Cirrus@Austlit

'Bear

'Sshh...can you keep a secret?

'If you’re hiding in the dark,

'How long ‘til you leak it?

'If you really must tell all

'How far can we sweep it?

'If you lay down the gauntlet

'Can you make us leap it?

'You know who we are

'You know what we did

'Will you keep it to yourself

'Or will you lift the lid?

'Sshh...can you keep a secret?

'Honey

'Psst…want to know a secret?

'It’s big, it’s bad, it’s ugly

'And I don’t think I can keep it

'If I tell and you find out

'Your wrath, you will heap it

'The tide will turn, you will learn

'And now you shall reap it

'I know who you are

'I know what you did

'Will I keep it to myself

'Or will I lift the lid

'Psst…want to know a secret?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Drew

'I hate the lies you tell.

'For as long as I could remember, everything in my world had been fake. The happy nuclear family. The loving parents. The close father-son relationship. The respectable family business. All lies. I’d had it with the pretense and the show, but I was trapped on a dizzying merry-go-round of deception, and I couldn’t get off.

'So when she was thrown unexpectedly into my path, and I discovered she was just another fake, I needed to make her pay. Little did I know, the deceit ran deeper than I could have imagined, and nothing was as it seemed.

'Kik

'I tell the lies I hate.

'I hated the lies and the pretense, but if I was going to achieve what I wanted in life, they were a necessary evil. Truth was, I’d mostly made peace with the idea. What I was doing was a means to an end, and the end definitely justified the means. Besides, it wasn’t forever—nothing ever was.

'Everybody had to do what they had to do, right? I could live with that. Kinda. Sorta. Maybe. At least I thought I could until he came bursting into my life, and was determined to tear down everything I’d worked so hard to build.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Xavier

'This is not a love story.

'I hate you not for who you are, but what you represent.

'I’m the whispers in the darkness you can’t quite hear.

'I’m the unease that can’t be explained, but won’t go away.

'I’m your worst nightmare come to life.

'I’m the filthy rich guy who’s coming for revenge.

'Everything you’ve ever had.

'Everything you hold dear.

'I won’t stop until I break you.

'Rocky

'You were once my savior.

'Now you’re my bully.

'I’m the girl from the wrong side of the wrong side of the tracks.

'No match for your money, your might, or your wrath.

'But I’m not going down without a fight.

'When I go, I’ll take you with me.

'Because we’re more alike than you want to admit.

'And more connected than you know.

'This is not a love story.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'She's been broken by life. He's always had it easy. Can they trust each other enough to be the fix they both need?

'I used to wonder if there was something wrong with me, because there was nothing wrong with me. I'm a happy, well-adjusted, laid-back guy, or so I always thought. The reality, though, is I've been coasting through life, not thinking or feeling, just being.

'That is until everything goes wrong, and Emi comes crashing into my life in the worst way possible. Yet for all the drama, angst, and heartache she brings with her, she's also shown me what it means to be human--to feel, love, and hurt. She's taught me what it meant to be alive.

'She's so fragile, yet she's also the strongest person I know--a true survivor. She's been to hell and back but wakes up every morning ready to fight another day.

'And when tragedy strikes and my perfect world falls apart, she's the one helping me pick up the pieces. Yet each time she needs me to be there for her, she pushes me away.

'But I refuse to just walk away. She's taught me that real life isn't easy, and if something's worth wanting, it's worth fighting for.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Secrets from his past have scarred his heart. Can he trust her enough to learn to love again?

'In the eyes of the law, I'd atoned for the secrets of my past, but in my heart, I knew the debt I owed was too big to ever be repaid. I didn't ask for forgiveness, because I knew I wasn't worthy of it. Guilt weighed me down and scarred my heart.

'If it wasn't for my art, I'd probably be dead. The truth was, I had nothing else to live for. Or so I thought until Octavia Douglas came breezing unexpectedly into the picture.

'Sexy, stubborn, and smart enough to know better than to throw her future away on a guy like me, Vivi made me question everything I thought I already knew. I suddenly craved the happy ever after I'd never dared dream of, and knew I didn't deserve.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'He is everything I want but know I can never have.

'Every fiber of my being has ached for Luke from the very first moment we met. However, with my parents' legacy of toxic obsession woven into my DNA, I know love is pain and should be avoided at all costs. I'm unloved and unlovable. Still, in moments of weakness, I allow myself to imagine what it would be like if I was the kind of woman who deserved the love of a man like him.

'She is hiding in plain sight, waiting for me to find her.

'Marnie has had my heart from day one, and always will. It's just a shame I couldn't muster the words to tell her so when we first locked eyes. It's a failing I will live to regret for years to come. However, I'm determined to make things right, even if it takes me a lifetime. I need her to know she is enough. In fact, she is more than that. She is everything.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'He thought he had it all, until he met her.

'They say you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone, but for notorious womanizer Arlo Jones, it's a case of not knowing what you want 'til it's standing in front of you. The moment he meets London, he realizes she's the piece of the puzzle he never knew was missing, but can't live without. He does everything he can to get her, but just as he thinks she's finally ready to give in to her feelings, he's reminded how empty his life was without her in it.

'She thought she had a plan, until she met him.

'They say the best-laid plans often go awry, and for aspiring photographer London Llwellyn, that's definitely the case when she falls for Arlo. That was never part of her plan. She tries her best to avoid being pulled into his vortex, but he manages to turn her head upside down and her heart inside out. Just as she thinks she's ready to commit to forever, she's reminded of the reasons she resisted him for so long.

'He's pulling her closer. How long can she keep pushing him away?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.