The scene I cut from FALLING INTO YOU ❤️
Just popping in with a little book news, a surprise, and a confession.
First, FALLING INTO YOU is out! Whether you love reading on your Kindle, curling up with a paperback, or listening to a good love story while pretending to do chores (no judgment here), Tucker and Hazel's story is waiting for you. It's available in ebook, Kindle Unlimited, paperback, and dual-narration audiobook. So basically, I've got you covered no matter how you like your romance.
AND little something extra from Tucker...
Here's the confession. When I was writing FALLING INTO YOU, I wrote a prologue that didn't make it into the finished book.
It takes us back to Tucker at sixteen, when he and his younger sister Kiera were growing up in a house where they never quite knew what kind of night they were going to have.
It's a little more emotional than my usual bonus scenes, but there's also a lot of heart. And humor. Because even at sixteen, Tucker was already a smartass, especially when it came to making his little sister laugh.
I loved this glimpse into the boy he was before he became the man Hazel falls for, and I thought you might, too.
Fair warning: it touches on a difficult childhood and an abusive parent. But at its heart, it's about a big brother doing everything he can to make his little sister feel safe.
So, without further ado, here's a little piece of Tucker's past that you've never seen before.
Prologue
Tucker
The floorboards creaked just outside the closet door.
Kiera's fingers gripped my sweatshirt, her breath hitching in my ear. “Is he—?”
“Shh,” I whispered, curling tighter around her, tucking her head under my chin. “We’re invisible. Like ninjas. Closet ninjas.”
Outside, another creak. A pause, then the sound of a bottle tipping over on the table. Muttering came next — Dad, voice slurred and bitter, the kind that only came after six p.m. on a Friday.
Kiera was fourteen, two years younger than me. Too old to be hiding in closets. Too young to pretend this was even remotely normal.
When things quieted down, I exhaled a soft laugh, trying to lighten things up. “Wanna know how I know we're ninjas?”
She gave a jerky shrug, her body still, but listening. She was good at being quiet. Way too good.
“Because,” I whispered dramatically, “we trained with this ninja guy named Chad. Very mysterious. Terrible haircut.”
That earned me a shaky giggle. “Chad?”
“Yeah. And don’t underestimate him. That’s how he gets you. He taught me to walk on bubble wrap without making a sound. Also how to make grilled cheese with my mind. Still working on that one.
She gave me another laugh, short and snorty. This one was real, the one that escaped her only in rare unguarded moments.
On the other side of the house, the TV blared to life. Football highlights. That was a good sign. It meant Hank was stationary, probably slumped in the recliner, trying to track the ball through double vision, which … good luck with that.
Kiera shifted beside me, letting out a slow breath. Her little voice came out barely a whisper. “He said I was just like Mom.”
My chest tightened. I closed my eyes, recalling mom’s laugh. How she used to laugh so hard at her own jokes that the rest of us would start laughing too, even when the jokes sucked.
Dad always said being like her was the worst thing a person could be. Like Mom hadn’t been the best thing about this house.
Telling Kiera, or any of us, that we were just like her, had always been dad’s favorite insult, like being like our mom was a crime. Like loving too hard and leaving too soon meant you were destined to be the villain in someone else’s story.
“You’re the best parts of mom,” I said fiercely, pulling her closer. “You’re the best person I know. Chad would agree.”
Another shaky laugh, but it was half tears. “You’re so stupid.”
“Would a stupid person have a hidden stash of peanut M&Ms?”
Her eyes lit up. “You better not be lying.”
“See for yourself.” I pulled a brown bag from behind a box of old Christmas sweaters. “…Unless you’d prefer Sour Patch Kids?”
Her whole face softened as she opened the bag, pure joy making her forget the world outside the closet for just a second. “You’re my favorite brother,” she whispered, voice thick with emotion as she dove into the M&Ms.
At the moment, I was her one and only present brother. Caleb and Ryder were away at college, and though they checked in on us as often as they could, Kiera and I were stuck here until we finished school—which felt about a hundred years away.
I missed having Caleb and Ryder around. Mostly because Hank was less of an asshole when there were four of us to deal with. And because Ryder always knew how to get the stupid TV remote to work, and Caleb could make dinner out of pretty much anything that hadn’t expired.
The house felt way too big without them. Too loud in all the wrong places. Too quiet in the ones that mattered.
I popped a few M&Ms into my mouth. “You know how Ryder used to call me Spidey?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you know how it started?”
She shook her head and I grinned. “You were only four when he dared me to climb the rafters in the garage. He thought he’d found a way to get rid of me for a little while. But halfway across, a board snapped and I dropped into a stack of boxes full of Grandma’s old China.”
The fall had been terrifying. Not as terrifying as Grandma though. Or Hank.
“You didn’t.” Kiera’s eyes were wide with disbelief.
“Oh, I did. Didn’t break a single plate. Landed like a cat. Like a ninja cat. Ryder said I stuck to the walls like Spider-Man.”
She rolled her eyes.
I wiggled my brows. “So basically, I’m Spider-Man. With worse grades.”
From the other room came the sound of something hitting the floor.
We froze.
Dad cursed, loud and guttural. Something about the ‘fucking remote’ being broken, and ungrateful asshole kids.
“He means us,” Kiera whispered.
I wrapped my arm tighter around her, my pulse thumping in my ears. I pressed my mouth close to her ear, speaking low and serious. “I need you to know something.”
She nodded tensely.
“If he comes up here and opens this door, I’m gonna tell him the truth.”
Her body went rigid, breath catching. “Tucker, don’t—”
“I will.” I kept my voice steady. “I’m gonna tell him you kidnapped me. That you’re armed and dangerous.”
“With what?”
“Your breath. Those Sour Patch Kids are lethal.”
She giggled. “You’re so dumb.”
Then came the unmistakable sound of the recliner being closed. Kiera began to shake.
I pulled her closer, wishing I could do something besides sit here and wait. Wishing I was big enough to make Hank afraid of me for a chance.
She leaned into me, a slow shuddering breath escaping her, releasing some of her tension. “One day,” she whispered, “we’re going to be out of this house. Out of this town.”
“It’s not the house, or Star Falls,” I said. “Someday we’re gonna have our own place. And you know what we’re putting in the closets?”
‘What?”
“Stuff. Normal stuff. Shoes. Coats. All the crap Ryder leaves everywhere.”
“Ryder won’t live with us.”
“Good point. We’re changing the locks.”
She smiled, but it faded fast. “You really think we’ll get out of here?”
“Yeah, I do. Chad can see the future, you know. He swore we’d have a great life. Oh, and an endless supply of candy.”
“Promise?”
“Better than that.” I held out a pinky. “Closet ninja honor.”
Another thud sounded. Hank’s shoes were both off now. He was going to shuffle off to bed.
He wasn’t coming for us, and I finally exhaled, though I kept listening just in case. “Okay,” I said. “We’ve got snacks and plenty of time before sunrise. What now?”
She rested her head on my shoulder. “Tell me about Chad again.”
I smiled into the dark, relieved to hear a little less fear in her voice. “Chad fought a Yeti once. With a spatula.”
“Did he win?”
“Obviously. The Yeti was delicious.”
“Ew.”
“Yeah. Little gamey, though.”
And coming soon... JUST A FAVOR!
I can't leave without teasing what's next!
JUST A FAVOR is coming soon, and I am ridiculously excited about this one.
She'd stopped believing in fairy tales a long time ago. Then a grumpy man with a truck full of dogs pulled over for her in the rain and ruined every last one of her carefully made rules.
A grumpy hero. A woman who has absolutely no intention of falling for him. And a truck full of dogs.
What could possibly go wrong?
The book is available for preorder now, and here's a little promise: I'll be revealing the cover in my very next newsletter! I can't wait for you to see it.
(Print and audio links will be coming soon!)
Until next time, happy reading! And remember, sometimes the best love stories start with a little trouble.
P.S. DON’T FORGET YOU CAN ORDER ANY OF MY BOOKS IN PRINT SIGNED BY ME, thanks to Word After Word Books! If you want anything personalized, let me know in the comment section of Word After Word’s buy page.