Carry Me Home
Page 13
My tongue forms the next words before my brain can put on the brakes. “You know…traveling to South America has always been a dream of mine.” There are a few faint frowns. “A dream I’m about to make a reality,” I amend hastily. Seriously, if I had a firstborn child handy, I’d offer it up to get this opportunity.
My quick thinking works—the four frowns turn upside down.
I start rattling off upcoming plans to cycle tour South America even though the idea never crossed my mind until sixty seconds ago. Who knows where these words come from? It’s like I’ve been plotting the trip for years. I’m even getting excited about the outrageous prospect. My Spanish is better than decent, and this internship isn’t set to begin for another three months. This could be a perfect way to get out in the world, live a little, and gather story fodder to build my street cred.
Plus, there are huge bonus points to being on another continent during the lead-up to Harper’s Olympic bid. A cycle trip is a perfectly acceptable way to avoid Sister Dearest’s mounting stress and her inevitable wire hanger-esque meltdowns. Imagine not having to be her human punching bag for once?
I road bike on the weekends (fine, like once or twice a month), and I am pretty good in my spinning class, so it’s not out of the question. I’ve never been big on improvising, but damn it, I want this internship: the freaking koi ponds with Japanese-style footbridges, the environmentally responsible toilets, and cappuccino on tap.
Tortoiseshell Glasses sits back and crosses her arms, leveraging me an assessing look.
Have I done it, convinced them? I cross and recross my legs. Come on, come on, come on. I’ve almost half convinced myself at this point.
“I must say, I’m impressed, Miss Woods,” she says. The others nod.
“Thank you,” I answer quickly, nerves exploding like miniature bottle rockets.
“This South America trip has the potential to be of great interest to our audience,” she continues. “There is another vacant position here at Outsider, one we are vetting during the internship interviews. It’s an online content writer, putting out one to two items a day on our website with a guaranteed byline.”
“I’d be very interested,” I manage to say even though my mouth is dry. A paid position building clips for my portfolio? Glory, glory, hallelujah.
Tortoiseshells gives me a tight smile. “I’m sure you are. So are the other thirty-five applicants we’ve interviewed. We are hiring three interns, and the one who electrifies us the most will land the position.”
It takes a massive effort, but somehow I manage to keep my nod more casual and less desperate. An internship would be a dream come true. An actual job here would be akin to discovering a pot of gold.
It’s a tight fit inside my pointy-toe flats, but I cross my toes with a quiet plea to the universe. Please.
Fate must have taken pity on my sorry butt, because the next day, I get the call from human resources. “Miss Woods, we are pleased to inform you that you’ve been selected for an internship with Outsider magazine.”
I’m starting the position in three months, right after New Year’s, and even more amazing, I’m in contention for a paid job. Publishing is a competitive industry, and this opportunity represents a solid foot in the door.
Maybe I stretched the truth—fine, outright lied—but there’s no guilt bubbling inside my stomach, because for once I’m going to be the one who takes a risk, reaches out to grab opportunity with both hands. Growing up, I never chose the more daring path reading Choose Your Own Adventure books. It’s now or never.
My grandfather left me a small inheritance, so I use some of the funds to book an Aeroméxico plane ticket to La Paz with the stated aim of cycling part of the Andes Trail, the popular route that stretches most of South America, from Ecuador to Tierra del Fuego. I’m going to do it, live life a new way, without a list of rules and regulations. My story doesn’t have to be ho-hum, safe, and predictable.
I mean, what can go wrong for an unworldly asthmatic on a last-minute trip to a foreign continent in a separate hemisphere?
Oh. Shit.
Also by Lia Riley
Upside Down
Sideswiped
Inside Out
ACCLAIM FOR UPSIDE DOWN
“Upside Down gave me all the feels. Romantic and poignant…the journey of love and acceptance lingers long after the book is closed.”
—Jennifer L. Armentrout/J. Lynn, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“Upside Down is a refreshing and heartfelt New Adult contemporary romance.”
—USA Today
“This story shows just how frightening it is to let yourself fall in love and be that vulnerable.”
—HeroesandHeartbreakers.com
“Upside Down is one of those books I wish I could read for the first time again…It’s beautiful, heart-wrenching, and something that everyone needs to read for themselves.”
—BooksbyMigs.com
“Lia Riley turned my emotions Upside Down with this book! Fast paced, electric, and sweetly emotional!”
—Tracy Wolff, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author
“Where to even start with this book? Beautifully written, Australia, hot surfer Bran, unique heroine Talia. Yep, it’s all just a whole lot of awesome. Loved it!”
—Cindi Madsen, USA Today bestselling author
“Fresh, sexy, and romantic, Upside Down will leave you wanting more. I cannot wait for the next book. Lia Riley is an incredible new talent and not to be missed!”
—Kristen Callihan, award-winning author of the Darkest London series and The Hook Up
“A rich setting and utterly romantic, Upside Down will have you laughing and crying and begging for it to never end. I absolutely loved it!”
—Melissa West, author of Pieces of Olivia
“Upside Down is a brilliantly written New Adult romance that transported me to another country. With vivid imagery and rich characterizations…I was completely smitten with the love story of Bran and Talia. I cannot wait for the rest of their story!”
—Megan Erickson, author of Make It Count
GET LOST IN THE OFF THE MAP SERIES by Lia Riley
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Contents
Cover
Title Page
Welcome
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Epigraph
Chapter One: Sunny
Chapter Two: Sunny
Chapter Three: Tanner
Chapter Four: Sunny
Chapter Five: Tanner
Chapter Six: Sunny
Chapter Seven: Tanner
Chapter Eight: Sunny
Chapter Nine: Sunny
Chapter Ten: Sunny
Chapter Eleven: Tanner
Chapter Twelve: Sunny
Chapter Thirteen: Tanner
Chapter Fourteen: Sunny
Chapter Fifteen: Tanner
Chapter Sixteen: Sunny
Chapter Seventeen: Tanner
About the Author
An Excerpt from UPSIDE DOWN
A Preview of WITH EVERY BREATH
Also by Lia Riley
Acclaim for UPSIDE DOWN
Get Lost in the Off the Map series by Lia Riley
Newsletters
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 by Lia Riley
Excerpt from Upside Down copyright © 2014 by Lia Riley
Excerpt from With Every Breath copyright © 2015 by Lia Riley
&n
bsp; Cover design by Elizabeth Turner
Cover image by Shutterstock
Cover copyright © 2015 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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First ebook edition: May 2015
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ISBN 978-1-4555-3594-1
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