Blurb:
Never let your friends get involved in your personal life.
Lila and Nate learn this the hard way. They are the
star-crossed lovers of Glendale High. For three years the students have waited
for the two to get together. They begged Nate to put his past relationship
behind him, and cringed when Lila started dating Bryce. Just your typical
teenage romance, except they’re the teachers.
Lila, a guidance counselor with a sweet demeanor, has an
answer for every problem, every problem but her own. A visit from childhood
friend Bryce thrusts her calm world into turmoil, as emotions buried deep
inside are dragged to the surface. He soon realizes what only a friend can
notice and a lover regret, that Lila, unbeknownst to herself, is in love with
Nate.
Nate has seen better days. He is a history teacher stuck
living in the past. Depression has kept his love for Lila unspoken, his ego
frail after being cheated on.
Now Lila and Nate’s coworkers must unleash a scheme and
uncover Lila’s true feelings. In a school this nosey what better way to get
fast results than to involve the student population? The students are all too
eager to get involved.
If everything goes as planned Lila will have to choose
between two men. If her friends fail they might destroy these three and ruin
their friendship. No wonder the scheme is called Project Torture.
Bio:
Laura Brown lives
in Massachusetts with her quirky abnormal family. Laura and her three cats are
“differently abled.” Laura is hard of hearing, her oldest cat is deaf and
partially blind, and the other two cats have cerebellar hyplasia (they shake,
and they don’t find it endearing). The “normal” members of her family include
her husband, who has put up with her since high school, and her young son who
enjoys “typing” on Mommy’s laptop and has agreed to take full blame for all
spelling errors.
Links:
Amazon: amzn.to/1bJT29a (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA6IKV2)
Nook: http://bit.ly/1bC4Qap (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lilas-choice-laura-brown/1118587315?ean=9780615925714)
Twitter: AuthorLBrown http://twitter.com/AuthorLBrown
Lila’s Choice on Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1fPZ1Zg
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LauraBrownAuthor
Excerpt:
Lila
Erickson watched with sluggish eyes while her margarita glass was refilled.
Again. By her math this was her fifth cup. Maybe her sixth with the way the tan
carpet rolled in shallow waves at her feet. She put a hand on the wooden coffee
table. It kept floating, bringing her arm along for the ride. She placed her
other hand on her head. The rolling stopped. Drats, it was her, not the
apartment.
Her good friend and roommate, Ette,
hummed as she filled two glasses. She ignored Lila’s hand plastered to her head
and pushed the drink closer. “So…” she took a sip of her own margarita. “Bryce
is coming for a visit?”
Lila groaned and pushed the cup away. This wasn’t a Saturday night
drinking binge. This wasn’t helping Ette get over her latest fling. This was
“get the counselor drunk so she’d spill her guts.” Lila wasn’t biting. Yet.
Desperate for a distraction, she
became lost in the scene outside their apartment window. The yellow light of
the parking lot illuminated a lone tree. The autumn leaves swayed in the light
breeze—waves of green, yellow, and red, the latter reminiscent of Bryce’s hair.
Her heart skipped a beat. She darted her eyes to the floor, choking on newfound
desire. Like all things uncomfortable, she wanted to keep the meaning hidden
deep inside. Thanks to Ette, the alcohol had already called her bluff. A shiver
raced down her spine as she eyed her friend. Ette grinned over her glass.
Lila grabbed a pillow and thrust
her head in. Bryce was her childhood friend, nothing more. They had been
friends since kindergarten and stayed in touch after he moved away when they
were ten.
“The cute redhead in the flesh, this should be good,” Ette drooled,
already planning on her next conquest.
Lila dug her nails into the pillow.
Ette sensed Lila’s capitulation.
“Why is this bad? I thought he was one of your best friends?”
“Oh, he is. But he was always just
that—a friend. Now the door that leads to ‘other’ has opened and I can’t find
the key.” Clutching onto the pillow, Lila’s nails dug into the fabric,
threatening to poke holes.
“Sounds like someone has a crush on
their childhood friend.”
“Yes.” Lila clasped a hand over her
mouth, disbelieving her voice. “And that’s wrong.”
“Oh for God sakes. What’s so wrong
about it? So you’ll flirt a little as you talk about days long past. Maybe
he’ll flirt too?” Ette leaned forward in anticipation of the chase.
“I thought we were supposed to be
helping you?”
Ette rolled over and ran a hand
through her long blond hair. “It’s the same-old, same-old. Dating a week and
the temperature ran cold. I’m out the door. I’ll drink,” she eyed her empty
glass, “which it looks like I’m already up to. From here I’ll sulk in my room
for a few days and then get all dolled up and go flirt shamelessly with some
unsuspecting stranger.” She licked her lips in anticipation of yet another
anonymous sexual encounter.
“Sounds like you’re going to be
fine.”
Ette placed an arm around Lila.
“Look, you love Bryce, he’s one in a million, and a friend of twenty years is
hard to come by. You also know each other quite well. If the feelings are
mutual, you can discover where this new path will take you. If not, you’ll
still enjoy his weekly e-mails.”
Lila’s eyes drifted away from Ette.
She couldn’t put twenty years on the line. She couldn’t risk ruining a
friendship, no matter how good looking the pudgy boy had become.
Ette swirled the liquid around, watching
her friend. “Do me a favor. Don’t turn into Nate on me.”
Lila stopped cold. She turned
sharply to her friend. “What does that mean?”
“Seek out the opportunity in Bryce,
don’t hide behind some shadow like Nate.”
“Nate isn’t hiding behind a
shadow.” Lila blinked as Nate’s blue eyes came to mind. She shook her head.
Great, now she was hallucinating eye colors. “He’s been hurt by a loved one.”
Ette stood up. “Here we go,
defending Nate when I was proving a point.”
Lila sat dumbfounded, unable to
wrap her head around what had happened.
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