EXCERPT
ONE
Chapter
One
Levee
It
was raining. Isn’t that the way all great love stories start? And
also usually end? The midnight air was cool against my skin as I
stared off that bridge. My blond wig was secured in place by a
headband, and chunky sunglasses covered my whiskey-colored eyes. I
didn’t look like myself any more than I felt it. Bruises from the
night before painted my legs while fresh scabs covered my knees, but
it was the hollowness in my chest that hurt the most.
Yep.
Still me.
Which
was exactly why I was standing on that bridge, wishing for the mental
fortitude to hurl myself off.
A
man’s voice interrupted my thoughts. “You finally gonna do it
tonight?”
I
instinctually smoothed my fake hair down and pressed the bridge of my
glasses closer to my face, sealing out any possible glance he could
catch. I stared ahead as I snapped, “Excuse me?”
“I’ve
seen you here three nights in a row now. I was just wondering if
tonight was going to be the night you finally jump.”
My
eyes flashed wide, but since they were covered by the dark glasses,
my reaction remained hidden. “I just like the view. That’s all.”
What
a load of shit.
I
watched him nod out of the corner of my eye. “Yeah me too. It’s
gorgeous up here.”
Shuffling
my feet to the side, I attempted to slip away as he pulled a pack of
cigarettes from his pocket and offered it my way.
“You
want one?”
I
shook my head and then crept down a few inches to put distance
between us.
“Suit
yourself.” He used a hand to shield the lighter from the wind, but
the constant sprinkle of rain made his task impossible. “Damn it,”
he cursed with the cigarette tucked between his lips. “Little
help?” he asked, swinging his gaze to mine.
Arching
an eyebrow, I asked, “With what?”
“It’s
raining…and windy…and I’m trying to burn one.” He tilted his
head, equally as incredulous.
“You
want me to call God? We had a bad breakup recently, but he might be
willing to do me one last favor.”
He
breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief. “That would be fantastic.
What’s the big guy’s response time like these days? Last time we
spoke, it was”—he paused to look at his watch—“oh,
twenty-seven years.”
A
soft laugh bubbled from my throat, and one side of his mouth lifted
in a gorgeous grin.
“I’m
not exactly in the mood to wait that long, so maybe you could just
block the wind with your body?” His smile spread as he stepped
toward me, forcing my gaze to nervously bounce away.
“Sorry.
Can’t help you there. Lung cancer and I broke up too.” After
gathering the back of my wig into a ponytail, I pulled it over my
shoulder and turned away from him. The chill of the wind blasted my
face and roared over my ears as it rushed past me.
I
went back to staring out at the dark, choppy water, becoming lost in
the idea of how cold it might be.
Is
tonight the night?
No.
My
feet would more than likely never leave the edge of that bridge, but
there was a definite reason why I was imagining ending it all.
Exactly zero other people in the world would understand why. I had it
all, and I dreamed about losing it all—more often than I would ever
admit, even to myself.
After
stepping out of my heels, I slipped my foot between the bars on the
railing. The wind slammed my bruised leg against the metal. “Shit,”
I hissed as pain shot through me.
“You
think that hurts? Imagine falling twenty-five stories then crashing
into the water, which might as well be concrete, at speeds upward of
seventy miles per hour,” the man said, leaning on the metal railing
next to me.
“Wow.
Someone’s done some research,” I said sarcastically, barely
sparing him a glance.
“Daily,”
he responded frankly, causing my surprised gaze to swing to his.
Simply shrugging at my reaction, he turned his back to the railing
and propped himself up on his colorfully tattooed forearms. “You
forget I’ve been here the last three nights in a row too.” He
smirked, lifting the cigarette up to his lips for a deep inhale.
“Listen,
I’m not going to jump if you’re some kind of caped crusader on a
mission. I just needed some fresh air.” I pointedly glanced at his
cigarette.
A
laugh escaped his mouth in a grey puff. “Fresh air is overrated.
Especially given the reason you’re standing here.” He knowingly
arched a dark-brown eyebrow.
“Riiiiight,”
I drawled, rolling my eyes behind my glasses. “Okay, well, I was
just heading out anyway.”
“Then
my work here is done.” He bowed, and the corner of my mouth lifted
in a smile as I stepped back into my shoes and walked away.
I
shook my head at the random stranger. Then, a thought struck me,
stopping me only a few feet away. Spinning back to face him, I asked,
“Wait. Were you reaching out to me as a cry for help?”
“Oh
look. Designer Shoes has a conscience!” He dropped his cigarette to
the damp ground, stepping on it with the toe of his well-worn, black
boots. Bending over, he picked the butt up and tucked it in his
pocket.
At
least he didn’t litter.
“Oh
look. Tattooed Stalker has jokes!” I smarted back.
He
smiled, pulling another cigarette from his pocket and then pausing
just before guiding it between his lips. “Were you judging me based
on my tattoos? I’m offended.” He feigned anguish then laughed
while lifting his lighter to once again battle the wind for a
nicotine fix.
I
wanted to walk away, but he wasn’t wrong. I did have a conscience,
and right then, I was worried that it might really be his night to
make good on his apparent numerous visits to the bridge.
With
a huff, I headed back towards him, praying that I could wrap it up as
quickly as possible then head back to my house for a few hours of
sleep. Or, more likely, lie awake while staring at the ceiling and
crying.
“Are
you planning to jump for real?” I asked.
His
smile fell as he focused on the water. “Nah. I don’t have the
balls to do something like that. Talking to you wasn’t a plea for
help or anything. You just look worse than usual tonight.” His gaze
slid down to my battered legs.
“Oh!”
I exclaimed in understanding. “That’s not at all what you’re
thinking. I fell down some stairs.”
He
quirked his lips in disbelief.
“I’m
serious!”
“I’m
sure you are,” he told the wind. “You can go. I’m good.”
I
could have walked away, but for some reason, I pulled my jacket
tighter around my shoulders and silently stood there while he
finished his cigarette.
After
a final deep inhale, he flicked it over the railing of the bridge.
Apparently,
he does litter.
Turning
to me, his face became serious. “You need to call the cops before
he makes the decision to end it all for you.”
“Who?”
I asked, watching the burning ember hit the metal column then explode
in a million different sparks before disappearing down to the water
below.
Lucky
cigarette.
“The
stairs…and whatever inanimate object you’re blaming for those
bruises you’re hiding behind sunglasses at one in the morning. You
should call the cops before…” His voice trailed off, but his dark
gaze narrowed on mine. His eyes bored into my hidden stare, combining
with the rain and wind to send chills down my spine.
I
took the moment to secretly assess him. He was insanely sexy, but
nothing like the men I was accustomed to. His chin was the kind of
scruffy that made women weak, but it was obvious he didn’t pay four
hundred dollars for his personal hairstylist to shape it. Judging by
his shaggy, brown hair that begged for me to thread my fingers in it,
I wasn’t sure he was even a barbershop kind of guy. He stood a few
inches taller than I was in heels, so I pegged him at around six one.
And while his tattooed forearms were deliciously sculpted and his
shoulders were notably defined, his body didn’t appear to be
swollen with muscles from hours spent at the gym. By the aura of bad
boy
he gave off, I would have expected him to be a self-consumed,
arrogant prick.
He
wasn’t though.
He
was just an average guy worrying about the well-being of an average
girl.
Only
he couldn’t have been more wrong, and a pang of guilt hit me hard.
Just
not hard enough for me to do anything to correct his assumptions
about who I was.
Very
softly, I attempted to put his fears to rest. “I promise it’s not
what you’re thinking.”
“Okay,”
he responded, unconvinced. He nodded to himself before dragging
another cigarette from his pocket.
I
watched him struggle for a second before I scooted towards him, using
my body to block the wind.
Biting
the cigarette between his straight, white teeth, he smiled devilishly
around it. “Thanks.” Flicking the flame to life, he hunched over
until a stream of smoke swirled up from the red tip.
“You
should stop smoking.”
“Noted.”
He exhaled through his nose.
We
went back to silently staring over the side of the bridge. The
familiar lights of the San Francisco skyline danced all around us.
And, even as tourists and locals alike passed by us, I felt an odd,
and unbelievably comfortable,
isolation standing there with him.
When
my teeth began to chatter, his attention was drawn my way. “I’m
not here to jump. You really can go.”
I
nodded but didn’t move away.
He
chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest and rubbing his biceps for
warmth.
“How
are you not frozen?” I asked, taking in his thin Henley for the
first time since we met.
Shrugging,
he dropped his cigarette, answering as he bent to retrieve it. “Thick
skin? I’m used to it? I come here a lot? I’m half Eskimo?”
I
eyed him suspiciously. “You’re cold, aren’t you?”
“Fucking.
Freezing,” he admitted, tucking his arms close to his body and
blowing into his hands. “I just came up here for one smoke. Then I
saw you. Now, come on. Be a lady and loan a man a jacket,” he
joked, tugging on the edge of my coat.
I
laughed, hugging it even tighter around my body and stepping out of
his reach. “How about we both just leave? Then neither of us have
to worry about the other plummeting to their death.”
“Sounds
like an amazing plan.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of the
tattered jeans riding low on his hips. As we began the hike back down
to the foot of the bridge, he asked, “You have a name, Designer
Shoes?”
I
smiled and shook my head, not willing to lie—or divulge the truth.
“Yeah.
Me either,” he replied.
I
bit my bottom lip to suppress a laugh.
Side
by side, we trudged the rest of the way in silence.
When
we got to the foot of the bridge, he turned to face me and sighed.
“Well, I genuinely hope I never see you again.”
My
head snapped back in shock, and maybe a little hurt.
But
he quickly corrected himself. “No! I just mean… Shit.” He ran a
nervous hand through his hair while I watched, amused. “I just
mean, given the way we met… I…um. I hope you never have a reason
to go back up there.”
I
teasingly tipped my head to the side. “But I really like the view.”
He
cleared his throat. “Right. Of course, the view. Okay, well, have a
good night.”
“You
too.” I smiled tightly, but my feet didn’t budge. I told myself
that it was because I didn’t want him to see my car or the
bodyguard waiting for me behind the wheel. But, in reality, I just
wasn’t ready to leave. Home wasn’t where I wanted to be. I didn’t
actually want to
be
anywhere.
Not
even standing at the foot of a bridge, talking to a witty and sexy
man.
Okay,
maybe I wanted that a little bit.
“Yep.
Have a good night,” he repeated, shoving his hands inside his
pockets and slowly backing away.
I
gave him a quick wave, which he returned before he jogged in the
other direction.
I
smiled to myself, shaking my head at the entire interaction—secretly
lamenting that it hadn’t been longer.
Maybe there’s only
one direction to go when two people fall
in love at rock
bottom—up.
Add
The
Fall Up
to your TBR list on Goodreads!
RELEASE DATE:
October 26th
I wanted to jump.
He made me fall.
As a celebrity, I
lived in the public eye, but somewhere along the way, I’d lost
myself in the spotlight.
Until he found me.
Sam Rivers was a
gorgeous, tattooed stranger who saved my life with nothing more than
a simple conversation.
But we were both
standing on that bridge for a reason the night we met. The
secrets of our pasts brought us together—and then tore us apart.
Could we find a
reason to hold on as life constantly pulled us down?
Or maybe there’s
only one direction to go when two people fall in love at rock
bottom—up.
About
the Author:
Aly
Martinez
Born
and raised in Savannah, Georgia, Aly Martinez is a stay-at-home mom
to four crazy kids under the age of five, including a set of twins.
Currently living in South Carolina, she passes what little free time
she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on,
preferably with a glass of wine at her side.
After
some encouragement from her friends, Aly decided to add “Author”
to her ever-growing list of job titles. Five books later, she shows
no signs of slowing. So grab a glass of Chardonnay, or a bottle if
you’re hanging out with Aly, and join her aboard the crazy train
she calls life.
