Excerpt: Leaving Everest by Megan Westfield

Leaving Everest by Megan Westfield

Pages: 352
Publish date: February 19, 2018
Publisher: –
ASIN: B079DX1TXX
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Twenty-year-old Emily Winslowe has had an adventurous upbringing. Daughter of a Himalayan mountain guide, she has climbed Mount Everest and other peaks most Americans only dream of. But for all her mountaineering prowess, she’s lacking some key experiences. Namely, guys. Especially one guy in particular—Luke, her childhood best friend who she hasn’t seen since he left for college in the United States two years ago.

Luke unexpectedly reappears as a guide just in time for the Everest climbing season. He’s even more handsome than she remembers, and that something that had been building between them during their last season together is back in front of them, bigger than ever.

The problem is, there’s a detail about Emily’s past that Luke doesn’t know. It’s the reason she ended up in the Himalayas in the first place…and the reason she must make it to the summit of Mount Everest this year. It’s also the reason she would never consider following him back to Washington after the climbing season ends.

But first, they’ll have to survive the mountain.

Leaving Everest:

Today I have the chance to share an excerpt from Leaving Everest by Megan Westfield. This book has really intrigued me and I cannot wait to pick it up and give it a go.

Luke’s face was serious as his dark brown eyes analyzed me from beneath the shadow of his hat.

My mind struggled to catch up. I couldn’t believe it was really Luke standing right there in this doorway as I’d seen him so, so many times before. He’d always been confident, but the way he stood now, even straighter and more self-assured, made him look five years older instead of the two years older he actually was.

His name—Luke for Luke Skywalker—was something his father had called him and everyone kept up after his father’s death on Cho Oyu during an expedition with my dad. With his huge dimples and smile, he’d always been hopelessly adorable in the same way as his namesake.

But now, this guy in the door…cute and adorable were out the window. His thermal pullover jacket molded to his profile, revealing the defined bulk of his upper arms and torso before tapering to a waist that was solid but as narrow as my own. He was all Hemsworth-brothers Hollywood action hero, right down to his piercing eyes, strong jaw, and rich tone of his skin.

Mingma jumped up, scolding Luke for sneaking up on us like that. Without breaking eye contact with me, a teasing, satisfied grin broke out across his face. I whipped back to center, focusing forcefully on the teapot in the middle of the table. My cheeks burned. That was some stunt he’d just pulled with the Circ.

Why hadn’t someone warned me he was in Tengboche? Or perhaps someone had: Mingma in her rapid-fire Sherpa when we’d first arrived. A good lesson in why you should never fakae-understand a foreign language.

Dad went over to Luke, shaking hands and hug-slapping him heartily. Now it was just me left at the table. Well, me and Pasang, who was watching me with furrowed brows, probably wondering why I wasn’t joining everyone at the door. I quickly collected myself, but still, my head spun and my pulse raced as I walked slowly toward Luke.

About the Author

Megan Westfield has dabbled in many hobbies and pastimes through the years, including an array of outdoor adventure sports. Eventually, she discovered the only way to do it all was though writing—her first and strongest passion. Megan grew up in Washington state, attended college in Oregon, and lived in Virginia, California, and Rhode Island during her five years as a navy officer. She is now a permanent resident of San Diego where she and her husband count family beach time with their two young kids as an adventure sport.