Exclusive: Kasie West Shares the Cover of—and an Excerpt from—Her Latest YA Rom-Com

Goodreads: What details can you share about Maybe This Time?

Kasie West: Maybe This Time is a story that transpires over the course of a year of events! Sophie works at a flower shop in a small fictional town in Alabama. Every event that happens in her town—a Valentine's Day party, a Mother's Day brunch, a wedding, a funeral—Sophie can be found at all of them.

She knows each and every person attending. Until a new guy, Andrew, struts into town with his stylish clothes and citified attitude. He's the son of a famous chef, intent on flipping the local catering menu and Sophie's life (apparently) on its head, one event at a time.

GR: The cover is officially here! What do you love about it?

KW: I have to pick one thing? It's so beautiful. I love that Sophie is on her own with this dreamy, confident look on her face on this cover. I think it really speaks to how Sophie feels at the beginning of this book. She's a bit of a dreamer, and she's ready to take on the world. And don't worry, readers, there is definitely just as much love and romance in this book as there has been in my past books, just a slightly different look!

GR: Many of your books feature sweet moments between cute couples on the cover. What can you tell us about the couple in Maybe This Time? What made it fun to write about them?

KW: Yes! There normally are cute couple pictures on the covers, and I've been told there will still be a couple moment on the back of this cover, so we can get our fill of adorableness. But despite the solo Sophie on the front, this book has one of my favorite couples ever. They were so fun to write. Their banter is on point, they play off of each other so well, and the tension and sparks between them fly.

GR: What can you tell us about the excerpt we’re about to dive into?

KW: The following excerpt takes place toward the beginning of the book, when Andrew walks into the scene. A city boy through and through—Sophie doesn't know what to make of him at first. But very quickly he shows his true colors, and Sophie is ready to put him in her past without another thought. Too bad he'll be sticking around for longer than she realizes…

Excerpt from Maybe This Time
I slid Caroline’s boxes full of gift bags toward me. Unassembled gift bags. Great. I now knew what I’d be spending most of my night doing. I stacked one box on top of the other and carried them back inside.

I made it halfway down the hall when I heard a voice call out from behind me.

"Excuse me?"

I turned. A guy around my age, dressed in fitted jeans, a pastel collared shirt, and a tailored sport jacket stood there, a smile on his handsome face. He clearly wasn’t from around here. He was citified.

I offered him a polite smile, hoping this wouldn’t take long. "The event doesn’t start for fifteen minutes," I said. "But you’re welcome to wait in the lobby. Families are already gathering there."

I knew every school-aged kid in my town (and most of their living and dead relatives). So this guy had to be here visiting for the event. I tried to place him with a grandparent in my head—Betty or Carl or Leo or…

"You’re not from around here," he said, as if voicing my thoughts.

I shifted the boxes in my arms. They weren’t heavy but they were bulky. "What?"

"You’re not from Rockside," he said.

"I am, actually. Born and raised."

"Ah. There it is. I didn’t hear your Southern accent at first."

I straightened with a bit of pride. I worked very hard on making my accent as minimal as possible so that when I went away to college I wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb.

The guy took several steps forward and pulled his hand out from behind his back to reveal he’d been holding a pink tulip. "Something beautiful for someone beautiful."

My brows dipped down. Seriously? I wasn’t sure what to make of such a brazen romantic gesture. If that’s what he was going for. Was it?

I looked at the boxes in my arms, transferred them awkwardly to one hip, and reached out for the flower. With my hand halfway to its destination, I noticed a small green wire wrapped up the stem and supporting the bulb.

I paused. "Where did you get that?"

The question seemed to surprise him, his smile faltered a bit, but he recovered with, "It doesn’t matter where it came from, only where it’s going." He extended his arm farther.

I set the boxes down on the floor and took the flower to inspect it. Sure enough, the wire was wrapped exactly the way I’d done it on over a hundred tulips that very morning. Hours and hours of my life were spent with that wire, in fact.

"You took this from one of the vases in the cafeteria?" I asked, incredulous.

He nodded. "Yes, I rescued it from its tacky prison. It looks happier already."

My mouth dropped open.

"No worries. There were hundreds of them. Nobody will be able to tell."

"I sense I’ve offended you," Mr. Obvious said, following me. Or Mr. Entitled? Maybe I’d go for a hyphenated last name since both applied.

I stood in the doorway and scanned the centerpieces.

"You’re telling me that you’re going to know which one of these flower arrangements I found this flower in," he said.

"Found? Yes, I’m going to tell you exactly which flower arrangement you stole this flower from, considering I’ve spent the last eight hours putting them together."

He coughed. "Oh. Did I say tacky? I meant…uh…festive."

I rolled my eyes.

I saw him glance my way, as if sizing me up. I was wearing a green silky blouse with a floral knee-length skirt. My party attire. But even outside of work events, I liked fun colors and classic styles.

"These centerpieces aren’t your design anyway," he pronounced, "so I don’t know why you’re upset."

I scowled. "There is no way you could possibly know that."

He shrugged like he disagreed, then said, "I still don’t think you’ll be able to tell which one I took it from."

"I will."

"Without counting the flowers?"

"You’re adding rules to this made-up game?"

"Yes!" he said proudly. "If you can’t tell which arrangement is missing a flower, just by looking, then nobody else will be able to tell either and you must accept my gift."

"Can something that was stolen really be called a gift?" I asked, and began weaving in and out of tables.

"Deal?"

Leo’s grandson sure was annoying. Maybe it was John’s grandson. John was known for being demanding. But I could’ve sworn I met all John’s grandkids at the town’s Fourth of July barbecue the previous year. "And if I win?" I asked.

One side of his mouth lifted in a half smile. "If you win, I owe you a dozen flowers that I must pay for."

"A dozen flowers arranged by me."

"Only if they don’t involve foil."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "It’s called cellophane. And they won’t."

"I sense this is going to be expensive."

Maybe This Time will be available July 9, 2019. Don’t forget to add it to your Want to Read shelf!

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