Blog Tour Promo
The Broken Road Series
by
Melissa Huie
The Broken Road Series
by
Melissa Huie
The Broken Road
(The Broken Road #1)
~ Synopsis ~
Megan Connors’s life is not going in the
direction she thought it would. With her love life in the dumps, she doesn’t
think it could get any worse until her long-time crush, Shane asks to move in.
After all, he has no clue that she’s been in love with him for the past ten
years. But fate has a way of turning things around.
As their relationship
goes from “just friends” to lovers, life takes a turn for the unexpected. Shane
isn’t the person that Megan once fell in love with all those years ago. Shane
has a past; murder and drugs is a portion of what he’s been hiding and is only
revealed once the FBI knocks on Megan’s door.
Secrets, tragedy, and
deceit force Shane—and Megan—to make choices that will change their lives
forever. Once Megan learns the truth, will she still want to be with Shane? Or
will someone else be at the end of her broken road?
~ Excerpt
~
Chapter 1 – The Broken Road
The doorbell
interrupted my train of thought and Penny started her happy wiggle. I quickly
put her in the mudroom so she wouldn’t charge the delivery guy and grabbed some
money from my purse. I opened the door and was startled. Standing on my front
porch was Shane, holding my dinner.
“Hey, trying to
steal my dinner? Don’t make me sic Penny on you!” I joked, letting him in.
Shane is gorgeous. Dressed in his usual attire of baggy jeans, a black
long-sleeved shirt, and motorcycle jacket, my heart hurled into my throat at
the sight of him.
“Oh what? Death by
pooch?” he shot back, following me into the kitchen. He shook his head when I
offered him money for the dinner. His six-foot-three, two hundred thirty pound
hockey player frame fills my small kitchen. Shane has this presence about him
that always makes me feel safe and secure. That same presence makes me want to
fold myself into his muscular arms. Shane gives
fantastic hugs, I thought wistfully.
“I thought you were
meeting Allison for dinner,” I asked, as I took the food out of the bag. Shane
shrugged out of his leather jacket and hung it on the back of the chair, then
opened the door for Penny.
“Yeah, we were
supposed to meet her brother later on, but she said that she didn’t feel well.”
He poked his head in my fridge. “What’s up with the rabbit food in here?” He
asked, taking out a beer and sitting at the table.
I rolled my eyes at
that comment. “You know my New Year’s resolution.” I smacked his hand as he
inched toward my egg roll. “I'm trying to be healthier.”
Shane took a swig of
beer and laughed. “Right. That’s why you have Chinese food for dinner, beer in
your fridge, and a stash of candy up in the cabinet.”
“Whatever. That is
my emergency stash. Every woman needs to have her emergency stash.” I said with
an indigent huff. “Besides, you can't complain about the beer, especially since
you drink it. Here. You might as well eat this since you can't find anything
else.” I tried so hard to not act like a total idiot, but I couldn’t help the
goofy smile on my face as I handed him a plate. Penny’s tail thumped on the
wood floor as she looked expectantly at the food served.
We ate for a few
minutes in silence. My heart raced a mile a minute; every time I looked up, his
hazel eyes stared straight back at me. It was as if he could hear my heart
skipping. “So what’s going on tonight?” I dumped my leftover rice into Penny’s
bowl and put the plate in the sink. Shane tiredly rubbed his face and goatee.
His brown hair looked like it had been weeks since he had last seen the barber.
He stretched his long legs out in front him and yawned.
“I'm not sure. I’m
beat. Adrian has had me working all night on this special project, and then I
was running around all morning. I feel like I haven’t sat down all day.”
“That sucks. So then
why you aren’t at home sleeping?” I replied, putting away the food.
Shane stood up and
silently washed the dishes. Drying his hands on the dishtowel, Shane turned,
looked at me. “Honestly, that’s the main reason I'm here. Well, to pick up the
DVD, but something else, too. I need to ask you a favor. You remember Ben is getting
married to Paige, right?" he asked. Ben is Shane’s roommate, who I’ve
known for years. I nodded.
“Well, Ben has
accepted a job in Baltimore, near Paige's condo. So he’s moving in with her
next week. The lease on the apartment is up anyway and since I'm practically
broke, I need a place to crash,” he said, his eyes boring holes into mine.
It took a beat
before I fully grasped the question. Holy shit, he wants
to move in with me! The romantic, wishful part of me started
doing a happy dance in my head, until the smarter, more realistic side smacked
the other one down and told it to shut up.
“So, you’re asking
to move in.” I said cautiously, as I walked into the living room and sat on the
couch. Shane sat down at the opposite end, facing me. So that’s why he is here.
I should have known. I must have a big sucker stamped on my forehead. I could
never say no to him and he knows that.
“It will only be for
a little while, until I can get my own place. Please?” He gave me a pleading
grin. I chuckled, and then became curious.
“What happened? How
did things get so screwed up?” I asked casually.
“It’s been building for
a while. I lost my job at the dealership two years ago. At that point, I
couldn’t find anything substantive, except for side jobs working with Adrian. I
couldn’t keep up with the rent at the old place, so I was evicted and moved in
with Ben. Credit cards were maxed out and I depleted my savings. But things are
looking up. I’m paying off my debt a little bit at a time and I managed to get
a full time spot at the shop. I’m trying to clean up my act, but I really can’t
get a place of my own quite yet.” he said quietly, almost like he was ashamed.
I felt bad for him. While I was with Tommy, I didn’t keep up with my old
friends as much as I should have. I had lost Shane for a while and never knew
about these problems. My best friend Jen is practically his sister and told me
a few times that he was having some issues and just being a regular pain in the
ass, but she never went into detail. After three years, I’m still trying to
catch up on his life. I felt a swell of pride for him; it took a lot for him to
say that to me.
“I’m sorry to hear
that. What about Allison? Why don't you move in with her?” I replied, playing
with the string on my sock. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hear the answer to the
question.
Shane gave a dry
chuckle. “Yeah, we’re not on that page yet. Plus, her two roommates don't
really like me.”
I felt some relief.
Then some slight apprehension. Could I block out these feelings? Yes, I
resolved. I had to. Besides, he’s with someone else. We can be just friends...
I hope.
“Yeah, sure, you can
move your stuff in,” I said with a smile, “Only until you can find something on
your own.” I pushed aside the doubt that had been looming. Shane and I are just
friends, what could go wrong?
“Thanks Megs. You’re
so great to me.” He surprised me by wrapping me up in a hug. I quietly inhaled
his cologne and closed my eyes. This is going to be harder than I
thought.
I let out a fake
chuckle and pulled back. “So, when are you bringing over your stuff?” I asked.
Hopefully, I had a few days to prepare. I had a comforter set in the laundry
room that he could use for a while and would need to get more towels.
“Well, I figured you
wouldn't leave me out in the cold, so I brought over what could fit in the
truck.” He practically bounced off the couch and gave me a knowing smile.
I swatted him in the
leg. “You arrogant jerk! What makes you think I would have said yes? I could
have said no!”
“Aw, come on. You
can never say no to me. Don’t try and lie,” he said, calling my bluff. Shane
laughed as walked out the front door. I sat on the couch for a minute, shocked
at what just happened. I think Shane pulled a fast one on me. He’s moving in
and I don’t think I had the opportunity to say no. I had to chuckle, he hasn’t
changed one bit. Still uses his charm and smile to get what he wants.
While Shane brought
in his pillows and trash bags of clothes, I made up his bed in the guest room.
He added his toiletries to the bathroom and I got a pang of nervousness. This is going to be
interesting. I watched him as he came out of the
yellow bathroom and into his new room. I only had one shower. The fantasies I
used to have about the two of us in the shower came flooding back. I could feel
my body blush and quickly turned my attention to an invisible speck on the
comforter.
“So is Allison going
to be okay with you living with me?” I spoke up, hoping my face was not as red
as it felt.
He paused in hanging
up a white polo shirt and winked. “She’s just someone I like to have fun with.
We’re not serious, so she’s cool with it.”
“Ah…. Okay. Um.
Good. I just wanted to make sure there weren’t going to be any issues,” I
mumbled, as I headed back down the stairs. I had to get out and cool off. These
feelings would need to be separated if this was going to work. I quickly pulled
on my shoes and winter coat for Penny’s last walk of the night.
The temperature had
dropped and the smell of snow lingered in the air. Penny and I quickly walked
down the tree-lined street. I hoped she would hurry up and go already, but she
took her sweet time. Twenty minutes later, we returned home to find Shane’s
black Ford F150 gone and the lights off. I didn't want to think of where he had
gone off to. It's none of my business. It's none of my
concern. I have to remember that, I told myself.
I unclipped Penny,
put the leash on the rack next to the door, and walked into the kitchen. Stuck
to the usually blank fridge was a note in Shane’s chicken scratch.
“Went to get my bike
from Ben’s.”
I shucked off my
snow boots and coat, locked the doors, set the alarm, and headed upstairs with
Penny in tow. After peeling off my clothes, I paused. I normally sleep in my
underwear. That would have to change with Shane living here. It could be
awkward if he peeked in and saw me in nothing but my Victoria Secret panties. I
put on a tank top shirt and cotton boxers and climbed underneath the cloud-soft
down comforter. Penny climbed onto her large dog bed and did her usual routine
of turning around until she got comfortable. This had been one hell of a day
and I was over-exhausted. The last thing I remember was hoping that Shane came
home alone.
~ Link to Buy ~
Broken Promises
(The Broken Road #2)
~ Synopsis ~
The Sequel to the
sexy, suspenseful novel, The Broken Road
“A day
never went by when I didn’t dream about Shane, that one day he would come home
to us. I imagined that our days would be filled with talking and reconnecting.
Our nights would be full of hot, sweaty sex. However, things weren’t going the
way I imagined. Baby steps, Megan. He just needs to adjust. I couldn’t change
what happened and we would have to take things in stride. We can’t be the same
couple we once were, not overnight. “
When
Shane shows up at Megan Connors’s carport one rainy night, Megan thinks she was
dreaming. The man who stole her heart, the father of her unborn child was the
same man she feared dead from drug Cartel explosion. Elated and overjoyed,
Megan believes they will finally get their happy ending.
But
the happiness doesn’t last long. Shane’s long road home created demons, demons
that Megan can’t fight. Past discretions come back to haunt them, and with that
comes the paranoia and the distrust. And the trouble doesn’t stop there. Danger
threatens their lives at every turn, and when the time comes, Megan must make
the ultimate decision.
Will Shane and Megan
have their happily ever after? Or will that be another Broken Promise?
~ Excerpt
~
Chapter 1 – The Broken Promises
I
couldn’t get to you fast enough. Every way I turned led me farther and farther
away. I don’t how I made it back. The only thing that kept me going was hoping
that you were all right. I love you so much. You don’t know … you just don’t
know how you kept you kept me going,” he whispered and lowered his head to
mine.
The feel of his
lips, the heat of his breath, pulsed through me like a shot of lightning. I
shrugged off my towel and threw my arms around him, responding with everything
I had. The pain of losing him, the overwhelming joy of seeing him, the desire
that had been suppressed for so long, all these emotions washed over me like a
waterfall. I held onto him as if he would disappear at any moment.
His tongue caressed
mine like a familiar dance partner. Breathtaking and sensual, my pulse raced.
My blood boiled. Muscular arms held me against his body, as close as we could
with this basketball between us. I mentally
groaned. It became difficult to keep him close, and the more I tried, the more
awkward it felt. Despite our emotions running high, we could no longer ignore
the elephant in the room.
~ Link to Buy ~
~ About the Author ~
Melissa grew up in Maryland by the Chesapeake Bay,
where her favorite memories took place near the water. Now she lives near
Washington, D.C. with her family, dog, and a lot of fish. In between the chaos
of laundry, chasing after her three children and trying not to burn dinner,
Melissa continues to find her escape by feeding her addiction of reading and
writing about love, suspense, and sarcasm.
Melissa loves to hear from readers! She
can be contacted by:
~ Connect with Melissa ~
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