Blurb:
Ashley Smith spent her
life being shipped from one family member to the next. When Ashley’s estranged father dies, she
finally has the money to go to college and the chance to find a place where she
belongs.
Within days, Ashley
has found the one thing she’s always longed for – a family. She may have even found love. There’s only one problem. Ashley likes Colin…a lot, but so does Randi,
and everyone likes Randi. Randi’s
approval is the single easiest way to belong.
Falling in love with Randi’s crush is the single easiest way to find
one’s self on the outside for the next three years.
When Ashley arrived at
college, she never dreamed she’d find this kind of happiness. Will she allow herself to hold on to this
happiness, and Colin, or will her fear of losing her friends, the only friends
she’s ever known, dictate her actions?
Author:
Coleen writes young
adult novels, loves running, rock music, the shore, gerber daisies and bread.
When Coleen's not plotting
or writing her next book, she can be found making sandwiches in her family's
restaurant, running (and often walking) Disney marathons, reading any book she
can get her hands on and playing with her adorable kid. She lives in New Jersey
with her husband, daughter, two dogs and lizard.
Excerpt:
Chapter One
I know I should have
been nervous as I pulled into the parking space, but the only emotion I felt at
that exact moment was relief that my car actually made the eight-hour trip from
Omaha to Chicago.
I got out of the car
and stretched before going around to the trunk to grab my lone suitcase. It
really shouldn’t have surprised me that my entire life, nineteen years, fit
into one suitcase but, for some reason, the fact never ceased to amaze me.
I pulled the bag out
of the trunk and looked around. The campus was gigantic. I just knew I was
going to get lost every time I left my dorm.
Luckily, my residence
hall was the one building I wasn’t worried about finding. I’d spent hours in
the summer at the library in Omaha’s community college, going online, and
studying the directions to the campus to ensure that I could, if nothing else,
find the parking lot and my dorm on my first day here.
So, I followed the
little path that ran to the left of the parking lot, the one I had studied and
knew would lead me right to the front door of the dormitory that would become
my new home.
As I approached the
dorm, I looked around at the other students moving in. All of them were flanked
by family members, presumably parents and siblings. Most of them greeted each
other like old friends, which of course they were.
It was sophomore move
in-day, and I was a sophomore moving in just like everyone else. The only difference
was that I was a transfer student. It wasn’t the first day of my second year;
it was my first day. I’d spent my freshman year at a community college in
Nebraska. Most of the students here knew each other, knew their roommates, and
had friends. It was the first day, and I was already the outsider.
I was not unaccustomed
about being the outsider, though. I’d been one all my life, a side effect of
moving from one relative to another for the past seventeen years — which, of
course, leads me to the other difference between myself and everyone else
moving in today: I was alone.
I had no parents and
no siblings with me today to bring me here and to drop me off, to help me move
in and to unpack. My mother died when I was two, and my father wasn’t cut out
for the job.
So, I’d done this
before, started over, but this time was different. This time, I was starting
over on my terms. I wasn’t being passed to an aunt or cousin who didn’t really
want me and who I didn’t really want either. This time, I was going where I
wanted to be, where I’d worked to be, and when I wanted to be there. This was
my decision. This was my dream. For the first time ever, I felt in control of
my life.
For the first time
ever, I wasn’t starting over. This time, I was actually starting.
****
When I got to the
dorm, I had to show identification to get in. The resident assistant looked up
my name on a massive list then directed me down two hallways and up one flight
of stairs to my room. I thanked her, grabbed the handle of my suitcase on wheels
and headed down the first hall.
As I walked down the
long hallway past all the open doors, I noticed that the girls' and boys' rooms
were jumbled together. A co-ed dorm…that wasn’t something I’d considered.
I travelled down
another hallway, and when I got to the stairs, I grabbed the side handle of my
suitcase and prepared to lug it up the steps. I picked it up and turned towards
the steps when, suddenly, it became significantly lighter.
"Need a
hand?" said a friendly voice.
I spun around to where
the voice had originated, and there stood a tall, attractive boy — or man, I
guess — holding the other end of my suitcase in his hand. He had messy, wavy
dark brown hair and olive skin. His eyes were captivating. With his skin tone,
I would’ve expected them to be brown, or at least some darker color, but they
were light blue, and they were beautiful. The effect was striking; he was quite
possibly the most attractive man I had ever seen in real life. And it seemed,
on top of all that, he was nice too.
"Oh…um…" I stammered,
momentarily taken aback by him, by his beauty. Then, I took a deep breath and
finally answered, "Yes, thank you." I smiled at him shyly.
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