If You Like...
Married romance, real life issues, and suspense you might enjoy my newest release. Here's a little taste...
Prologue
When the man saw her across the lawn, a thrill shot through him and something inside him flipped. He admired the sheen of her hair shining in the sunlight. Rays bounced off its swinging movement as she strode down the walkway toward the building. Her slender form exactly as he remembered it. Lithe, strong, welcoming. Exhilarated, relief and excitement filled him and burst out in a wide grin.
Like before, he would woo her, and she would love him again. They would return to what they had been in the past. After all these long years apart, searching hundreds of faces, he had finally found her. He would bide his time, follow her, and get to know her movements. And when the time was right, she’d be ready to have him take her in his arms.
At long last.
Chapter 1
LeeAnne Dunaway jerked her attention from the text on her phone to see who brushed against her. A little too closely in her opinion. Scanning the customers around her, she studied faces. Her sudden escalation in heart rate lowered when an attractive, bearded man smiled and tipped his head in an apparent apology. His graying hair, thick mustache, and lined forehead seemed harmless enough.
LeeAnne tried to shake off the alarm she felt and chastised herself. Obviously stressed because her coffee order was taking longer than usual, she worried about getting to work on time. Her Shakespearean Lit class would start in less than half an hour. Teachers couldn’t expect their students not to trickle in late if their instructors did the same. Tenure might mean that privilege to some, but not to her.
The barista called her name. She sighed in relief and hurried to check the cup and grab it. Outside, one sip of her skinny, almond milk latte sent soothing warmth through her body. She didn’t care how hot the weather might become later in the afternoon. The lecture hall and theater maintained a below-comfortable temperature that required additional warmth even when she wrapped her bulky, cable-knit sweater around her slender body. In the dance studio, she appreciated air conditioning, but even occasional hot flashes couldn’t ward off the chill in her work environment.
LeeAnne pushed away thoughts of the brief interaction with the stranger at the café as she pulled open the door leading to the front of the hall. No time to stop in at her office, but thankfully she always kept her materials with her for her first class. One never knew when a delay might occur. Traffic in their California beach town of Clearford became heavier and more dangerous each year as cars fought their way along Pacific Coast Highway.
Only a few ambitious students already sat in their favorite near-the-front seats. She feigned a distracted smile while she set down her briefcase and took out notes for this class. Back when she was in high school, Macbeth and Hamlet were required reading, but students these days had barely heard of them which meant giving them a good overview before taking the deep dive she longed for. In between those two favorites, she also had them delve into Much Ado About Nothing. At least that one offered some comedy and themes of unspoken love and mistaken identities that they could potentially relate to. And it helped that a handful of well-known actors starred in the movie rendition.
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