Open Road by Evelyn Glass

friend's eyes, she took Cristina's hands in hers and clung to them, tugging her close. "Please."
     
    "I love you like a sister, mami ," Cristina vowed, her eyes misting as she squeezed Ali's fingers. "Like my very own flesh and blood. And if you were my sister, I would tell you the same thing. I know you love him, Ali, I do. I know it's hurting right now. I remember what you went through before, how bad it was. So I'm telling you, as a friend, as a sister, this is the best thing for you to do. A life with Alejandro is a death sentence. You care about Bobby and he loves you enough to forgive you and spend the rest of his life taking care of you. What else could you possibly ask for?"
     
    Ali shook her head and forced a smile. “No, you’re right. It’s the smart choice. I’m lucky, just like you said. I just need a second alone.”
     
    Cristina smoothed her coral-colored gown. “Just a minute,” she warned before walking through the door. Ali could hear Cristina speaking rapidly to the others, her stern tone ensuring the bride one peaceful moment before showtime.
     
    Ali closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. Thoughts of Alejandro pushed into her brain and she chased them out. It was like phantom pain, the way she felt his stubble scratching against her throat, the way she heard his deep voice murmuring in her ear. She even swore she could feel the vibration of the Harley’s rumble through the floorboards, and just the thought of never being on the back of his bike again sent her into a fresh wave of panic.
     
    But there was no time for that. Cristina was back through the door, her bouquet in hand. She reached her other hand for Ali’s. “Come on, then, mi mejor amiga linda ,” she said softly. “Let’s go give these people what they’ve been waiting for.”
     
    The organs sounded and four hundred people stood from their seats, waiting for the future First Lady of Texas to make her way down the aisle.
     
    Read on for excerpt chapters from the sequel: Cross Fire

 
     
    An excerpt from the sequel: Cross Fire
     
    CHAPTER ONE
     
    Another explosion of color fills the sky, and Ali gasps in my arms. The sizzle of the fireworks dying out almost drowns out her voice saying, this night is perfect. She snuggles back against me and I squeeze her tighter, unable to believe my luck. Me. Her. Here together. She turns to kiss me and I take it slow, the feeling of her lips on mine still new enough to make me worry I’ll lose this at any moment. But it’s never just a kiss with us. In three seconds we’re both shaking and pulling apart to cool ourselves down. That’s how it is with us, every single time.
     
    Some people don’t believe in love at first sight, but I fell in love at age fourteen. I haven’t been able to get Ali out of my head since the day I went to pick up my cousin Cristina from cheerleading practice and saw her there in the sunlight, her blonde hair like a halo, a smile on her face as bright as the sun. A whole field of pretty girls, and all I could see was Ali, untying her hair and shaking it so her curls fell everywhere. She was all tan legs and wild hair and that amazing, radiant smile, and my mind kept saying yes, yes, yes, let me just look at this girl all day.
     
    The animal inside me marked her as mine the second I laid eyes on her four years ago, and he’s not quiet about what he wants to do to her. Ali shifts against me and it’s torture. We only just started dating and I’m taking it slow with her, but right now all I can think about is how the reflection of the colors in the sky would look on her bare skin. I want to be inside her when the blackness is broken with that beautiful light, and I want to hear her say my name as we move together under that canopy of colors.
     
    I want to stretch this summer out forever. I couldn’t believe she let me kiss her at that graduation party last month, and I can’t believe I’ve been taking her out ever since. If I thought I had a