Teaser #2 from Finding West

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Note: This excerpt is still unedited and may change before final publication.

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I ate my sandwich in the living room while he remained at the dining table, both of us needing some space, which was hard to get in such a small house. Every move I made, every breath I took, I felt him with me. I realized with a start that I felt comforted by his presence; the thought made my face burn with anger.
I have always prided myself on my independence. Ever since my father went off to prison, I’d taken care of myself and I’d be damned if I let someone else come in and invade my space, making me dependent and weak and shit.

No freaking way.

After finishing my lunch, I stalked over to the sink and washed my plate. As I made my way back to my studio, the stranger’s deep voice reached out to me, stopping me in my tracks. “Don’t be mad, Kat.”

I looked over my shoulder, surprised once again by the face of the man looking back. “I’m not mad.”

He raised an eyebrow. “So this is happy, then?”

“Fucking elated,” I said deadpan.

He chuckled. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about, you know,” he said. “You have a nice body.”

My pulse picked up again, despite my wishes. “Nice. Yep. Right.”

“What, you don’t think you have a nice body?”

“I think I have a strong body,” I shot back.

“Don’t tell me you think you’re fat?”

I whirled around, my hands already clenched. “God, you’re so confrontational.”

His eyes burned into mine. “So are you.”

“For fuck’s sake, no, I don’t think I’m fat,” I said. “Do I think there are better bodies out there than mine? Sure. Do I bemoan the fact that I’ll never have a sexy, Hollywood body? Hell no. Do I care about what I look like? Take one guess.”

“Do me a favor, Kat,” he said gently from across the room. “When I’m gone, stand in front of your mirror and take a look at yourself. Really look. Pretend you’re seeing through someone else’s eyes.”

“What’s the point in that little exercise in futility?”

“I want you to see yourself for what you really are,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to look.”

Okay, that incensed me. Nothing like telling me I’m a scaredy-cat to piss me off. “I’m not afraid. I just don’t want to be all gussied up for absolutely no reason. I live alone; the only person I have to please is me. And you’d better believe I’m okay with what I see.”

“There’s a distinct difference between okay and happy.”

“I was happy before you came along.”

“Were you really?”

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Finding West is due out August 2013.