*~* Breakdown: Cover Reveal & Excerpt *~*

This is Amy and Nate's story from the very beginning...

Amy Porter has had a thing for her twin brother’s best friend since she was a teenager. After being considered “one of the boys” throughout her childhood, he’s the first guy to look at her and see past the tomboy she used to be. Unfortunately, he’s also completely off-limits. She does her best to move on as the years go by, but it’s not until her life takes a drastic turn that she finally accepts the fact that they aren’t meant to be. However, as her world crumbles around her, Nate always seems to be close by to help her pick up the pieces.

Nate Miller knows that Amy is the one girl he can never have. No matter how badly he wants her, he won’t risk destroying his friendship, or the promise he made to look out for her when her brother goes overseas with the Marines. As life continues to get in the way and keep them apart, the only logical choice is to give up… but giving up is the last thing he wants to do.

With so many obstacles stacked up against them, can they find a way to make it work or are they headed for a breakdown?

*~* Excerpt *~*

“Why are you here?” Amy asks, as if only just now realizing that I’m lying in her bed next to her.

“I was worried about you. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I didn’t want you to see me like this,” she groans, burying her face in her pillows. “I’m such a mess. Please don’t look at me.”

Lifting myself up on my elbow, I reach over and gently grab her chin, tilting her face toward me. For the first time since I got here, her beautiful eyes rest on mine.

“You’re gorgeous,” I tell her, brushing my thumb across her damp cheek. “You’re always gorgeous, Amy. This is no exception.”

And it’s true. Her hair is mussed up from sleep, her eyes are red and puffy from crying, and she doesn’t have a stitch of makeup on, but she still takes my breath away.

Her bottom lip quivers, and a tear escapes down her cheek. “I’m a whale.”

I have to suppress a grin at how adorably self-conscious she is, despite the fact that she’s nowhere close to resembling a whale. If it weren’t for her very round midsection, you wouldn’t even know that she’s pregnant. I lower the blanket and rub my palm over her swollen belly. “You’re perfect.”

A weak smile touches her lips as she turns and nestles her head back into the pillows, finally relaxing against me. I lie back down and curl her body into mine, spreading my fingers across the curve of her stomach. It feels harder than I expected, and I absentmindedly rub lazy circles over the surface.

I’m drifting between awake and asleep, exhausted after having such an early morning, when I suddenly feel a flutter beneath my hand.

“Whoa.” I jerk back, staring at her belly with wide eyes. “Are you okay?”

Amy giggles. “It’s just the baby kicking. She moves around a lot when I’m trying to sleep.”

I carefully put my hand back, resuming the motion. Within a few seconds I feel it again.

“This is crazy,” I whisper in amazement, completely absorbed in the tiny, gentle movements happening inside her. “She’s a little acrobat.”

Half asleep, she mutters drowsily, “She likes you.”

That inadvertent declaration hits me with such force it sucks the air right out of my lungs. It burns through all the other bullshit taking up space in my head until only one thought remains, and I’m left with a sense of absolute clarity.

In this moment I know that I want her to be mine.

I want them to be mine.