Acclaim for Jessica Sorensen

“Sorensen’s portrayal of… relationships and long-distance love, as well as the longing to escape one’s past, raises her above her new adult peers.”

—RT Book Reviews on The Secret of Ella and Micha

“Romantic, suspenseful and well-written—this is a story you won’t want to put down.”

—RT Book Reviews on The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden

A Preview of The Destiny of Violet & Luke

Please see the next page for a preview of
The Destiny of Violet & Luke.

Chapter 1

Violet

(Freshman year of college)

I’ve got my fake smile plastered on my face and no one in the crowd of people surrounding me can tell if it’s real or not. None of them really give a shit either, just like I don’t. I’m only here, pretending to be a ray of sunshine, for three reasons: (a) I owe Preston, my last foster parent I had before I turned eighteen, big time, because he gave me a home when no one else would; and (b) because I need the money; and (c) I love the rush of knowing that at any moment I could get busted so much—so much that it’s become addicting, like an alcoholic craves booze.

“You want a shot?” the guy—I think his name is Jason or Jessie or some other J name—calls out over the bubbly song beating through the speakers. He raises an empty glass in front of my face, his gray eyes glazed over with intoxication and stupidity, which are pretty much one and the same.

I shake my head, my faux smile dazzling on my face. I wear it almost like a necklace, shiny and making me look pretty when I’m out in public, then when I go home I can take it off and toss it aside. “No thanks.”

“You sure?” he questions, then slants his head back and guzzles the rest of his beer. A trail drizzles from his mouth down to his navy blue polo shirt.

I’m about to say Yes, I’m sure, but then stop and nod, knowing it’s always good to blend in. It makes me look less sketchy and people less edgy and more trusting. “Yeah, why the hell not.” I aim to say it lightly even though I loathe the fiery taste of hard alcohol. I rarely drink it, but not just because of the taste. It’s what I do when it’s in my system, how my angry, erratic, self-destructing alter ego comes out, that makes it necessary that I stay sober. At least when I’m sober, I have control over the reckless things that I do, but when I’m drunk it’s a whole other ballgame, one I don’t feel like playing tonight. I already have a barely touched beer in my hand and have no plans on finishing it.