sigh of relief) Is it true, let me re-read this to see if I have it right, (checking notes) it says here Alex, you fell in love with Dallas when you were three? That can’t be true!
(Dallas smiles proudly as he pulls Alex to his side, but it’s his soon-to-be father-in-law that pipes up first)
Carter: Oh indeed it is! I will never…ever forget that morning, getting a call from Eli, Dallas’s dad. (Shakes his head smiling) Mol and I were going over some stuff before I left to head over to the school, Jack was at the bar eating a bowl of cereal and my cell rings. I thought Hunter was up to something by his shit-eating tone, but oh no, it was worse. He drops a bomb on me telling me my baby girl is on the phone with a boy—and she called him. And at that time, Dallas was way older than her. It doesn’t matter now because they’re adults, but at the time, he was eleven and she was not even four yet.
Alex: Daaaadddd!
Carter: Don’t ‘Dad’ me honey. You’re the one that did it.
(Alex turns bright red and tries to hide her face in Dallas’s shoulder)
Jamie: This is what this town has grown to love about your family. The love you have for each other is contagious and I know our readers will feel that at home.
Karen: Yes, we are a very tight-knit family. (Obviously proud)
Jamie: But I, and excuse me if my information is wrong, but I’ve heard from more than one source that yours is a family of pranksters? (I can’t help but notice they all look at James, and I snicker)
James: What?
Molly: I’ll answer that! Yes. And my father and brother, Brody have done a meticulous job in teaching all the boys how to be humongous brats. The setting off fireworks outside bedroom windows is especially wonderful.
(Looking at the other men) James: We think it’s funny.
Alex: Mom, I told you all you have to do is get a dog like Ruby. She put a stop to their crap at our house.
Molly: You know, Dad, most people have normal family traditions they pass on, like—like
James: Like what kid?
Molly: Hell, I don’t know. Food fights and using fireworks to scare the hell out of people I’m sure aren’t up there on the list of ‘normal’ family behaviors.
Karen: Mol, honey, have you ever heard anyone refer to us as ‘normal’? Really? (Molly shrugs and shakes her head)
Jamie: See that is exactly what people want to know about you. You all have this extremely successful riding academy, James you’re successful in your own right with the architectural firm, with award-winning designs across the country, then to top it all off is the charitable foundation you started in Molly’s name. But behind the scenes, you are so funny and real. I can honestly say I’ve never in my life been involved in a food fight, but you make that sound as if it’s happened more than once, almost commonplace?
Alex: Once? Ha! Talk about most Sunday dinners.
Jamie: (My jaw drops open) No way?
Dallas: (Grinning like a ten-year-old kid) Grandpa always starts it.
Jamie: Can you adopt me!
Karen: Sure, door’s always open. (She waves at the double front doors as if she actually means it!)
Jamie: (Looking at my watch, I realize we’re running out of time, and when I mentioned the awful events that have taken place on their property, I know it’s a subject I’ll stay away from. It breaks all rules of a good reporter, but I just can’t bring myself to open that pain back up for them. Not when we’ve moved onto such fun and entertaining stories.) I know we’re running close on time, but I could sit here listening to your stories all day. What else do you do for “entertainment” when you’re not working?
Dallas: Hell, we should have had Dad and Uncle Jesse come over. (Looks at me) That would scare the shit out of you! They’re kids that never grew up.
Karen: Your father is a good man, Dallas Hunter.
Dallas: I didn’t mean it that way, Grandma. But even you have to admit it.
(You can see the laughter in both their faces)
Karen: The biggest problem I have with your father is Eli is not allowed to be near the house when I’m baking. I can’t even get a hot pan of cookies plated before he’s eaten half of them. And your mother is an amazing cook. He’s well-fed, he’s just a brat. And he has some sort of radar that goes off the minute the oven timer beeps.
Molly: I think that is your doing, Mom. You spoiled all the boys when I brought Carter, Eli and Jessie home that very first time.
Carter: And we never left, did we?
Molly: That was my dad!
Carter: (Hugging Molly tight) And aren’t you glad he offered up land for us each to buy?
Molly: Yes. (Smartly she replied—I’ll add in here.) I am. I can’t imagine living anywhere else, or not raising the kids here. I love that our family is all a stone’s throw from each other.
James: (Snorts) Or in Jesse’s case, a 4x4 ride.
Molly: Poor Emery. (Giggling)
Carter: Poor Emery? That girl indulges him unlike any other wife I’ve ever met.
Molly & Alex: (In unison) Excuse me?
Carter: Oh you both know she secretly loves the kid in him. She acts tough, but she’s not hiding anything from anyone. She spoils him and those dogs rotten.
Molly: Like you’re not spoiled. (Carter grins) That’s what I thought. Just look at our garage full of toys, and go down to the academy shop and count the bikes with your number on them, and—
Carter: We all got your point, Gorgeous. (He winks)
Alex: You got in trouble. (She teases in a sing-song voice and I bust out laughing.)
Jamie: This is what I’m talking about. I’ve interviewed countless people for the paper. I’ve never had such a good time, or laughed harder.
James: Oh honey, this is us being on our ‘best behavior’. That’s why I adore these kids, they’re what keep Karen and me young. They’re all good people and we’re proud of every one of them, but they’re fun too. We love being around each other.
Jamie: (He says it with such sincerity that I truly wish I didn’t have to ever leave. My cell buzzes and I know it’s my boss, signaling. I sigh heavily.) Duty calls, I better get back to the paper. I’ll send you an advance copy once I’ve gotten it back from my editor. Thank you all again for your time, I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed myself this morning.
Karen: Honey, the door’s open. You come back anytime.
(They don’t know what they’ve just offered!)
Author Info
She has an off the wall, snarky, off the cuff sense of humor that often shocks even those who’ve known her for years. And she loves that her children have all been blessed that ability to make others laugh as well. At least she’s grateful most of the time! Her husband often teases her about how she “makes this stuff up” when he’s reading a piece of her work. … The answer—“it just comes to me when I’m typing”. Scary thought, huh!
Connect with Amy: Facebook | Website | Goodreads
~Giveaway~
Signed Paperback of Alex's Destiny (US Only)
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I love finding new authors, well new to me anyway. I love reading and I read 540 books last year. I only read about 10 books that were short books around 3hrs long.
ReplyDeleteThis year I'm not going to set a book goal for the year. This past year I read so many books that I didn't have time to write reviews. The year 2014 I've decided to do things different.
I don't care about a reading goal. I care more about reading and writing reviews.I understand how important it is to write reviews. Reviews help not just the author but it helps th reader decide if they want to read it. I plan on writing reviews on every book that I read, even if it's a book I disliked.
Thank you for the wonderful opportunity and giveaway. Good luck to everyone.
Angela
Thank you Angela! You are simply marvelous, we (all authors) appreciate it greatly!
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