{"id":8272,"date":"2019-11-20T19:55:22","date_gmt":"2019-11-21T03:55:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/?page_id=8272"},"modified":"2019-11-20T19:55:22","modified_gmt":"2019-11-21T03:55:22","slug":"excerpt-outmatched-by-kristen-callihan-and-samantha-young","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/excerpt-outmatched-by-kristen-callihan-and-samantha-young\/","title":{"rendered":"Excerpt: Outmatched by Kristen Callihan and Samantha Young"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Outmatched<\/a>
click to puchase<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How could I put much-needed distance between me and Rhys if I confided deep, emotional history to him? \u201cIt\u2019s not relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it is, if your boy is making such a big deal about it. My guess \u2026 Theo is some rich little f***er who screwed you over. Is that why you don\u2019t have a man? You don\u2019t trust guys \u2019cause of a first love gone bad?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The memory of Theo still caused a deep ache in my chest, and Rhys\u2019s supposition left a bad taste in my mouth. \u201cHe died,\u201d I blurted out. \u201cHe was my childhood sweetheart. We grew up in the same town, started dating when we were twelve. He was my first everything.\u201d I turned toward him as he drew to a halt beside me. \u201cI loved him in a way I thought I would get to for the rest of my life. Until one night when we were seventeen, he walked home from a friend\u2019s party, drunk, on a dark country road, and a car hit him. And they left him there to die by the side of the road.\u201d Tears burned in my eyes, but I fought them back. \u201cHe was my best friend \u2026 and then he was just gone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJesus, f*** \u2026\u201d Rhys suddenly pulled me into his arms, and I didn\u2019t stop to think before I rested my head on his chest and slid my arms around his back. \u201cTink, I\u2019m so sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were silent a while, just holding each other in the middle of the street, until I felt his arms tighten. His voice carried softly down to me. \u201cMy best friend died too.\u201d The words sounded torn from him. \u201cI watched him die in a bout. Jake. We grew up together. He was like a brother to me. And \u2026 there was nothing I could do. One minute he was alive \u2026 and the next, I watched the light go out of his eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He shuddered against me and I dug my fingers into his shoulder blades, wishing I could dig the pain right out of him. I tilted my head back and the agony I saw behind all the cocky charm and humor in his eyes made my heart squeeze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRhys,\u201d I whispered, hating to see someone so big, capable, and strong filled with so much grief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe left behind a wife and kid. Marcy and Rose. The f***ing sport I loved tore away my brother, tore away Marcy\u2019s husband, Rose\u2019s dad.\u201d He shook his head, fighting his emotion. \u201cFirst time someone called me the Widowmaker after he died \u2026 I threw up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRhys.\u201d I pushed deeper into him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now I knew. I knew why he couldn\u2019t get back in that ring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo I get it to a certain extent.\u201d He caressed my cheek, his eyes following the trail his fingers made across my skin. \u201cI get how it feels to lose your best friend. To not be able to move on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I realized he did. Gently extricating myself from his embrace, I reached for his hand. \u201cI don\u2019t think not going back to fighting is an inability to move on, Rhys. It\u2019s a choice you made. A choice you should be proud of.\u201d At the abject surprise on his face, I curled my hand around his and gripped it tight. \u201cI can\u2019t imagine the expectations people had of you as a champion \u2026 but I can imagine that those expectations weighed heavily on your shoulders. To turn your back on that, to do what was right for you, <\/em>to follow your gut \u2026 Rhys, that takes more courage than putting on those gloves and getting in that ring.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pain flickered across his features, the muscle in his jaw flexing again, as he stared into my eyes. Then he lowered his gaze to where I held his hand and his grip tightened. When he eventually looked up again, there was something like awe in his expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something sweet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something significant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And something dangerous to my emotions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he spoke, his voice was rough, hoarse. \u201cLet me get you home, sweetheart.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our walk to the gym was silent but Rhys didn\u2019t release my hand. When we got to his garage, to his bike, he brushed my hair off my shoulders and carefully put my helmet on for me. Once I got on the bike after he\u2019d straddled it, he took my hands and drew them around his waist so I was pressed as close to him as I could get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of me feared arriving at my place because with the thick tension between us, I half expected Rhys to ask to come up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the scary thing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wasn\u2019t sure I would say no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Rhys didn\u2019t ask to come up. He stayed on the bike as I got off. He removed his helmet, waiting patiently as I took off mine. He reached for my hand and jerked me toward him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My heart jumped into my throat, only to nosedive down again when he placed a brotherly kiss to my forehead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Huh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2019Night, Tinker Bell. I\u2019ll see you Saturday, yeah?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had to clear my throat to speak. \u201cSaturday,\u201d I agreed, stepping back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot leaving until you\u2019re safe inside, sweetheart.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confused, disappointed, I nodded numbly and hurried inside my building. It was only when I was inside the elevator that I slumped against it and whispered, \u201cYou are seriously, seriously in trouble, Parker Brown.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How could I put much-needed distance between me and Rhys if I confided deep, emotional history to him? \u201cIt\u2019s not relevant.\u201d \u201cI think it is, if your boy is making such a big deal about it. My guess \u2026 Theo is some rich little f***er who screwed you over. Is that why you don\u2019t have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8225,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"spay_email":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8044,"url":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/excerpt-the-conman-by-mike-murphey\/","url_meta":{"origin":8272,"position":0},"title":"Excerpt: The Conman by Mike Murphey","date":"2019-11-15","format":false,"excerpt":"Click to purchase Title: The ConmanAuthor: Mike MurpheyGenre: Sports Fiction (Baseball)Release Date: November 11, 2019 (What follows is based on a true story) CHAPTER ONEOctober 1992Phoenix, Arizona Failure can be an acute condition, perhaps even chronic, but quitting\u2014quitting is fatal. Conor Nash believed this to his marrow. 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