Excerpt Reveal: Love Online by Penelope Ward
From New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author Penelope Ward.
From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward, comes a new, sexy STANDALONE novel.
We met in the least likely of places. It started out innocently enough. I was “ScreenGod” and she was “Montana,” but of course, those weren’t our actual names, just the virtual cloaks we hid behind.
Logging in at night and talking to her was my escape—my sanctuary.
Her real name was Eden, I’d soon come to find out.
From the first time we connected online, I found myself transfixed.
She was an addiction.
At first, we knew nothing about each other’s real identities…and she was adamant that we keep things that way. Anonymity had no effect on our unstoppable chemistry, though. If anything, it allowed us to open up even more in ways we may not have otherwise.
Eden was funny, intelligent, gorgeous—everything I’d ever wanted in a woman.
But I couldn’t really have her.
I had accepted things would have to stay the way they were—until the day I found a clue that led me straight to her.
So I took a chance.
And that was when our love story really began.
For more Love Online, PRE-ORDER now to continue reading on August 27th!
iTunes ➜ https://apple.co/2LzO4om
B&N ➜ http://bit.ly/2wfHUQO
Kobo ➜ http://bit.ly/2MYBexz
Google Play ➜ http://bit.ly/2ORdVWT
Amazon Paperback ➜ https://amzn.to/2LyWzAb
Audible: https://adbl.co/2KAWnMq
Amazon Audio: https://amzn.to/2KF8tEl
**No Amazon e-book preorder. Will go live on/around release day.
EXCERPT
Needing a few seconds to prepare, I closed my eyes the moment I knew he
was about to turn on the camera.
I don’t know why I was so afraid to see him. Maybe I was worried his
looks would somehow change the way I viewed him. I hated that I’d even had that
thought. I didn’t want to be unattracted to him physically because I was so
very drawn to him in every other way. Shouldn’t those be the ways that
mattered? I was scared I would somehow feel differently about him, and he
deserved better than to be judged on his physical appearance.
“You can open your eyes,” he said.
My heart felt like it was pounding out of my chest.
Here goes.
One, two, three…
When I saw him right in front of me, my mouth fell open.
Oh.
Oh my.
Oh wow.
Big, glowing eyes. Perfect nose. Stubbled, angular jaw. Full lips.
Strong arms. I just kept blinking because I couldn’t believe my eyes. He looked
like a model or a movie star. A rush of insecurity hit me.
Is this a joke?
No, it wasn’t.
It was really him.
Ryder.
Oh my God.
The lust consuming me made me feel almost guilty. But I was so damn
relieved that he was truly as beautiful on the outside as I believed him to be
on the inside. He was almost too beautiful, if there were such a thing.
He looked nothing like the vague image I’d formed in my head, which was
sort of like a silhouette without a clear face but with a brown beard, kind of
like a hipster. Not sure why I’d pictured him like that. It was kind of funny
how off base I was. This was not what I’d been expecting. Because how could
someone so thoughtful, attentive, creative, and considerate be so strikingly
handsome that he made me speechless? And it was clear now that his sexy voice
absolutely fit him.
“You’re…” I hesitated.
“Oh shit.” He laughed. “What are you thinking?”
“No. No, no, no. Nothing bad at all. I just don’t even know how to
articulate it. You’re…beautiful, Ryder. Absolutely beautiful.”
He let out a breath. “And you’re…handsome, Eden. Very handsome.” His impish grin was so sexy.
I chuckled. “I know beautiful is an odd term for a man, but you are. All
this time you’ve been hiding from me when you’re drop-dead gorgeous. Why?”
“You really did think I was ashamed of my looks, huh?”
“Well, I’d be lying if I said that didn’t cross my mind. I wondered if
there was something you were self-conscious about. That always made me a little
sad. But it never mattered to me, because I’ve been connecting with you on a
deeper level.”
“I think that’s exactly why I didn’t want to change things,” he said. “Why
fix something if it ain’t broken?” When I fell silent, he asked, “What are you
thinking?”
A nervous energy overtook me. “Nothing. I’m…still just taking you in.”
“Okay. Let me know when you’re done so I can stop sucking in my abs.”
Copyright © 2018, Penelope Ward
No comments: