From Connemara With Love Series by A.S. Kelly

ShaneDo you want to know what it means to live like me?It means being forced not to look at him, not to touch him, not to be left alone in the same room as him.Not to seek him out. Not to want him.Not to love him.Do you know how it feels to spend your entire life pretending to be someone else? Do you know what it’s like to love someone who doesn’t want to be loved?I’ll tell you how it feels... moreShaneDo you want to know what it means to live like me?It means being forced not to look at him, not to touch him, not to be left alone in the same room as him.Not to seek him out. Not to want him.Not to love him.Do you know how it feels to spend your entire life pretending to be someone else? Do you know what it’s like to love someone who doesn’t want to be loved?I’ll tell you how it feels.It feels as if you’re living in constant torment: you know which path you should follow, but you also know that, if you follow that path, you can never turn back.And I can’t do that to him.Every day I come back, because I know that he’s waiting for me.Every day I promise him that he will never have to live without me.AndyDo you know what it means to live like me?It means being forced not to touch him, not to kiss him, not to be able to leave the room while he’s still in it.Not to breathe him in, not to lust after him.Not to love him.Do you know how it feels to spend your entire life pretending to be someone else? Do you know what it’s like to love the only person you’re not allowed to love?I’ll tell you how it works.You can’t seem to feel anything other than him; when you walk away, you know that you’re turning your back on the only thing that’s good in your life.Yet you still walk away.Every day I leave, knowing that he will be standing there, watching.Every day I ask him to promise me that I will never have to live without him. less

Once upon a time, there was a solitary, grumpy man who would spend his days watching the world around him without ever attracting any attention to himself.Once upon a time, there was a man who stood aside, imagining he could live someone else’s life and dreaming of something which would never be his; yet he wasn’t ready to give it up.Once upon a time, there was a man who loved a woman... moreOnce upon a time, there was a solitary, grumpy man who would spend his days watching the world around him without ever attracting any attention to himself.Once upon a time, there was a man who stood aside, imagining he could live someone else’s life and dreaming of something which would never be his; yet he wasn’t ready to give it up.Once upon a time, there was a man who loved a woman. His only wish was to watch her achieve her dreams – without knowing that the only dream she ever wanted to achieve was him.Once upon a time, there was a woman afraid that no one would ever be able to love her – without knowing that there was a man who had loved nothing but her for his entire life.That man is me: Reid Johnson. And that woman is her: my deepest secret. Fine, so I have a few secrets – but it would be best not to reveal them, as they could take everything I have away from me. And without those secrets, I’d have nothing to dream of.There are two things you should know about me before deciding whether or not to read this story:I’ve never been the person everyone thinks I am.I’ve never been the man she believes me to be. less

Sono stato un uomo diverso una volta. Sono stato un uomo che aveva una sola donna negli occhi e che voleva quella sola donna tra le braccia.Sono stato il suo uomo.Ma le cose cambiano, la vita ti cambia. E le scelte, gli errori, i rancori. E le promesse infrante.Ci siamo fatti del male. Ci siamo amati e poi odiati e poi mancati e poi allontanati e poi… E poi un giorno ci siamo ritrovati.Nel momento sbagliato, nel posto sbagliato. Nel nostro tempo sbagliato... moreSono stato un uomo diverso una volta. Sono stato un uomo che aveva una sola donna negli occhi e che voleva quella sola donna tra le braccia.Sono stato il suo uomo.Ma le cose cambiano, la vita ti cambia. E le scelte, gli errori, i rancori. E le promesse infrante.Ci siamo fatti del male. Ci siamo amati e poi odiati e poi mancati e poi allontanati e poi… E poi un giorno ci siamo ritrovati.Nel momento sbagliato, nel posto sbagliato. Nel nostro tempo sbagliato.Perché siamo sbagliati noi due, siamo distanti e siamo incompatibili.Siamo i protagonisti di una storia che non ci appartiene.Eppure io continuo ad amarla, anche se lei mi odia.E lei continua a odiarsi, perché non può fare a meno di amarmi.E noi continuiamo a cercarci, anche se siamo destinati a perderci.Voglio essere un uomo diverso, ancora una volta. Voglio essere quel tipo d’uomo pronto a tutto per la donna che ama. Anche pronto a dirle addio.Perché io voglio solo che lei sia felice, più di quanto voglio che sia mia per sempre. less

SilasLeo and I have been so many things.We’ve been rivals, classmates, teammates.Friends.Friends you watch from afar each day, and dream of each night.Then we were… Well, we were just us.We didn’t ask ourselves too many questions – not even when I pretended not to be hurt by the distance he placed between us.We made each other no promises.I waited, hoped, believed, right up until the day I realised that everything we had was merely an illusion.My illusion... moreSilasLeo and I have been so many things.We’ve been rivals, classmates, teammates.Friends.Friends you watch from afar each day, and dream of each night.Then we were… Well, we were just us.We didn’t ask ourselves too many questions – not even when I pretended not to be hurt by the distance he placed between us.We made each other no promises.I waited, hoped, believed, right up until the day I realised that everything we had was merely an illusion.My illusion.My name is Silas Kylemore, and I’ve learned an important never fall in love with your best friend.Not if he’ll never be able to love you back. Leo Silas and I have been through so many phases.We’ve been close, far, just a hair’s breadth apart.Each bound to the other.I’m talking about that kind of bond you’re never quite able to recreate.We were young, and we were… We were just us.We didn’t ask ourselves too many questions – not even when I pretended his absence didn’t kill me inside.We made each other no promises.I could never have imagined back then that what we had would push me away from him for all those years.Years that no one could ever give back to me.Years he’ll never forgive me for.My name is Leo Fitzpatrick, and I’ve learned an important never try to forget the person you loved.Not if he’s never been able to forget you.Each book in the series is - The Best Man- The First Man- The Good Man- The Only Man- The Wrong Man- The Lost Man less