by Tillie Cole
Snatching the papers from my hands, she tried to take off. No stuttered recognition, no flirting, just… rushing to get the hell away from me.
What the—
I wondered for a moment if she didn’t know who I was. But… nah, we were in Bama. She was at UA. Every fucker knew my face, whether I liked it or not.
Without realizing it, I took hold of her wrist. “Y’okay?”
She didn’t look up. “I’m fine.”
Negative.
Still no eye contact. Still no recognition.
“You sure?” I pushed again—absolutely no idea why.
I saw it in her shoulders—she was done with the day. And her long, black lashes fluttered on her cheeks before her caramel eyes fixed on mine. The wind knocked right outta my chest and I couldn’t seem to move.
“You ever have one of those days where everything turns into a bloody nightmare?”
English. Fuck, it was hot.
That accent and her open expression made me chuff, “Havin’ one myself, actually.”
Her tight eyes softened and she sighed. “Then that makes two of us.” Her lips crooked into a smile and she laughed.
My heart did something it never had before.
It felt.
It felt something… indescribable.
“Thank you for stopping to help me. It was very nice of you.”
That sentiment snapped me back to reality. Nice? Don’t think so.
Her eyes measured me, waiting patiently for a response.
“Nice. Not normally what people say when they’re talkin’ ‘bout me.”
I watched as her lips parted slightly, sucking in a shocked breath. I had to get the hell outta here, away from her, and stop acting like some damn dumbstruck pussy.
I walked off without looking back, realizing that was the longest damn conversation I’d had with anyone in a long time… and it didn’t involve anything about being the fuckin’ oil prince of Bama or the next big football star.
There was something different about her, something… intriguing. Like she didn’t give a shit what anyone thought of her, wasn’t caught up in the football hype.
Almost as if I watched from a detached body, my boots abruptly ground to a halt and I looked over my shoulder. She was still standing on the same spot, then swerved and met my eyes. “I’m Rome,” I offered, almost involuntarily, the words spilling out of my mouth.
Her long lashes fluttered down, touching the lenses of her glasses, and when they lifted, a shy smile transformed her face. “Molly.”
I nodded and licked my lips, roving her whole package, then made my way back to the classroom.
Molly.
Little English Molly.
Fuck. There went my usually black heart, daring to feel something again.
Sweet Home Playlist
To listen to the playlist follow the link: http://tilliecole.com/sweet-home/
See You Again - Carrie Underwood
I Don't Want This Night To End - Luke Bryan
Joshua Radin - Tomorrow is Gonna Be Better
Bullet In The Gun - Planet Perfecto
Broken - Jake Bugg
Bruce's Philosophy Song - Monty Python
Beat This Heart - Tim Chaisson
Feels Like Home - Chantel Kreviazuk
Small Bump - Ed Sheeran
Angel - Sarah McLachlan
How Country Feels - Randy Houser
Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Dead In The Water - Ellie Goulding
Home - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
You've Got The Love - Florence & The Machine
Season of Love - Shiny Toy Guns
Acknowledgements
Once again I have lots of people to thank.
Mam and Dad, thanks for the unwavering support through this mad adventure, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you guys. Dad, thank you for introducing me to American Football. Even though we lived in a small Northern town in England, you introduced me to the wonder of the gridiron and years later, that has come in incredibly handy! Mam, you know I appreciate all the reads you do of each manuscript. Well, keep that up, there’s much more to come!
To my husband, thank you for your time and patience (and my neglect of you) whilst I wrote this book. You gave me the solid advice to write about the subjects I know, and from that point on, my writing changed… for the better!
To my fabulous beta readers; Lynn, Sam and Rebecca. Your comments were priceless.
A special thanks to Rachel and Kia, the genius sisters who have helped me through this process from start to finish. You guys put in way too much of your personal time and you’ll never know just how much that means to me.
Thank you to Damon at Damonza for a gorgeous book cover. It portrays everything I wanted it to perfectly, in fact, it almost made me cry.
Cassie, My editor. Thank you for helping me fix my British-isms and all the advice you gave on College Football game days and, of course, Bama lingo. It truly was serendipitous that I found you—an Alabama native, football-loving (even if it is Auburn) editor extraordinaire! I’ll definitely see you at a Tide game soon!
To Lysa, my web designer. Thank you for my beautifully stunning website and for putting up with constant badgering when you are snowed under with work! You do an amazing job daily, and I always look forward to our emails, they always make me laugh!
I would to thank all of the bloggers who give their free time freely to promote and spread the word about the little stories we authors write. You truly are the backbone (and heart) of this crazy writing world. A big whopping thank you to all of the bloggers who participated in my blog tour and/or reviewed an ARC of Sweet Home, I appreciate you taking the time to give my debut Mature New Adult Novel a go!
There are certain few bloggers to which I want to extend an extra thank you. Firstly, Smitten’s Book Blog, for giving Eternally North so much love and giving me some great advice.
This then leads me to the fabulous Kelly Moorhouse at Have Book Will Read Book Blog. You have worked tirelessly organising my blog tour and guided me through this fantastic experience with encouragement and a smile! You deserve a medal, girl!
Finally to Jenny and Gitte at Totally Booked Blog for giving this small town English author your support and helping me place on Amazon’s Romantic Comedy chart with my little British Rom-Com Eternally North. I hope you guys enjoy Sweet Home and Romeo Prince as much!
Lastly, a big huge THANK YOU to the readers. Every time you buy one of my books, you help make my dreams come true.
Love ya’s!
About the Author
Tillie Cole hails from a small town in the North-East of England. She grew up on a farm with her English mother, Scottish father and older sister and a multitude of rescue animals. As soon as she could, Tillie left her rural roots for the bright lights of the big city.
After graduating from Newcastle University, Tillie followed her Professional Rugby player husband around the world for a decade, becoming a teacher in between and thoroughly enjoyed teaching High School students Social Studies for seven years.
Tillie has now settled in Calgary, Canada, where she is finally able to sit down, write (without the threat of her husband being transferred), throwing herself into fantasy worlds and the fabulous minds of her characters.
Tillie writes both Romantic comedy and New Adult novels and happily shares her love of alpha-male leading men (mostly with muscles and tattoos) and strong female characters with her readers.
When she is not writing, Tillie enjoys nothing more than strutting her sparkly stuff on a dance floor (preferably to Lady Gaga), watching films (preferably anything with Tom Hardy or Will Ferral—for very different reasons!), listening to music or spending time with friends and family.
Follow Tillie at:
https://www.facebook.com/tilliecoleauthor
https://twitter.com/tillie_cole
Or drop me an email at: [email protected]
Or che
ck out my website:
www.tilliecole.com
Table of Contents
Dedication
Author’s Note
Prologue
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
Epilogue
Bonus Chapter
Sweet Home Playlist
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Follow Tillie at:
Table of Contents
Dedication
Author’s Note
Prologue
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
Epilogue
Bonus Chapter
Sweet Home Playlist
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Follow Tillie at: