Wish

WISH Copyright © 2022 CAMBRIA HEBERT All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form without written permission except for the use of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Published by Cambria Hebert http://www.cambriahebert.com Interior design and typesetting by Classic Interior Design Cover design by Cover Me Darling Edited by Cassie McCown Copyright 2022 by Cambria Hebert This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. CONTENTS Welcome to Westbrook University… Wish Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Epilogue More Cambria Author’s Note About Cambria WELCOME TO WESTBROOK UNIVERSITY… Where the only thing more elite than the Ivy League academics and exclusive enrollment for the monied is the swimmers. Some colleges might revere football, baseball, or even hockey, but not Westbrook. At Westbrook, it’s all about the water. Or rather, who’s in it. More than one Elite swimmer has gone on to become a decorated Olympian and nationwide sensation, so it’s all eyes on the hot men who spend more time in Speedos than jeans. Eventually, though, these guys have to get out of the pool. And when they do? Love, drama, and jealousy await. Westbrook Elite is a college sports romance series of standalone novels with sexy swimmers, suspense, and page-turning plots. The only promise the author makes is that each book will have a happy end… but who knows what it will take to get there? WISH A WESTBROOK ELITE NOVEL For me, choice might as well be a wish. My parents died in a fiery car crash when I was barely sixteen. I’m gay. I’m also totally in love with my brother. I didn’t choose any of that. In fact, I’ve tried like hell to deny it. But here I am in all my gay, brother-loving, no-parentals glory. Technically, Max isn’t my brother. Not by blood anyway. That should make it less ick, right? Considering he calls my parents mom and dad, probably not. Also, did I mention he’s straight? So that’s me: the freestyle swimmer doing my best to keep my sexuality on the down-low while simultaneously wishing my feelings for Max will evaporate into thin air. Too bad he acts like he’s my keeper and my heart shakes every time his eyebrow ring glints in the sun or he levels his opaque stare on me with an intensity matched by nothing else. My desire to keep my personal life personal drowns at the bottom of the pool when a fellow Elite lets everyone in on my business, which throws Max into macho protective mode all over again. Enough is enough, though. I’m forcing myself to move on. Maybe the best way to forget about my forbidden crush is to find a new one. I have options. More than I realized. Unfortunately, none of them are leather-wearing, tattoo-sporting, motorcycle-riding grumpholes. So here I am wishing for Max while someone else wishes for me. Someone who decides if they can’t have me… No one will. Please note that WISH contains homophobia. There is also mention of off-page child abuse and parental death. This book also contains a male/male sibling-esque relationship and mentions of male assault. Some readers may find these things uncomfortable. PROLOGUE THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, MANY YEARS AGO… Max Most people think money buys happiness. I wasn’t so sure. My parents had plenty of money, but they were the most miserable people I’d ever met. I would know better than anyone since it was me they took their endless misery out on. Though, if you saw my parents anywhere outside the walls of the place I wouldn’t call a home, you’d likely call me a liar. The most wicked are always the most skilled at hiding who they really are. Brenda and Zane Navarro used their wealth to skillfully buff away the grime their personalities caked them with, transforming them into the shiny, fake douchebags the rich always seemed to appreciate. And me? They kept me under lock and key because no matter how much they polished me up, I would never sparkle the way they wanted me to. Bruises and blood weren’t pretty. It was late when I found the key under the mat, the darkness unable to hide something I always knew was there. The lock clicked free, and the door soundlessly swung in. The scent of vanilla and cookies whirled around me, making my stomach growl. Ignoring it, I shut and relocked the door, simply laying the key on the counter so it could be returned under the mat in the morning. When they saw it sitting there, they would know I was here. They wouldn’t say anything. They’d just add another plate to the breakfast table and more into whatever it was they cooked for breakfast. The house was dim and quiet, the only light from a small pendant hanging over the large island. My feet were soft on the stairs as I climbed the two flights, stopping for a second at the top. A small nightlight glowed at the end of the hall, something I suspected they left on for me even if they did say it was because Wes was scared of the dark. The carpet runner muffled my footsteps as I walked to the end, turning toward my best friend’s bedroom door. But I didn’t enter. In an odd turn of events,