For The Love Of Books: Blog Tour: Can't Let Go

SYNOPSIS:

Dex is many things, a college senior, the bassist for The

Invisibles, a son, a friend, everything but a boyfriend. Everybody knows him as

the shallow guy who’s up for a good time anytime. People rarely take the time

to see the loyal guy lying just beneath the happy-go-lucky façade.

There are parts of Dex’s life he keeps hidden. Ones he believes

no one would understand. Since he gave up on the idea of a dream girl long ago,

he thinks he’s finally found the perfect balance of connection without

commitment with Sam.

Chrissy used to know everything about Dex. When he left four

years ago for college, she was left behind. Four years later, with nowhere else

to turn, Chrissy calls the one person she’s always counted on, Dex. One glance

at the sad eyes he’s tried to forget and Dex knows it’s out of his control.

With Chrissy's return, lines begin to cross from friendship to

something more, but will Dex's secret force them apart forever?

(Can't Let Go is the fourth novel in the Invisibles Series)

GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20891833-can-t-let-go?from_search=true

EXCERPT:

Already regretting my decision to call

Dex in the first place, I keep my distance for the remainder of the night,

allowing him to have fun with his friends. He doesn’t engage me very much, only

telling me even more that he wishes I wouldn’t have invaded his perfect life.

By the time we go to bed, we venture into the room that is reserved for the two

of us. I guess when you come with so many couples, it negates the whole guys in

this room, girls in the other equation.

I escape into the bathroom and change my

clothes. By the time I return, Dex is already in his pajama pants, digging in

his bag. He drops his phone and bends down to retrieve it. As he steadily

stands back up, his eyes roam up my body and a warm current in my blood swirls,

following the path of his eyes. He bites his bottom lip and takes a deep

breath. “I’ll be back,” he says with a husky voice.

Once he rushes out, I climb under the

covers to disengage any sexual urges neither one of us will entertain tonight.

In this moment, I wish I could be one of those girls. The ones who could sleep

with Dex only to feel the comforting arms of a man, but it’s the fear of after

that keeps my hands pinned around my body. The fear that he would sleep with me

out of pity, or worse, that he would only do it for his own pleasure and

release.

He opens the door, and his blue eyes

focus on the television and anywhere but at me. “I’ll sleep on the floor,” he

murmurs, never casting a glance my way.

“Don’t be silly. We’ve done this

before.” I flip to my side.

“When we were fourteen, Chris.” He grabs

the pillow.

“Really, Dex. I trust you,” I tell him,

facing him head on, and oh my lord, his muscles are everywhere. He’s always

been built, but holy mackerole, he’s insanely big now.

He looks at me long and hard for a few

seconds and then pulls back the covers. As he’s sliding under the crisp white

linen sheets, the mattress dips next to me. I turn around so my back faces his.

We both reach over and turn off the lights on our respective sides. The funny

thing is if someone walked in right now, they’d think we were two elderly

people, who have been married for years, instead of hot-blooded early twenty-something’s.

Minutes of silence fill the room, and

even with me shutting my eyes, visualizing what I imagine the beach must feel

like, sleep won’t come. Dex’s close proximity has my body hyperaware of his

breathing and his body. “Do you want to tell me?” he whispers.

“I’m okay. Like I said, I just needed a

break. Thank you for bringing me. I hope I wasn’t too much of an inconvenience

for you,” I lie, and a huge breath releases from him.

“You’re never an inconvenience to me. If

you don’t tell me, I can’t help you,” he adds, and I roll over, although, he

keeps his back to me.

“Nothing. Like I said I needed a

breather.” If I admit to Dex the real reason, he’ll try to fix it and save me

like normal. Being here with his friends and the people that care about him, he

deserves normality and that’s not in my life’s course.

My hands itch to touch the grooves and

contours of the muscles that spread across his back, displaying how hard he

works out at the gym every day. “Just wanted to feel normal. So, thank you

again.” The lies just continue to flow. He doesn’t need my drama in his life.

He has his together, why should my fucked-up past screw with it?

The

pillow shifts from the slow shake of his head. “You’re welcome,” he says, and

the silence encompasses us once again. Eventually, the light whistling of his

breathing signifies he’s fallen asleep. I lie awake, observing the rise and fall

of his back until my eyes relent to the exhaustion of the day.

AUTHOR BIO:

Michelle moved around the Midwest most of her life, transferring from

school to school before settling down in the outskirts of Chicago ten years

ago, where she now resides with her husband and two kids. She developed a love of reading at a young

age, which helped lay the foundation for her passion to write. With the encouragement of her family, she

finally sat down and wrote one of the many stories that have been floating

around in her head. When she isn’t reading or writing, she can be found playing

with her kids, talking to her mom on the phone, or hanging out with her family

and friends. But after chasing around

twin preschoolers all day, she always cherishes her relaxation time after

putting the kids to bed.