In 1934, life in Brookburn, Indiana, is quiet, simple, and peaceful, but young dreamer Levi Beckerman yearns for more. When the carnival shows up for the Fourth of July, he’s entranced by its many temptations. None is more seductive than the charismatic barker, Sebastian Gustineau.<br><br>Seb’s been a part of the carnival for almost a decade. Once, it provided him the escape he needed from a life he thought he didn’t want, but now, he craves things it can never offer. Flitting from dusty town to dusty town, he loses himself in pretty dalliances. Levi seems like the perfect distraction, until a single conversation convinces him that preserving Levi’s innocence and way of life is more important than his momentary satisfaction.<br><br>However, his plan to discourage Levi goes horribly wrong. When Levi’s family is threatened, Levi fights to protect them, doing what he can to hide the secrets he’s sheltered his entire life. The only person he trusts is Seb. He just isn’t sure if the growing bond between them is enough to save them all.

A Simple Charm

“It doesn’t change anything,” Seb added. “If anything, it proves what I said.”


“Which part?” The world he knew tilted too wildly for him to follow Seb’s logic without aid.


“That part about you being better than whatever you’ve got planned.” He gestured toward the trunk. “Look at what you can do.”


Doing that would mean looking away from Seb, a feat beyond Levi’s means right now. “Other people can’t. I’m a freak.”


Lifting a brow, Seb glanced pointedly at the chest between them. “I think the fact that you could, and you didn’t, answers that question just fine.”


The fear that had locked his body in place evaporated. Seb understood. Once again, he’d proven himself different than what Levi expected, turning everything on its ear and making it seem perfectly acceptable, normal even, when Levi knew it wasn’t.


It made his leaving all that much harder to think about.


Chapter 35