Title: The Sin Of Kissing You
Series: Falling #2
Author: Maya Hughes
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Cover Design: Najla Qamber
Release Date: April 8, 2021
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ABOUT
I don’t deserve her forgiveness, but I can’t stop myself from fighting for it.
Bay ran from me four years ago and I can’t blame her. I broke her heart and my own with one split second mistake.
If I were a better guy, I’d walk away and let her live her life, but maybe I haven’t learned my lesson yet because I can’t stop thinking about her. And I won’t stop until she knows how much I still love her.
The sins of my past are hard to run from, but I’ll battle every single one, if it means one more chance with her.
The Sin of Kissing You is the second book in the new Fulton U universe sports romance, Falling trilogy.
EXCERPT
“Bay.” It sounded like a croak, a rusty gate of a word I hadn’t let myself say out loud in over a year. Somehow it seemed to be one of the few words I could utter in her presence.
“Let’s not.” Her words were sharp and final, but I couldn’t be this close to her and not talk to her.
“We need to.” Training camp was a grueling non-stop thirty days I’d prepared myself for. But it also meant she could dodge me as much as she wanted. Knowing she was closer than she’d been in years and not getting to say what I needed to say to her—that would kill me.
“We don’t need to do a thing. This story”—she gestured between the two of us—“ended back in Greenwood.”
She tried to push past me, but I couldn’t let her walk away, not yet. I didn’t have a single thing I could say to get her to stay. Not in the way I wanted. Not in a way she deserved.
Staring straight ahead, she pressed her shoulder against the metal doorframe.
I needed to back off. I needed to get out of the way. But this might be the last chance I ever got to be near her.
“I’m sorry.”
Her head snapped to the side. Our bodies were so close. We were sharing the same air, passing it between us like all those nights I’d drawn her, or watched movies with her, or just felt like the luckiest guy in the world because she was beside me.
“Too fucking bad. Take that apology and shove it so far up your ass you can taste the hair on your knuckles.” Her eyes blazed. Every muscle was tight, radiating the anger she’d let loose with every syllable.
“Well that was graphic as hell.” The corners of my mouth twitched, nerves getting the better of me. She had a harder edge to her now. Or maybe it was what being around me did to her.
“I wanted to paint the picture for you.” Her voice was low and biting.
I dropped my arm and stepped out of the doorway, still not giving her a clear path out. I was wrong on so many levels, but once again, I couldn’t stop myself. “Can we talk?”
“What about how our interaction has gone so far has made you think I have a word to say to you?”
“I-I thought you might want to talk.” My palms felt like I should have sweat droplets dripping from my fingertips. There were so many things I’d told myself I’d say the next time I saw her. I’d thought I’d have more time. A solid plan in place. Two brain cells to rub together. “Clear the air.”
Her cheeks were flushed like they’d get when she’d catch me watching her in class, or after I tickled her and she gasped, panting, after finally telling me to stop. Or the way they’d gotten when we’d stood on the football field in our caps and gowns and she told me to walk away.
“About you humiliating me in front of the entire school? About sleeping with me and then breaking my heart?” Her throat worked up and down. “Or about breaking my dad’s guitar?” Her voice broke and I wanted to chop off my own hand for what I’d done.
Her dad’s guitar. Standing in the sunny, summer afternoon, surrounded by our classmates, she’d told me what I’d done to something that had been such a precious memory of her father, and I’d known that was it. She’d never forgive me, but I needed to know she was okay. “Any of it. All of it.”
“There’s nothing you can say to fix any of those things. Not a damn thing.”
“Bay.” It sounded like a croak, a rusty gate of a word I hadn’t let myself say out loud in over a year. Somehow it seemed to be one of the few words I could utter in her presence.
“Let’s not.” Her words were sharp and final, but I couldn’t be this close to her and not talk to her.
“We need to.” Training camp was a grueling non-stop thirty days I’d prepared myself for. But it also meant she could dodge me as much as she wanted. Knowing she was closer than she’d been in years and not getting to say what I needed to say to her—that would kill me.
“We don’t need to do a thing. This story”—she gestured between the two of us—“ended back in Greenwood.”
She tried to push past me, but I couldn’t let her walk away, not yet. I didn’t have a single thing I could say to get her to stay. Not in the way I wanted. Not in a way she deserved.
Staring straight ahead, she pressed her shoulder against the metal doorframe.
I needed to back off. I needed to get out of the way. But this might be the last chance I ever got to be near her.
“I’m sorry.”
Her head snapped to the side. Our bodies were so close. We were sharing the same air, passing it between us like all those nights I’d drawn her, or watched movies with her, or just felt like the luckiest guy in the world because she was beside me.
“Too fucking bad. Take that apology and shove it so far up your ass you can taste the hair on your knuckles.” Her eyes blazed. Every muscle was tight, radiating the anger she’d let loose with every syllable.
“Well that was graphic as hell.” The corners of my mouth twitched, nerves getting the better of me. She had a harder edge to her now. Or maybe it was what being around me did to her.
“I wanted to paint the picture for you.” Her voice was low and biting.
I dropped my arm and stepped out of the doorway, still not giving her a clear path out. I was wrong on so many levels, but once again, I couldn’t stop myself. “Can we talk?”
“What about how our interaction has gone so far has made you think I have a word to say to you?”
“I-I thought you might want to talk.” My palms felt like I should have sweat droplets dripping from my fingertips. There were so many things I’d told myself I’d say the next time I saw her. I’d thought I’d have more time. A solid plan in place. Two brain cells to rub together. “Clear the air.”
Her cheeks were flushed like they’d get when she’d catch me watching her in class, or after I tickled her and she gasped, panting, after finally telling me to stop. Or the way they’d gotten when we’d stood on the football field in our caps and gowns and she told me to walk away.
“About you humiliating me in front of the entire school? About sleeping with me and then breaking my heart?” Her throat worked up and down. “Or about breaking my dad’s guitar?” Her voice broke and I wanted to chop off my own hand for what I’d done.
Her dad’s guitar. Standing in the sunny, summer afternoon, surrounded by our classmates, she’d told me what I’d done to something that had been such a precious memory of her father, and I’d known that was it. She’d never forgive me, but I needed to know she was okay. “Any of it. All of it.”
“There’s nothing you can say to fix any of those things. Not a damn thing.”
Review
4.5 Stars
“The perfect beginning. The perfect story. The perfect love.
But it wasn’t ours. And no amount of wishful thinking would make that the story anyone would write about us. But as messy as our story was, it was still just that—ours.”
The Sin of Kissing You picks up where the The Art of Falling For You ended, with Bay and Keyton meeting each other four years after parting on not so good terms. This book was highly anticipated for me after reading the first installment but honestly I was slightly worried that the sequels might not live up to my expectations but Maya didn’t disappoint albeit not without the angst and lots of yearning.
Bay and Keyton are meeting each other again at a time in their lives where they are at crossroads on how the rest of their future is going to go. Bay has graduated from college and is trying to decide on which accounting firm job offer to accept while also trying to come to terms with leaving music behind. Keyton has been picked up by Los Angeles’ professional football team and has to go through a month of football training camp to see if he gets picked to the team for the next season. The football training camp takes place at a local college where Bay happens to work as a dormitory’s assistant resident director.
In this book we find out more about Keyton and it clear that he’s still haunted by his actions and he has still not properly addressed his childhood trauma. We also see more about Bay’s insecurities about pursuing music as a career.
What I particularly loved about this book was the way both Bay and Keyton’s character growth is portrayed throughout the book. It’s not written as a one-all-done-all-magic-wand-waving and a person is all changed and perfect that many stories seem to suffer from. Instead, we see that although Keyton has changed from the boy he was in high school, he is still struggling, refusing to address his childhood trauma. We see Bay working through her fear of commiting to music and taking a leap of faith. We see them both trying to figure out this new relationship dynamics given their history and uncertain futures.
I am fully ready and excited for the last installment, The Hate of Loving You to read more about Bay and Keyton and see how their story ends.
ARC kindly provided in exchange for an honest review.
COMING SOON IN FALLING TRILOGY
PREORDER BOOK 3 – THE HATE OF LOVING YOU – May 6, 2021
Amazon mybook.to/AmazonTHOLY
ADD TO YOUR TBR!
THE ART OF FALLING FOR YOU (Book 1) http://bit.ly/GRTHOLY
THE SIN OF KISSING YOU (Book 2) http://bit.ly/GRTSOKY
THE HATE OF LOVING YOU (Book 3) http://bit.ly/GRTHOLY
AUTHOR BIO
Maya Hughes, that’s me!, can often be found sneaking in another chapter while hiding in the bathroom from her kids! 🙂 I’m a romance writer who loves taking inspiration from everyday life, namely my husband and biggest fan. Inspiration also strikes when I hear a song, meet someone new or daydream while at soccer practice.
I love writing stories that capture the possibilities of the paths less travelled and enjoy experiencing life through my characters’ eyes.
I’m the mom of three little ones, the wife to an amazing husband and also work full time. Some of my favorite things are cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, white wine, laughing until I can’t breathe, traveling with my family and Jeff Goldblum.
AUTHOR LINKS
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/mayahughes
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mayahugheswrites
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mayahugheswrites
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/maya-hughes
