"It is your choice," he said, stepping so close to me that our lips were almost touching. "Either do what I say - or get another job." My heart stood still as I gazed up into his deep, dark, dangerous eyes... In a world where women's only role in life is to sit at home and look pretty, Lilly is determined to fight for her freedom. There's only one problem: a powerful man blocking her way.

When Everly Reed collides with the cynical and devilishly handsome Mason Valdez, she knows trouble is ahead, but she never could have guessed how much she would be drawn to the storm. ***** Nineteen-year-old Ever Reed likes when things make sense. Which is probably why she excels at math, enough to secure her a spot at an Ivy League school out of state. Sheltered by her mother and older brother Asher for most of her life, Ever hasn't experienced much of the world, but she knows New York will be an adventure. Enter Mason Valdez: cynical, arrogant, and undeniably attractive-exactly what Ever doesn't need. But as their paths keep crossing, Ever finds herself intrigued by Mason, and eager to know the boy behind the bitter mask. As secrets, scars, and painful pasts rise to the surface, Ever knows one thing for sure: they can only make it through if they face their storms together. [[word count: 150,000 - 200,000]] Cover designed by Frances Louise De Ramos Spinoff to The Hoodie Girl Book One of the A Thousand Storms series [[The Fiction Awards 2018 Best Overall Story and Best Romance Winner]] Content/trigger warning: This story mentions sexual assault and childhood abuse

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He was my best friend. He was there to hold me together while I was breaking, he could make me laugh when I was on the verge of tears, he protected me, he saved me when I didn't realize that I needed it. He helped me through a lot. Which is precisely why I started to fall for him and that terrified me. I didn't want feelings to get in the way of what we had. I had never felt, about anyone, the way I felt about Harry. I had felt heartbreak before and I knew I never wanted to feel it from him. But no matter how hard I tried I couldn't help but fall in love with him. I'm Natalie Anne Hollandsworth and this is the story of how I fell in love with my best friend.