Eastern Lights (Compass #2)
Brittainy Cherry
February 17, 2021
Cover Designer: Hang Le
Photographer: Michelle Lancaster @lanephotograf
Model: Heath Hutchins
Eastern Lights, an all-new moving second chance romance and second book in the Compass Series from bestselling author Brittainy Cherry is available now!
I once met a man on a cold Halloween night. He dressed as a superhero, and I dressed in red. For one night, I was his break from reality, and he was the temporary fix for my broken heart.
Two years later, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime to become a senior editor at one of the biggest magazine companies in the world. The only catch? Nail an exclusive interview with New York’s finest bachelor: Connor Roe.
To the rest of the world he was becoming one of the wealthiest men in New York City. To me, he was simply my once upon a time superhero.
My job was to get an exclusive interview with New York’s hottest bachelor. Never in my life did I expect him to want an exclusive with my heart, too.
The only problem with my growing feelings for him? I was set to marry his new business partner.
Excerpt
Aaliyah
His playful look shifted a bit as he looked my way and nibbled on his bottom lip. “So
there was a recent breakup.”
“He broke up with me about five weeks ago.”
“What an ass.”
“Yeah, but I love him. I wish I could say past tense, but here we are. My roommate
Sofia said the best way to get over a man is to get under another one, but I can’t even
consider that right now. The last thing I want to do is sleep with someone else.”
“Plus, sex wouldn’t fix a broken heart and—holy shit!” He clapped his hands
together and hopped up from the ground to a standing position. The grin on his face
was so big, but I didn’t understand what caused his sudden shift. “I got it, Red! I know
what we can do to help you.”
I arched an eyebrow and stood. “I’m confused.”
“I know, I know, and you’re going to think I’m crazy—which, maybe I am—but here’s
the deal: You can’t bang your way out of a heartbreak. That’s not how love works. Love
isn’t a physical connection; it’s an emotional one. Plus, after breakups, people replay
the good memories over the bad in their minds and start thinking they somehow failed,
when, in reality, the bad probably always outweighed the good. You simply held the
good tight in your grip because it was few and far between in the end. Otherwise, the
good would’ve been enough to keep you together.”
I hated that he was speaking facts. Over the past weeks, all I’d done was replay all
the good times Mario and I had together. My mind was stuck on a loop of moments that
meant the world to me in my past relationship.
There were only a handful of good memories, yet I simply played them on repeat,
making them feel bigger than they already were. Mario was a master at doing the bare
minimum, and I celebrated that fact as if he was a god. It wasn’t his fault he gave me
mediocre love. It was my fault for accepting it.
“So what’s your point?” I asked.
“Do you believe in destiny?”
I chuckled. “Don’t tell me you do.”
“I think everything happens for a reason, even if the reasoning isn’t clear as day
right away. Maybe that’s why we met tonight, Red, because we were meant to. Maybe I
had to get socked in the eye and whipped with a lasso because we were supposed to
cross paths so I could help you get over your ex.”
“How?”
“The best way to get over a love is to find a stronger connection with another
person. So, I present to you, your Halloween love story.” He took a bow as if he was
making any sense at all.
I stood still, confused as ever. “Am I missing something?”
“Clearly, because you’re looking at me as if I’m having a mental breakdown—which,
I mean, is probably accurate.” He cleared his throat and stood taller as he smoothed his
hands over his chest. “I’m asking you to fall in love with me.”
I snickered. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Give me the chance to make you fall in love with me before the sun comes up in
the next”—he glanced down at his phone—“five hours or so. It’s just past midnight. Give
me those hours to make you fall in love with me. Then we’ll end the love story on a
good note. No tragic heartbreak, no hard moments or relationship struggles. No
cheating or scandals. Just two people who fell in love, then life or, in our case, morning
made them say their goodbyes.”
“You really think two people can fall in love within five hours?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged and held his hand out toward me. “Want to try?”
I should’ve said no. I should’ve laughed off his crazy idea and ended the night right
there on the rooftop, but I didn’t want to go home. I didn’t want to be alone. But most of
all, I wanted more time with Captain, even if only a few more hours. Even if there wasn’t
a real chance of me falling in love with him but just a chance of more time to feel happy.
Happy.
I felt happy.
I hadn’t even known how much I’d missed happiness until it found me that night.
So, I did what any insane girl would’ve done. I took his hand and agreed to the idea
of falling in love within the next five hours.
He clasped my fingers with his and pulled me in close to him. It was the closest
we’d stood since meeting, and the way he looked down into my eyes caused the
butterflies to intensify. He had to be well over six-foot-two as he hovered over my five-
foot-eight frame—and that was with heels. The way he looked at me made me feel
important, as if he was going to give this crazy plan of his all that he had.
“Knock, knock,” he said, with the goofiest grin known to mankind.
“Who’s there?”
“Will you fall in love with?”
“Will you fall in love with who?”
“Me.”
Y’all, I hope you’ve read Eastern Lights already, but it’s okay to just tell me you hated Connor in Southern Storms and never want to hear from him again. Okay, okay, I’m just being a tad dramatic but I freakin love Connor. I was all aboard the Connor getting his own book train. And the best part? It’s almost a BCherry rom-com. Just a little less sad Brittainy and you’ll be there!
I fell in love with Aaliyah from the very beginning, my heart ached for her, like it does with every single BCherry character, but I had hope that this would turn out in the way we needed it to. My heart also ached with Connor, but I made it to 79%, chapter 36b before I actually cried. I made it to 87% in Southern Storms before tears fell, otherwise I teared up in all of the flashbacks in Eastern Lights.
Connor goes through his fair share of let downs, but he stays true to his southern roots and silly-ness that was what made us fall in love with him in Southern Storms, that’s definitely important to his story line. I know that some people need tragic things to happen and it changes them for the worse and later we find out what, why and it makes sense but I am forever going to love that Connor didn’t change.
Connor and Aaliyah have a friendship to lovers feel and that’s one of my favorite genres to read, I know we can see the attraction from the beginning, but I love that it’s some what of a slow burn, I love them, so so much. My favorite part is Halloween night and their nicknames, how they kept with them all night and even still two years later. Red and Captain are forever going to be a favorite couple of mine.
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t already dying to get my hands on Damian…I mean his book, definitely his book…I love how in Southern Storms, Connor was the main side character and in Eastern Lights it was Damian. He’s going to hurt us, I can already feel it and I’m ready for it. Give me all the hurt Brittainy…I might regret that when I actually get my hands on his book, I’ll deal with the outcome later, with lots of tissues and chocolate.
Author Brittainy Cherry is an Amazon #1 bestselling author.
She has been in love with words since the day she took her first breath. She graduated from Carroll University with a Bachelor Degree in Theatre Arts and a minor in Creative Writing.
Her novels have been published in 18+ countries around the world. Brittainy lives in Brookfield, Wisconsin with her fur babies.
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