Author: Lexi Ryan
Series: New Hope #1.5
Release Date: January 7, 2014
My Rating: 4.5 Stars
Cally…
A sexy smile. Intense blue eyes. A goodness that makes him want to save me from these rumors when no one else would care. I didn't ask for a hero. William Bailey was never supposed to be anything more than a wish, a dream, an unrequited crush. Not for a girl like me--a girl whose fractured family has stolen her chance at a decent life.
William…
Since the death of my parents, I've always done what’s expected of me, what's "best" for me. Until Cally. The moment her haunted eyes meet mine, the fractured pieces of my heart feel whole again. I don’t just want to save her. I need her to save me.
Stolen chances. Unbroken wishes. Two lonely souls grasping for hope in the darkness.
**This novella takes place seven years before the events in WISH I MAY and shows William and Cally falling in love for the first time. It can be read before or after WISH I MAY or on its own.**
“Hey, William,” a girl calls from the kitchen. “Why don’t you come in here and take a shot?”
I hardly have a chance to tense before Will pulls me closer. “Can’t do that, Meredith. My date’s here.”
Lizzy and Hanna both turn to us at his words, and I feel my own eyes go wide.
“I’d consider it a personal favor if you could roll with this,” he whispers into my ear. “Meredith has been trying to get me to do body shots since she got here two hours ago.”
“You don’t drink?” I ask, not that it’s my business. I’ve just never been to a party with alcohol before, and I’m not sure what to expect. From the stories I’ve heard, I half expected everyone to be wasted by the time we got here.
“It’s not the drinking that I mind. She’s just not my type.” When I frown at him, confused, his lips quirk in a half-smile. “You do know what a body shot is, don’t you?”
I shake my head.
“Want to find out?” His fingers trail over the sensitive dip in my spine as he asks, and I nod. I would probably agree to anything he asked me right now.
He takes me to the kitchen, his hot hand never leaving the small of my back.
Lizzy and Hanna step back and study us as he leads me to the island. I’d feel guilty about abandoning them tonight, but they seem to be having a great time.
“Where’s the tequila, Max?” Will calls.
Max hoists a bottle of amber liquid in the air and snags a shot glass off the counter.
“Do you know what a snakebite is?” Will asks me quietly. He’s standing close so only I can hear him when he talks.
I bite my lip. “I don’t really go to many parties.”
Next to us, Max fills the shot glass with tequila.
“A snakebite is a shot of tequila that you take with salt and lime,” Will explains to me.
“What makes it a body shot?” I ask.
His throat moves as he swallows, and his blue eyes go darker somehow, his pupils getting bigger. His lips part as he studies mine. “It’s a body shot if you take all the parts of the snakebite off someone else’s body.”
That makes my pulse kick up a notch. I’m still trying to puzzle out the logistics when Max calls, “No hands, Bailey.”
Will winks at me. “And I can’t use my hands for anything but putting the salt on you. Are you still game?”
I nod wordlessly, and I’m rewarded with one of Will’s full-out grins. I don’t need to know details to understand his mouth is going to be on me, and I like the idea of that. A lot.
Will’s hands slide to my waist and tighten, and before I realize what he’s doing, he’s hoisting me up on the counter. I squeak, and the girls cheer. All of them except Kristen and Meredith, that is. They’re leaning against the fridge, scowling at me like I killed their puppy.
Max hands me the shot glass and looks at me expectantly.
“Do I hold it?” I whisper.
“If you want,” Max says. “But I think you shouldn’t make it so easy on my boy here.”
Will shakes his head. “Whatever you’re comfortable with.”
Lizzy rushes over and cups her hand around my ear. “Slide it between your breasts. Trust me.”
I gape at her, and she shrugs innocently before joining Hanna at the edge of the kitchen.
I may be inexperienced, but I’m not naïve and I get what this game is about. My cheeks heat as I slide the glass into my cleavage. It’s cool against my hot skin, and Will’s eyes burn into me as he watches me position it.
Max offers me a lime wedge.
“Do you need your friend to tell you what to do with that too?” Kristen calls.
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“Shut up, Kristen,” Will says. “You didn’t know what you were doing your first time either.”
But she’s right. Lizzy shouldn’t have to tell me what to do. I take the lime and put it between my teeth, facing out. The citrusy pulp presses against my lips, making them tingle. Or maybe the tingle is from the idea of William’s lips close to mine.
Will grins and brushes my hair off my neck. “Ready or not.”
***
Meet Lexi:
A New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author, Lexi Ryan considers herself the luckiest chick she knows. Her books have been described as intense, emotional, and wickedly sexy. Lexi herself has only been described using two of those adjectives (feel free to guess but she’s not telling). When not writing, she enjoys watching football, perfecting her chocolate martini, and reading her way to the title of Biggest Romance Fangirl Evah. A former college professor, her biggest fears include faculty meetings and large stacks of ungraded freshman composition papers. She now writes full-time from her home in Indiana, where she lives with her husband and two children and their neurotic dog.
Connect with Lexi:
A sexy smile. Intense blue eyes. A goodness that makes him want to save me from these rumors when no one else would care. I didn't ask for a hero. William Bailey was never supposed to be anything more than a wish, a dream, an unrequited crush. Not for a girl like me--a girl whose fractured family has stolen her chance at a decent life.
William…
Since the death of my parents, I've always done what’s expected of me, what's "best" for me. Until Cally. The moment her haunted eyes meet mine, the fractured pieces of my heart feel whole again. I don’t just want to save her. I need her to save me.
Stolen chances. Unbroken wishes. Two lonely souls grasping for hope in the darkness.
**This novella takes place seven years before the events in WISH I MAY and shows William and Cally falling in love for the first time. It can be read before or after WISH I MAY or on its own.**
“Hey, William,” a girl calls from the kitchen. “Why don’t you come in here and take a shot?”I hardly have a chance to tense before Will pulls me closer. “Can’t do that, Meredith. My date’s here.”
Lizzy and Hanna both turn to us at his words, and I feel my own eyes go wide.
“I’d consider it a personal favor if you could roll with this,” he whispers into my ear. “Meredith has been trying to get me to do body shots since she got here two hours ago.”
“You don’t drink?” I ask, not that it’s my business. I’ve just never been to a party with alcohol before, and I’m not sure what to expect. From the stories I’ve heard, I half expected everyone to be wasted by the time we got here.
“It’s not the drinking that I mind. She’s just not my type.” When I frown at him, confused, his lips quirk in a half-smile. “You do know what a body shot is, don’t you?”
I shake my head.
“Want to find out?” His fingers trail over the sensitive dip in my spine as he asks, and I nod. I would probably agree to anything he asked me right now.
He takes me to the kitchen, his hot hand never leaving the small of my back.
Lizzy and Hanna step back and study us as he leads me to the island. I’d feel guilty about abandoning them tonight, but they seem to be having a great time.
“Where’s the tequila, Max?” Will calls.
Max hoists a bottle of amber liquid in the air and snags a shot glass off the counter.
“Do you know what a snakebite is?” Will asks me quietly. He’s standing close so only I can hear him when he talks.
I bite my lip. “I don’t really go to many parties.”
Next to us, Max fills the shot glass with tequila.
“A snakebite is a shot of tequila that you take with salt and lime,” Will explains to me.
“What makes it a body shot?” I ask.
His throat moves as he swallows, and his blue eyes go darker somehow, his pupils getting bigger. His lips part as he studies mine. “It’s a body shot if you take all the parts of the snakebite off someone else’s body.”
That makes my pulse kick up a notch. I’m still trying to puzzle out the logistics when Max calls, “No hands, Bailey.”
Will winks at me. “And I can’t use my hands for anything but putting the salt on you. Are you still game?”
I nod wordlessly, and I’m rewarded with one of Will’s full-out grins. I don’t need to know details to understand his mouth is going to be on me, and I like the idea of that. A lot.
Will’s hands slide to my waist and tighten, and before I realize what he’s doing, he’s hoisting me up on the counter. I squeak, and the girls cheer. All of them except Kristen and Meredith, that is. They’re leaning against the fridge, scowling at me like I killed their puppy.
Max hands me the shot glass and looks at me expectantly.
“Do I hold it?” I whisper.
“If you want,” Max says. “But I think you shouldn’t make it so easy on my boy here.”
Will shakes his head. “Whatever you’re comfortable with.”
Lizzy rushes over and cups her hand around my ear. “Slide it between your breasts. Trust me.”
I gape at her, and she shrugs innocently before joining Hanna at the edge of the kitchen.
I may be inexperienced, but I’m not naïve and I get what this game is about. My cheeks heat as I slide the glass into my cleavage. It’s cool against my hot skin, and Will’s eyes burn into me as he watches me position it.
Max offers me a lime wedge.
“Do you need your friend to tell you what to do with that too?” Kristen calls.
“Shut up, Kristen,” Will says. “You didn’t know what you were doing your first time either.”
But she’s right. Lizzy shouldn’t have to tell me what to do. I take the lime and put it between my teeth, facing out. The citrusy pulp presses against my lips, making them tingle. Or maybe the tingle is from the idea of William’s lips close to mine.
Will grins and brushes my hair off my neck. “Ready or not.”
***
I've mentioned before that I love second-chance romances. I love watching the fire re-ignite within two people and watching them get their HEA, after what is usually a rough journey. Which is everything that Wish I May is. Well, Stolen Wishes tells the story untold. We do get a overview of Will and Cally's relationship before her move to Las Vegas in Wish I May but, we don't get the full story. Stolen Wishes is even more than I was hoping for. I just wanted a "How they met and fell in love" novella but, what we got is a fantastic heart-warming and steamy prequel.
Stolen Wishes tells the beginning of Cally and Will. Not just their relationship but, who they were and their individual lives in New Hope. It goes on to show their feelings for one another emerge against all the circumstances laid against them. For me, it really helped be understand Cally more. More about her home life, her parents, the impossible life she was leading. As for Will, Stolen Wishes just made me fall more in love with him. He's so perfect but, still a man's man, even in high school. I keep wanting to explain him as stand-up but, I don't want you to misinterpret that as weak or sissy-like. Because Will, is neither of those things. He's a guy with enough experience under his belt to know how to treat people with kindness but, that doesn't detract from his sex appeal and hotness.
Stolen Wishes is just that little bit more of Cally and Will that I was craving. There was something that kept saying their story wasn't finished even though they were set up for a HEA in the end of Wish I May. Don't ever let it be said that Ms. Ryan doesn't listen to her readers and deliver. I would have been thrilled if Cally and Will ended with Wish I May but, Stolen Wishes just made their story that much better! Fantastic news for all of you readers, you can read this magnificent little novella FREE, for a limited time on all platforms. So hop on over to your favorite ebook store and click away! Because now that I've read this, I know readers will feel more complete and at rest with Will and Cally's story after reading the prequel :) Also, Stolen Wishes doesn't hold any spoilers so you can read that first to get a taste of the lovely Lexi Ryan's writing. Trust me, you'll devour it!
Happy Reading!
*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*
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