From USA Today bestselling author comes the second book in the Lost Boys series of interconnected standalones. Holden and River's emotional and heart-wrenching journey to love, redemption, and their happy ever after.
When You Come Back To Me by Emma Scott is now live!
At Santa Cruz Central High School, they called them the misfits, the outcasts, the weirdos. But most of us knew them as the Lost Boys...
Holden Parish survived his parents' horrific attempts to make him "the perfect son." After a year's stint in a Swiss sanitarium to recover, he has vowed to never let anything--or anyone--trap him again. Brilliant but broken, he seeks refuge behind alcohol, meaningless sex, and uses his wicked sense of humor to keep people away. He only has to ride out one year in the coastal town of Santa Cruz with his aunt and uncle before he inherits his billions and can make his escape. Disappear.
Falling in love is not in the plans.
River Whitmore. Star quarterback of the Central High football team, Prom King, Mr. Popular, ladies' man. He leads the perfect life...except it's all a lie. His father has River's future in the NFL all planned out, while River's dream is to run the family business in the town that he loves. But his mother's illness is tearing the family apart and River is becoming the glue that holds them together. How can he break his father's heart when it's already shattering?
River's carefully-crafted façade explodes when he meets Holden Parish. A guy who dresses in coats and scarves year-round, drinks expensive vodka, and spends his free time breaking into houses for the fun of it. They're complete opposites. River seeks a quiet life, away from the spotlight. Holden would rather have dental surgery than settle down.
Holden's demons and River's responsibilities threaten to keep them apart, while their undeniable attraction crashes them together again and again, growing into something deep and real no matter how they resist.
Until one terrible night changes everything.
Lost Boys is a new series of interconnected, coming-of-age standalones from USA Today bestselling author Emma Scott, coming in 2020
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Excerpt
On the stage, Miller spoke into the mic in a low, almost shy voice. “Hey, my name is
Miller Stratton. I’m going to play a song by Coldplay. It’s called ‘Fix You.’”
I let my gaze slide to Holden, studying the contours of his profile—his chiseled jaw and
cheekbones, strong nose, full lips. He swallowed, and I watched the movement of his Adam’s
apple. Thoroughly masculine. Nothing feminine about it.
“Can I help you?” he whispered, eyes forward.
“It sucks not talking to you,” I said, as Miller strummed the first chords of the song. “I
don’t know why. You’re arrogant as fuck.”
“Fair. You’re a grilled cheese sandwich.”
I snorted. “A what?”
“Shh,” Holden said. “Listen. This is our song.”
Our song. Nothing was ours. There was no us. But Miller sang that if you never try you’ll
never know, and the words pierced me like arrows.
I took my hand out of my pocket and let it hang by my side again. Again, my skin
brushed Holden’s, sending shards of heat dancing up my arm while Miller sang about lights that
ignite your bones.
I looked at Holden and he looked at me.
Without letting myself think, I slipped my fingers around the side of his hand and slid my
palm against his. He gasped slightly—a small intake of breath only I heard in the darkened
auditorium. Then he let his hand settle into mine. Another heartbeat, and our fingers laced
together.
“And I will try,” Miller sang, his rich voice hovering in the air in that silent auditorium.
“To fix you.”
A short silence fell before the crowd erupted in thunderous cheers, unlike anything I’ve
ever heard. Miller’s version of the song was unlike anything I’d ever heard either, as if he were
singing directly to me. To us.
Because it’s our song.
Under the cover of applause, I let go of Holden’s hand and tugged the cuff of his coat.
“Let’s go.”
I left without looking back but heard Holden’s footfalls following. Warning bells clanged
in my head but were drowned in the thrashing beat of my heart that felt as it were trying to break
free of its prison like it had at the pool. Only this time I was stone cold sober. No excuses.
I pushed open the door next to the auditorium—the back area of the band room that was
for instrument storage. Huge basses loomed in dimness, and drums of all sizes and styles lined
the walls.
Holden followed me in and shut the door behind him. “Hello, friend.”
“I put in my college applications,” I said as he approached me in the darkness. “I’m going
away to Texas or maybe Alabama this summer.”
“Establishing the rules, are you?” he drawled, though his voice was thick and tinged with
nerves.
I swallowed hard. “Nothing’s changed. Nothing can change.”
“I told you,” Holden said, in front of me now. “I’ll never ask you for anything. I don’t
have anything to give. Except this.”
I wanted to tell him that wasn’t true, that I was the one who had nothing to offer. I
shouldn’t have led us here. I should walk out, but his goddamn voice, the scent of him, his
presence was overwhelming. My hands itched to touch him, to grab him and…
Kiss him?
My first kiss with a guy. It seemed as if I’d been waiting a lifetime for it and yet the
moment was rushing at me like a speeding train.
“Stop thinking, River,” Holden whispered. “We’re here. Right now.” He leaned in.
“What are you going to do?”
Meet Emma
Emma Scott is a USA Today and Wall St. Journal bestselling author whose books have been translated in five languages and featured in Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, New York Daily News and USA Today's Happy Ever After. She writes emotional, character-driven romances in which art and love intertwine to heal, and in which love always wins. If you enjoy emotionally-charged stories that rip your heart out and put it back together again, with diverse characters and kind-hearted heroes, you will enjoy her novels. Visit www.emmascottwrites.com
RECENT RELEASES
Someday, Someday (M/M standalone)
A Five-Minute Life (standalone)
Bring Down the Stars (Beautiful Hearts #1)
Long Live the Beautiful Hearts (Beautiful Hearts #2)
COMING SOON:
A new YA/NA series of interconnected standalones, coming in 2020
"At Santa Cruz Central High, we called them the misfits, the outcasts, the weirdos. But most of us knew them as the Lost Boys."
The Girl in the Love Song (Lost Boys #1) : http://bit.ly/2MLnYhU
When You Come Back To Me (Lost Boys #2) : http://bit.ly/37BsCHh
The Last Piece of his Heart (Lost Boys #3) : http://bit.ly/2QeVlfa
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Elizabeth's Review
My rating: 5 of 5 stars - One of the Best
Review Copy Provided by Author
When You Come Back To Me is the second book in the Lost Boys series, so both River and Holden are characters that we met in book 1 (The Girl In the Love Song), but we get to know them both so much better here.
The timelines between the two books are pretty much concurrent, so if you are reading the books in order, there are scenes where that will be very familiar. It’s not necessary to read the books in order, this is very much a stand alone, but be prepared for spoilers if you read out of order.
Now that all of that is out of the way - can I just say WOW! I am so impressed with how Ms Scott is able to dive into the mind of a high school senior and let us see behind the scenes to what these very complex characters are thinking and feeling. We see issues related to identity, life goals, family health struggles, and the heavier ideas of emotional and substance abuse. All of these heavy and hard things are woven into this young adult romance in such a way that we are rooting for these two people to find their way through to a happy ending.
This is a well crafted story that pulled me in with its overall message of hope, healing, and the power of (all kinds) of love. The secondary cast is excellent. Some of whom flow through the Lost Boys series and some that are specific to this book - I am very much looking forward to seeing Ronan’s story in the conclusion to the Lost Boys series.
View all my reviews
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