Ever

By Linda Palmer

Mei Li and Rune have been best friends since the eighth grade, sharing high and lows as they approach graduation, sympathize with each other over broken hearts, and share their dreams for the future. Mei Li wants to attend MSU, get a degree in computer graphics, and someday find her perfect match. Rune, the star athlete, has similar hopes...until his eighteenth birthday, when his so-called parents inform him that he's part of a top secret android experiment called E.V.E.R. and may not be human. Will Mei Li's support be enough to get him through his nightmare of uncertainty? And what will happen when best friends finally realize they just might be something more?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Linda Palmer
• Release date: Jun 6, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310266423

Linda Palmer

Linda Palmer admits it all started when she fell in love with Roy Rogers in the fifties. The family TV was boxy; the picture was black and white. That didn't matter. Roy's cowboy courage won the day and inspired her to  create elaborate scenarios when playing with her sisters and friends outside. Indoors, she read romances in every genre from Sci Fi to Gothic. Linda began writing for pleasure in the third grade, mostly poetry, and has letters from her grade school teachers predicting she'd be an author. Her poems eventually became short stories; her short stories became books. And even though a writing career was never actually a dream, it was something she pursued with intent after winning some writing contests and joining local and national writers' groups. Silhouette Books published Linda's first romance novel in l989 and the next twenty over a ten-year period (writing as Linda Varner, her maiden name). In 1999 she took a ten-year break to take care of her family, but learned that she couldn't not write. She began again in  2009, changing her genre to young adult/new adult paranormal romance. She has now written over a hundred novels and novellas ranging from traditional romance to erotica. Linda was a Romance Writers of America Rita finalist twice and won the 2011 and 2012 EPIC eBook awards in the Young Adult category. She was also a finalist in that category in 2013 and in 2014. Linda has been married to her junior high school sweetheart over fifty years and lives in Arkansas, USA with her family. Ever a hopeless romantic, she still falls for unattainable Hollywood heroes that inspire her to write romances about alpha males and the women who stand up to them. Linda hints that her current crush's name starts with Tom and ends with Hardy. Her website is www.lindavpalmer.com. You can also find her on Facebook: Linda Varner Palmer.

Book preview

E.V.E.R

by

Linda Palmer

E.V.E.R © 2013 by Linda Palmer

Cover Art © 2013 by Linda Palmer

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and events described herein are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

About the author:

Linda Varner Palmer has been writing for many years, ranging in genre from Silhouette romances to YA paranormal romances. She was a Romance Writers of America (RWA) Rita finalist twice and won the 2011 and 2012 Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition (EPIC) awards in the YA category. She is also a finalist for a 2013 EPIC Award in the YA and Cover Art categories.

Her website is www.lindavpalmer.com.

Chapter One

You invited Mei Li? Helen Nilsson, Rune's racist mom didn't look happy I was there, nothing new. From the get-go, she'd tried to discourage him from hanging out with Asian me.

Of course, Rune told her, unfazed. This is my birthday party, and she's my best friend.

Greg Nilsson, Rune's dad, shot her a look before she could say something else totally rude. It's just that we need to tell you something, she finally said. "Something she doesn't need to hear. We'd intended to save it until much, much later, but now..."

Rune sighed his impatience. What's this about? Am I adopted or something? When Greg didn't immediately answer, Rune's eyes widened slightly. Then he got that expression on his face that meant he'd slipped into stubborn mode. That happened a lot around his house. His folks were big-time weird, a fact he'd be the first to admit. Mei Li can hear anything you have to say. She's. My. Best. Friend.

Rune's mom glared at him. Fine then. It probably doesn't matter now, anyway. Something has happened; something totally unexpected. And now we have to tell you that you aren't really our son.

Rune's eyebrows shot up. "You mean I am adopted?"

Helen shook her head. Not exactly. We've simply had you on loan since your inception.

Inception? Rune and I blurted it at the same time.

Greg Nilsson quickly shook his head. "Birth. She meant birth. I know this is a blindside, and I realize you must have a million questions. So why don't we have some cake. Once Mei Li leaves we'll clear the air."

Mei Li stays, Rune told them.

Clearly furious, Helen stood and reached for the matches. Flames soon flickered atop the eighteen yellow candles stuck in a big chocolate cake. Rune made no move to blow them out. After a couple of awkward seconds, his un-dad did the honors. Helen immediately began slicing the cake with a silver server. She handed me a tiny slice on a paper plate and then gave a