I'm pleased to be a part of Sourcebooks Deleted Scenes Tour for the Dreaming Anastasia series by Joy Preble. The following deleted scene is from book 1 Dreaming Anastasia.
“It occurs after Anne and Ethan have found
Professor Olensky murdered in his office. They are desperately trying to
figure out what to do and being chased by Viktor's henchman Dimitri.
And my initial impulse was that I very much wanted them to share their
first kiss on that El train platform. It felt like the perfect moment --
the classic 'everything is going crazy and this is the person I've been
running from but really he's exactly the right person for me'
passionate kiss... followed by danger looming and breaking them apart.”
And then, we’re alone.
The
wind’s whipping our hair and Ethan’s still holding my hand, our fingers
lacing together. Neither of us says a word. The wind swirls a piece of
newspaper around on the track and a couple of pigeons peck at the
platform across the tracks, looking for bits of food.
“I’m
sorry,” Ethan says as a twenty-something guy wearing an unzipped grey
hoodie over his green scrubs plops himself down on the bench across the
tracks and the pigeons, startled, fly off to search for other crumbs. He
lets go of my hand and thrusts both his hands in his jacket pockets.
“You’re right. It is your battle. Probably as much as it is mine.” He blows out a breath.
“We
were all so certain after the assassination that at any moment we could
find a way to fulfill the prophecy. Get Anastasia back. Restore the
Romanovs to power through her. But we didn’t. Ten years passed, then
another ten. Then – well, it’s easier than you think for the years to
slip by. Each time I though I’d found the girl who could do this, it
turned out I was wrong. And each time, I think I just slipped a little
farther from the person I used to be. The person who was so clear of his
purpose. I never gave up, but I think I stopped trying as hard.”
Ethan
stops. Looks down the track for a bit. There’s no train in sight.
Across the way, a tall girl in a denim mini and black leggings joins
scrub suit guy on his bench. She’s bobbing along to whatever is playing
in her headphones. Everywhere I look, it seems, the world is going on
like normal. Except I know it’s not.
Ethan’s
gaze holds mine, his blue eyes so tired and sad that I feel like crying
except I think I’ve used up my quota of tears today. “If Viktor’s
betrayed us,” Ethan says, “it’s because I let him. Because I just
stopped paying attention. And that part, I do have to bear alone.”
I’m
not sure what to say to him. In fact, I’m pretty sure this is one of
those times where I probably don’t need to say anything. But he’s
standing there in such pain that I start talking.
“We’ll
find her, Ethan,” I say, even though I’m not at all sure that’s ever
really going to happen. “I mean, you found me, didn’t you?”
And
then we just stand there. The wind dies down for a bit, although I can
tell from the clouds that it’s going to pick up again soon. Underneath
my feet I can feel a slight vibration. Far down the track, our train is
coming. Ethan steps closer to me. My heart beats harder: thump, thump,
hop in my chest.
I study his face. Those blue eyes. That shaggy chestnut hair all tousled from the wind.
He’s
going to kiss me. And I guess it should be weird or whatever. But it’s
not. It’s just me and him – and okay, the two strangers across the way –
and all the other stuff just sort of drops away. Because when you’re
going to kiss someone – really kiss someone – it’s got to be just about
that and not anything else.
And then he does. Kiss me, I mean.
He
bends down a little, cause he’s taller, and presses his lips to mine.
And it’s way better than the kiss on the forehead. And way, way better
than the dream kiss since this time he’s just kissing me, not trying to
suck the life out of me. His lips are warm and full and sweet, and they
feel good against mine.
So I kiss him back.
“I
almost lost you, too,” Ethan whispers against my lips. His breath
tickles and little sparks tingle their way down my spine. “Here, I’ve
just found you, and I almost lost you.” We kiss some more. I reach up
and wrap my arms around his neck. I rest one hand on his shoulder –
right where he’s got that lion tattoo etched into his skin.
In
novels, you always read phrases like ‘they kissed and time stood
still.’ And until now, I’ve always thought what a load of crap that was.
Cause even when I was making out with Adam Greene, time was marching
right along.
And
maybe it’s because Adam was a sort of slurpy kisser. And that’s why my
mind kept wandering to images of Buster lapping water from his dish.
Or maybe he just wasn’t the right one.
But
right now, time is still. And Ethan’s lips, and his hands that are
resting against the small of my back, are filling my head so completely
there’s no room for anything else.
But
then our train pulls up to the platform. The doors open, and I let
Ethan take my hand and lead me inside. We settle into our seats as the
train gives a lurch and starts up again, headed downtown. I’m sitting
next to the window. Ethan’s looking at me like I’d always hope someone
who’d just kissed me would look at me.
And then he’s not. Looking at me, that is.
Because
he’s looking out the window beyond me. Back over, I realize as I turn
my head, to the staircase that leads up the platform we just left.
Watching as the familiar figure of Dimitri rushes into view, just as the
train picks up speed and carries us away.
I've previously reviewed the first two books in the series...
Please come back August 28th for a guest post from Joy Preble, a giveaway for the entire series, and my review of Anastasia Forever!
Title: Sisterhood Everlasting
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