"You know how your parents and teachers to tell you to do well in school? Well you might want to listen to them, or else you might just end up stuck like me. Believe me, when I tell you that you don't want that." - Tiara.
Tiara is stuck. After graduating from high school, she works at a dead end job as a cashier at a gas station dealing with crazy people day after day while feeling like life is passing her by and she still lives in her parent's basement. All her friends have left for college, but her family can't afford to send her to school. She's broke, so instead of a car, she bikes to work each day. She feels so miserable and alone until that one fateful day.
That one day HE walks in and she just about melts into a puddle on the ground since he just looked that hot. Tristian was just looking to gas up his Corvette, but the beautiful young lady behind the register caught his eye. It was late at night, so the gas station was empty, giving them a chance to talk for a while. When he asked her why she looked so sad, she explained her situation and how she just felt so stuck.
So they made a deal. He bought her some lottery tickets on the condition that if she wins, everything she buys will be shared with him. For example, if she buys a yacht, they would both use it together. With nothing to lose, she thought to herself, "Why not?" The chances of winning were slim anyways. They shook on it. Then they exchanged numbers, texted, went out a couple of times, and really hit it off.
The next time she got a day off, she cleaned out her purse and found the lottery tickets. She jumps online at the library to see what the winning numbers are. She then realizes in shock that one of the lottery tickets is an exact match! She can't believe that this $250 million dollar lottery ticket was being held in her hand! Picking up her phone to call Tristian, she knew that her life was about to change in a really big way, and maybe, just maybe, she can finally stop being stuck...
As Claire aims to leave her oppressive stepfamily behind, she befriends Zion. Will he be her ticket to freedom or a distraction in achieving her dreams?
*****
Claire Olsen has had a crush on Zion Petrakis since the first time she laid eyes on him, but he never noticed, instead only having eyes on the school's it girl, Maddie Jennings. Knowing she couldn't compete with Maddie, Claire hid her feelings for Zion, satisfied with admiring him from afar. However, when a series of events led Claire closer to Zion, her feelings for him grew from infatuation to love. And despite fighting hard to keep her feelings contained by distancing herself from Zion, he was determined to show her that he's earned a spot in her life.
[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]