âI shouldnât sleep with you again.â She raked her eyes up and lingered on the open collar of his shirt for a second.
It certainly looks as though you feel that way,â he said, sarcasm colouring his tone as he looked down at her hand, still in his lap.
She snatched it back, cheeks colouring. âI should have learnt my lesson the first time.â
âAnd what lesson was that?â He sipped his Scotch.
She ran her fingers up and down the stem of her martini glass. âThat multiple orgasms tend to cloud my judgement.â
Col swallowed. âMultiple orgasms are never a bad thing.â
âNo, but they do have a way of obscuring the facts.â
âThe facts?â
âThat you and I shouldnât have got together.â She licked her lips, that pink tongue once again darting out to betray her.
âYour lips are saying one thing, but I know your tells, Ellie.â
âYou know far less than you think you do.â She leant forward, her hand at the collar of his shirt. âBut I know when to call your bluff.â
He breathed in the honeyed scent of her ⦠it was complex and intoxicating. âYou certainly grew up.â
She threw her head back and laughed, the tinkling sound making his blood fizz.
Dear Reader
Family is something thatâs very dear to my heart. When I was growing up my parents instilled into me and my little sister a very strong sense of what it means to be part of a familyâthe give and take, the responsibility and the reward. Iâll be honest: in my teenage years it drove me nuts! But I never lacked a shoulder to cry on, a hug to ease my sadness or a high-five to congratulate me on a job well done. Looking back, I wouldnât trade it for anything.
When I started writing Col and Eliseâs story I wondered what it would be like for two people with very difficult family lives to come together. Elise grew up in a home where her family members didnât demonstrate their love, or any type of strong emotion for that matter. Col, on the other hand, came from an abusive home where strong emotions (of the worst kind) ruled.
Writing their story was not easy, and I might have shed a few tears along the way, but I hope you love watching Elise and Col learn to trust in one another as much as I loved writing about it.
With love
Stefanie
PS I love hearing from my readers. You can get in contact with me via e-mail: [email protected], Twitter: @Stefanie_London, or Facebook: Stefanie London Author
STEFANIE LONDON comes from a family of women who love to read. When she was growing up her favourite activity was going shopping with her nan during school holidays, when she would sit on the floor of the bookstore with her little sister and painstakingly select the books to spend her allowance on. Thankfully, Nan was a very patient woman.
Thus it was no surprise when Stefanie ended up being the sort of student who would read her English books before the semester started. After sneaking several literature subjects into her âvery practicalâ business degree, she got a job in Communications. When writing emails and newsletters didnât fulfil her creative urges she turned to fiction, and was finally able to write the stories that kept her mind busy at night.
Now she lives in Melbourne, with her very own hero and enough books to sink a ship. She frequently indulges in her passions for good coffee, French perfume, high heels and zombie movies. During the day she uses lots of words like âsynergyâ and âstrategyâ. At night she writes sexy, contemporary romance stories and tries not to spend too much time shopping online and watching baby animal videos on YouTube.
DEDICATION
To Mum, Dad and Sami, for all the laughter, hugs and comfort that filled our house growing up.
I wouldnât have made it this far without you.
ONE
The numbers didnât make sense. Well, that wasnât entirely trueâthey made sense, but they didnât tell the story Elise Johnson had hoped for. They didnât tell her that she ran a successful, thriving ballet studio. They didnât tell her that sheâd be able to live off anything other than baked beans and toast this week. More concerning, they didnât tell her that things were going to get better any time soon.
She rested her chin in her hand and frowned as the grid of looping cursive swam in front of her. Maybe sheâd skip the baked beans and head straight for a bottle of wine instead.
âYouâll go cross-eyed,â Jasmine Bell, Eliseâs best friend and employee, chirped as she changed out of her leg warmers. âI always thought number crunching was best left to the professionals.â
âWhat are you trying to say?â She looked up from her paperwork, feigning indignity as Jasmine smirked.
âOh, nothing...only I remember a young girl once faking a panic attack to get out of a maths exam.â