Stealing Harper

“Chase, I love you.”

“Tell GB I love him . . . every day.”

“I’ve never been happier than when I just woke up with you in my arms. You’re the only girl I’ve ever fallen asleep with, and I want to keep it that way. You’re not just some girl. I’m in love with you, Harper, I wouldn’t want you anywhere else.”

“And know that I’ve loved you since the begi

“Why are you in here?”

“Because you need me, and if this is my last hour with you, I’m not going to waste another second of it.”

“I’m sorry for the time I wasted, but I’ll cherish every second we had together.”

“You’re pregnant, Princess?”

“Yes.”

“Is it—is it mine?”

“Of course it is.”

I don’t know what is real and what isn’t anymore. I swear I can feel Harper in my arms, smell her light vanilla scent. I can hear her soft laugh, which was always reserved for the dark, as if we are curled around each other in bed. I can feel her lips on my throat and her hands in my hair. God, please, don’t take me from her! How can this be happening to me?

More flashes—Harper holding a baby. Our baby. A painful cry tries to work its way out of my chest, but all that comes out is more blood as I hang limply against the seat belt. I try to take another breath but don’t feel the relief of it. There is nothing; this is it. My time is ru

“Take care of my family, brother. Please.”

“Chase!”

She sounds so close.

“Chase!”

“Live, Princess, for me. I love you.”

Acknowledgments

AS ALWAYS, A big thank-you to my husband for dealing with my crazy. I get extremely involved in my characters’ world, and I love that even though he looks at me like I’m insane, he takes the time to listen and ask about what I’m writing. Love you, babe!

Thank you to the girls of Book Broads! This book is dedicated to you, because without you, I would have never had the courage to write Chase’s story. I understand this is a difficult story for many. Trust me, it was difficult for me, too. But the Book Broads helped me realize that even though we all miss Chase something fierce, we still needed more of him, and he deserved to be heard.

VERY big thank-you to my amazing editor, Tessa Woodward from HarperCollins; and to my incredible agent, Kevan Lyon from Marsal Lyon Literacy Agency. You ladies are incredible, and I don’t know what I’d do without y’all!

Amanda Stone, not only are you my best friend, I don’t know what I would do without you being my slave driver and always getting on me to actually write this book. It’s one thing to ignore the shiny place, better known as Facebook; it’s another entirely to sit on the phone with you for five hours talking about everything and nothing and being silent as we write. Love you, Sef!

Kelly Elliott . . . I swear where would I be without our weekly lunches? Probably going insane in a corner of my office! I love you and am so thankful for your friendship and our weekly vents!

Thank you to my BRGs: Colleen, Kim, and Lisa. Y’all helped me more than you could imagine by giving me an escape, and, Colleen, everyone reading this book has you to thank for giving me the drive to write the shower scene!

A.L. Jackson—a massive thank you to you for starting our writing sprints! Those first three were what got me to finish this book, so thank you, I love you BIG, BB!

To all the bloggers, friends and amazing readers who have helped with the cover reveal and sharing teasers and pictures, THANK YOU! I love y’all so much!

Keep reading for more fabulous stories from Molly McAdams.

FORGIVING LIES

1

Rachel

“CANDICE, YOU NEED to focus. You have got to pass this final or they aren’t letting you coach this summer.”

She snorted and her eyes went wide as she leaned even closer to the mirror and tried to re-create her snort. “Oh my God! Why didn’t you tell me how ugly I look when I do that!?”

I face planted into the pillow and mumbled, “Oh dear Lord this isn’t happening.” Lifting my head slightly, I sent her an unimpressive glare. “Snorts aren’t meant to be cute. Otherwise they wouldn’t be called something as awkward as ‘snort’.”

“But my–”

“Final, Candice. You need to study for your final.”

“I’m waiting on you.” She said in a singsong voice. “You’re supposed to be quizzing me.”

I loved Candice. I really did. Even though I currently wanted to wring her neck. She wasn’t just my best friend; she was like a sister to me and was the closest thing to family I had left. On the first day of kindergarten, a boy with glasses pushed me down on the playground. While he was still laughing at me, Candice grabbed his glasses and smashed them on the ground. That’s playground love. And since that day we’ve never spent more than a handful of days apart.

By the time we started thinking about college, it was just assumed we would go away together. But then my parents died just before my senior year of high school started; and nothing seemed to matter anymore. They had gone on a weekend getaway with two partners from my dad’s law firm and their wives, and were on their way home when the company jet had engine failure and went down near Shaver Lake.

Candice’s family took me in without a second thought since the only relatives I had lived across the country and I hardly knew them; if it weren’t for them I don’t know how I would have made it through that time. They made sure I continued going to school, kept my grades up and attempted to live as normal of a life as possible. I no longer cared about graduating or going away to college, but because of them, I followed through with my plans of getting away and making my own life. I would forever be grateful for the Jenkins family.

I applied to every college Candice did and let her decide where we were going. She’s been a cheerleader for as long as I can remember, so it shouldn’t have surprised me when she decided on a university based on the football team and school spirit. And granted, she was given an amazing scholarship. But, Texas? Really? She chose the University of Texas at Austin and started buying everything she found in that God-awful burnt orange color. I wasn’t exactly thrilled to be a “longhorn” but whatever got me away from my hometown was fine by me . . . and I guess Austin was that place.

When we first arrived I remember it felt like walking into a sauna, it was hot and humid; of course the first thing Candice said was, “What am I going to do with my hair?!” Her hair had already begun frizzing, and not more than five minutes later she was rocking a fro. We got used to the humidity and crazy weather changes soon enough though, and to my surprise, I love Texas. I had been expecting dirt roads, tumbleweeds and cowboys – let me tell you I have never been so happy to be wrong. Downtown Austin’s buildings reminded me of Los Angeles, it was unbelievably green everywhere and had lakes and rivers perfect for hanging out with friends. Oh, and I’ve only seen a couple of cowboys in the almost three years we’ve been here, not that I was complaining when I did. I had also worried with Candice’s recent burnt orange fetish, people were going to be able to spot us like Asian tourists at Disneyland. Thankfully, the majority of Austin is packed with UT Longhorn gear, and its common to see a burnt orange truck on the road.