EXCERPT and GIVEAWAY
Something About Forever
by Kimberly Loth
For more books by this author, please check out my blog post on Kissed (FREE) and my blog post on Bittersweet.
Description
Boys.
They are bound to be the death of me.
Especially one with blue eyes, perfectly Mormon cut hair, and probably the inspiration for the girl’s camp song “Hot Priest”.
Why the heck did he have to be the bishop’s son?
Cause here’s the thing. While I’m Mormon, I don’t really belong. I mean, I want to, but I just can’t seem to keep on the straight and narrow. Seriously, look at me. I’m not even supposed to use the name Mormon anymore, but Latter-Day Saint is a mouthful. So I’m sticking to Mormon. Sorry, Prophet.
The bishop knows my past. He knows my problems. There is no freaking way he’s going to let me date his son.
Yet, Nate comes after me anyway. And I fall hard.
But eventually … I will have to tell him about my past.
And I know, he’ll run far, far away from me when I do.
Excerpt
“Lauren, we need to talk.”
Those four words needed to be expunged from the English language. Seriously. They build some stupid dread that might or might not be warranted. Every time I heard them, my hands started to sweat, and I didn’t even know what the issue was.
I took a sip of my hot chocolate, savoring the taste of the whipped cream before the liquid burned my tongue. I set down my mug, my lips still stinging. I knew better than to drink it that fast, but Mom had distracted me. What on earth did she want to talk about?
Maybe she’d found out I’d been drinking. My stepdad, Steve, wouldn’t have told her, but there were a number of other ways she could’ve found out. In the last few months, she’d been a lot more aware of what was going on around her.
“What’s up?” I asked with mock casualness. Steve sat next to my mom and would not meet my eyes. Heat crept up my neck and my face flushed. This would not be good.
“I got a new job,” Mom said with a grin.
Phew. “Oh, that’s good.” I let out a breath. See, she didn’t have to say, we need to talk and get my nerves up all unnecessarily.
Mom dropped her eyes. “But we have to move.”
Oh, yes, finally! I knew she’d been looking in the city. I’d wanted to move to New York City for years. At least twice a month, Cherise and I hit up parties there. I’d officially be cooler than she was now. I blew on my chocolate, now feeling silly for overreacting.
“Really? That’s awesome. Will we be living in Brooklyn by Sierra?” My sister had lived in New York for the last three years, though when I went, I didn’t see her. She wouldn’t approve of my antics in the city. I only visited her when Mom went too.
“No, love, we’re not moving to the city.” She’d dropped into her pity-mom voice—the one she always used when she delivered bad news.
“I don’t understand.” My hands gripped the hot mug.
“One of the restaurants I interviewed with wants me to open a new location in Tucson, Arizona.”
Wait. What? The room went silent for several long moments. The only sound in the room was the slow drip of the coffee maker. The bitter smell suddenly assaulted my nostrils. Maybe I misheard her.
“Excuse me? Arizona? What about Steve’s job?”
This couldn’t be happening. I had friends here. I was content with the way things were. I had a routine and it was good. This was my life. They couldn’t just up and move me to Arizona.
I wasn’t sure I could even locate that on a map, let alone fathom living there. I’d never been out of the northeast. They didn’t have snow in Arizona.
Nope. This was not happening.
“Steve can work from anywhere,” Mom said. I thought back on the last several months. I should’ve seen this coming—the whispered conversations between her and Steve, her sudden trip out west to visit her sister, mom packing up the guest room. I missed all the signs. It was like sleeping until noon and realizing you missed the sunrise.
I clenched my fists, thinking through all the implications. I didn’t like change, and there had been altogether too much of it lately. “But we don’t need the money, right? Steve makes enough.”
“Sure he does. But this is a great opportunity for me to get back into the business. I miss working.”
I couldn’t go. I was horrible at making new friends, and I liked partying. What if the kids in Arizona didn’t like me? I blinked away tears. “But, Mom, you could get a job at Denny’s. I don’t want to move.” She was a chef. A good one too, but after Dad left, she sank into a deep depression and lost her job. After that, she only worked odd catering jobs. She’d been looking for something better for months.
Her lips formed a tight line. “I’m sorry. The decision has already been made.”
I met my stepdad’s eyes. He loved the snow as much as I did. We hadn’t even had a good snowfall yet this year. “Steve, help me out here.”
He took my mom’s hand. “I’m ready for a change of scenery. This is a good thing. A fresh start. Your mom deserves this.”
“When are we moving?” Given enough time, I might be able to talk her out of it. Show her that I couldn’t move. Maybe I could just move in with my bff, Cherise. Her mom liked me well enough. Yeah. That’s what I’d do. Besides, mom wouldn’t move me in the middle of the school year. That was like GPA suicide. Not that my GPA was any good anyway, but that didn’t matter.
Mom let out a breath.
“Please don’t get upset. We have to move midyear. But it will be okay.”
I knew better than to think we could stay for another six months.
“Maybe Steve and I can stay here until the end of the school year.”
Steve gave my mom a look. “No. I don’t want to be away from her that long.”
My chest tightened. “When?”
“Two weeks.”
“Two weeks?” I shrieked. That was before Christmas. I had plans. Big ones, including watching the ball drop in Times Square on New Years Eve. I’d never been allowed to go by myself before, but this year, Cherise and I had an elaborate plan to go anyway. It included a lot of lies, but they’d always worked before.
Two weeks? This was impossible.
[Want more? Click below to read a longer excerpt.]
Praise for the Book
“Something About Forever hit me directly in the feels. I haven’t read a book in a while that’s made me cry but this one got my tear ducts flowing. Lauren and Nate’s story is very reliable. I completely recommend this book if you haven’t read it yet!” ~ Brianna
“While this book could have been preachy, it is far from it. Religion isn’t forced on you, even though it plays a major role in the story. It is simply one part of what helps Lauren turn her life around. I liked the way Lauren struggled to overcome her past and forgive herself. It was realistic. This story is unlike any I’ve read by Kimberly Loth. She moved in an entirely new direction with her writing. The result is a story well worth reading. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next book in the series.” ~ Donna
“Being not so perfect either, this book resonated deeply within my soul. The power of forgiveness for yourself and in giving to others can change your life. What a masterfully told story of love, acceptance, and forgiveness that is appropriate for teenagers and adults alike.” ~ Alie
“I’m not really someone who is big on books with religion, but I really loved this story … This is such a sweet and forgiving story that the entire time I read it I felt light-hearted and happy. I really enjoyed the adventure of Lauren and Nate.” ~ Ruby
“A different genre than normal, I was totally enraptured by this tale. This author truly breathed life into these characters and captured the very essence of forgiveness and redemption.” ~ Patty
About the Author
Kimberly Loth has lived all over the world. From the isolated woods of the Ozarks to exotic city of Cairo. Currently, she resides in Tucson, Arizona with her family including an old grumpy cat named Max.
She’s been writing for ten years and is the author of the Amazon bestselling series The Dragon Kings. In her free time, she volunteers at church, reads, and travels as often as possible.
Giveaway
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