Damaged Like Us (Like Us Series Book 1)
Page 34
Before Maximoff speaks, Jane swoops into the kitchen wearing kitten-print pajamas.
“Sis.” Beckett hugs his sister, and then to the right of their embrace, Charlie Cobalt saunters forward, yellow-green eyes only on Maximoff. I stand on guard, but Maximoff steps forward, his face solidified to marble.
“What are you doing here?” he asks Charlie.
Charlie never breaks eye contact. “Being a cousin who didn’t doubt you.”
Jane tears up behind him, and Beckett kisses the top of her head.
Maximoff nods repeatedly, and he extends a hand to Charlie. His cousin clasps his hand and they go in for a hug.
People start moving around, exchanging hugs and hellos—the five Omega bodyguards and their five clients haven’t all been alone together like this in a long time. Definitely not since I’ve been on SFO.
Then everyone meanders around the kitchen, catching up and helping cook. I stand next to Maximoff and untwist a loaf of bread.
“More bacon,” Oscar tells me as he eats all the bacon I just cooked. Donnelly already opens the freezer to grab meat and a bag of frozen biscuits. He hands them to Beckett.
Quinn has another carton of eggs and starts to help Maximoff crack them into his bowl. Sulli and Akara pull out dishes from the cabinets while Charlie and Jane chatter in French, making coffee together.
We could’ve detonated the security team and his family, and like a strike of perfect lightning, we’ve brought all ten of us closer together.
And I have the guy.
I have the guy. I extend my arm around his muscular waist, and he leans some of his weight against my side. Relaxing. I begin to smile wider and wider.
44
MAXIMOFF HALE
I HIKE one of my favorite mountain trails with Farrow. Not far from the lake house. Wind whistles through the towering fir and maple trees and rocky peaks. The last autumn leaves falling.
Nature has nothing on Farrow. I’m highly distracted. Jet-black pieces of his hair brush his lashes. His backpack buckled across his hard chest like mine. Biceps bulging in his black long-sleeve shirt.
Mainly, it’s how, as we trek up the steep incline, he lengthens his pace. And we’re step-for-step the whole time. Neither one of us falling behind.
I think about that a lot.
I think about how he called me pure of heart.
I think about how it’ll take time for my family to see him as anything other than my bodyguard, but me and him—we’ve seen each other as more from the beginning.
I think about how he’s helped me over a wall that I had never tried to climb.
I think about you.
And how I’ve been afraid to disappoint you. Maybe I still will, maybe I already have—but it’d take so much more than a wrong turn or a human mistake to ever disappoint him.
I think about how there’s only one person I crave to wake up to and see before I go to sleep. The agitating know-it-all who loves to irritate the fuck out of me.
I think about him.
So when we reach a clearing on a ridge—overlooking a vast backdrop of mountains and bright blue horizon—I forget the fucking view. And I just face Farrow.
He bites the plastic waterspout from his camelbak, smiling. “Seen the view a hundred times already?” The longer he stares into my gaze, the more he sees the emotion barreling out of me. His chest rises in a deeper breath.
“I need to tell you something,” I say.
He edges closer. Our hands brush and then clasp together strongly. Gazes never dropping.
Christ, let me say this right. “In hindsight, I realize that I was envisioning a kind of person I’d want to be with for more than a day, long-term. You know, something…” fuck. I gesture in the air for the word.
“Lasting?”
“Yeah.” Lasting.
Something indestructible.
“I hoped for someone who wasn’t afraid to put me in my place, someone who made me feel human. I hoped for someone who could be strong so I could be vulnerable, but still never make me feel weak or less than. I hoped for trust and understanding and an innate love of my family. And I realized, Farrow…”
His hand slides up my neck to my jaw, his welling eyes already caressing mine.
“I realized,” I breathe, “that I was always hoping and wishing for you.” Say the words. “I’m in love with you, and I’m the lucky one here.”
He laughs into the most heartfelt smile I’ve seen. Both of his tattooed hands hold my face. Our chests drawn together, and he whispers, “You beat me to it.”
He loves me. My face is just pure goddamn happiness. “Well, you can’t be first at everything. So one guy always tells me.”
“One guy,” Farrow repeats.
“Some damn guy,” I rephrase, my hand rising up the back of his neck.
“The guy you love,” Farrow teases. Then he licks his bottom lip, and his mouth veers to my ear. Holding my head still, he whispers, deep and protective, “I love you too.”
Thank You!!
Thank you so much for reading DAMAGED LIKE US! We hope you enjoyed the beginning of Maximoff & Farrow’s story. If you did and you have the time, we’d be so grateful if you could leave a review for DAMAGED LIKE US on Amazon or whichever site you purchased from. Even if it’s only a couple sentences, that would be amazing. Reviews help so much!
Ready for the next book in the Like Us Series?! Maximoff & Farrow’s story is far from over! Follow the link to find out more about LOVERS LIKE US - Book 2 in the Like Us Series.
We’re big into Pinterest, so if that’s your thing, you can see our boards for the Like Us series on our Pinterest Page. We went a little overboard and made a board for each character! *grins*
Again, thank you so much for reading!
All the love,
xoxo Krista & Becca
FURTHER READING
Want to learn more about how the Calloway Sisters and their families became famous? The entire Addicted & Calloway Sisters series are now available! Start with Lily & Loren Hale’s story in Addicted to You.
ADDICTED TO YOU
She's addicted to sex. He's addicted to booze...the only way out is rock bottom.
No one would suspect shy Lily Calloway's biggest secret. While everyone is dancing at college bars, Lily stays in the bathroom. To get laid. Her compulsion leads her to one-night stands, steamy hookups and events she shamefully regrets. The only person who knows her secret happens to have one of his own.
Loren Hale's best friend is his bottle of bourbon. Lily comes at a close second. For three years, they've pretended to be in a real relationship, hiding their addictions from their families. They've mastered the art of concealing flasks and random guys that filter in and out of their apartment.
But as they sink beneath the weight of their addictions, they cling harder to their destructive relationship and wonder if a life together, for real, is better than a lie. Strangers and family begin to infiltrate their guarded lives, and with new challenges, they realize they may not just be addicted to alcohol and sex.
Their real vice may be each other.
FIND ON AMAZON
Also by Krista & Becca
ADDICTED SERIES
Addicted to You
Ricochet
Addicted for Now
Thrive
Addicted After All
CALLOWAY SISTERS SERIES
Kiss the Sky
Hothouse Flower
Fuel the Fire
Long Way Down
Some Kind of Perfect
STANDALONE ROMANCES
Amour Amour
Infini
About the Authors
ABOUT KRISTA & BECCA RITCHIE
Krista & Becca Ritchie are New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors and identical twins—one a science nerd, the other a comic book geek—but with their shared passion for writing, they combined their mental powers as kids and have never stopped telling stories. Now in their twenties, they write about oth
er twenty-somethings navigating through life, college, and romance. They love superheroes, flawed characters, and soul mate love.
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND UPDATES
Visit Krista & Becca Ritchie on their website and like their Facebook Page. Subscribe to Krista & Becca’s NEWSLETTER to receive updates on free books, bonus content, new releases, cover reveals, giveaways and more!
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Join the Fizzle Force Facebook Readers Group to interact with other readers, chat about the books, and to enter exclusive Fizzle Force giveaways.
Acknowledgments
To our mom, thank you for not only once again providing us with your goddess-like editing powers, but for giving us endless support. You are the most selfless human being we know, and your kindness and generosity could power a whole fleet of Viking ships.
To Lanie, Jenn, Jae, and Siiri, thank you for being the best Facebook Admins, friends, and shoulders to lean on. You ladies are a magical bunch. Thank you for always championing our books and for doing all you do to help spread the word. It’s a powerful thing to meet people who just want you to succeed, who’d do anything to further your dreams. We love you all so much.
To Marie, thank you for all of your support and for all the help translating the French. Jane and Maximoff’s friendship wouldn’t be nearly as special without your talents.
To Kimberly, thank you for being a superhero agent. We know we constantly say this! But it’s so true. We feel like the luckiest authors to have you in our corner.
To the Fizzle Force Facebook Group, we wrote this book during one of the most difficult times in our lives. Your constant, uplifting encouragement means more to us than you can possibly know. In a sea of self-doubt, other’s positivity can literally be the one thing to change everything. It pushed us to keep going. To fight for the book that we wanted and thought was best. Thank you for all the love. It truly is life-changing.
And to Aisha, you’ve shown us what strength really means and what sunshine really looks like. We love you so very much, and your beautiful heart continues to inspire us.
To Lex, thank you for your wonderful advice and always being there to chat. Your friendship over the years has meant everything to us.
To Kennedy, meeting you will always be one of our ultimate highlights. We admire you so much. Thank you for being such a sweet friend.
To the romance community, we are so honored to be a part of this community with such talented and amazing writers and readers. Thank you for embracing us—two very pop-culture obsessed girls—so fully.
To the bloggers and reviewers, your work is so important. Thank you for always taking the time to create and to post and to spend countless hours doing what you do—just for the sheer love of it.
To the fans of our previous novels, thank you for continuing this journey with us. Thank you for taking a chance on this new series. We know not everyone will keep reading our books, but the fact that you’ve stuck around is nothing short of magic.
And lastly, but definitely not least, thank you. The reader. You’re a huge part of why we’re still writing. Why we’re still living out our dream. You picked up this book. You read it. And for that, we are so very, very grateful.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Note From The Authors
Character List
1. MAXIMOFF HALE
2. MAXIMOFF HALE
3. MAXIMOFF HALE
4. FARROW KEENE
5. MAXIMOFF HALE
6. MAXIMOFF HALE
7. FARROW KEENE
8. MAXIMOFF HALE
9. FARROW KEENE
10. FARROW KEENE
11. FARROW KEENE
12. MAXIMOFF HALE
13. FARROW KEENE
14. MAXIMOFF HALE
15. MAXIMOFF HALE
16. MAXIMOFF HALE
17. MAXIMOFF HALE
18. FARROW KEENE
19. MAXIMOFF HALE
20. FARROW KEENE
21. MAXIMOFF HALE
22. FARROW KEENE
23. MAXIMOFF HALE
24. MAXIMOFF HALE
25. FARROW KEENE
26. FARROW KEENE
27. MAXIMOFF HALE
28. FARROW KEENE
29. MAXIMOFF HALE
30. MAXIMOFF HALE
31. MAXIMOFF HALE
32. FARROW KEENE
33. MAXIMOFF HALE
34. FARROW KEENE
35. FARROW KEENE
36. FARROW KEENE
37. MAXIMOFF HALE
38. FARROW KEENE
39. MAXIMOFF HALE
40. MAXIMOFF HALE
41. FARROW KEENE
42. FARROW KEENE
43. FARROW KEENE
44. MAXIMOFF HALE
Thank You!!
Also by Krista & Becca
About the Authors
Acknowledgments