I'm just coming up to the twentieth anniversary of the publication of my first book. Those early books are now out of print and there aren't that many copies still around to buy second hand so it's with a very special pleasure that I can announce the reissue of
A Stranger's Kiss - my fourth book, published in 1994 - in ebook format.
It's available from today - for a short period - at a special introductory price of 77p/99c - links opposite. It's also on sale for the equivalent price in Germany, Italy, Spain, France and Japan. (What I would have given to be able to download English books when I was living overseas!)
Here's a little taster to whet your appetite: -
‘I DON’T believe it! Where on
earth did he spring from?’
Tara
Lambert moved quickly to the door
but the tail lights of her partner’s car were already disappearing into the
blackness of the evening, taking with them any possibility of help from that
direction.
She
glanced back to where the man was waiting across the street. He too was staring
after Beth’s car, obviously wondering
if she'd gone home with her partner. Well it was too late to regret refusing the
proffered lift, but if she moved quickly it might not be too late to escape.
Shrugging
her raincoat collar up high around her ears she snapped open her umbrella,
stepped out into the wet evening and took off swiftly down the street.
She
had gone only a couple of hundred yards when she heard her name being called
from the other side of the street. Her escape bid had not, after all, gone
unnoticed. With a sinking heart she glanced around her; the shops were already
closed and there was nowhere to seek refuge in the shuttered street. Even the
taxi rank was deserted, although no cabbie would have thanked her for wasting
his time on the short ride to her flat.
She
hurried on, urging the traffic lights to stay green and keep the traffic
moving, but even as the thought entered her head they flicked to amber.
She
stopped, cursing herself for every kind of an idiot. She could have stayed in
the office and phoned for a taxi. Maybe it was
not too late to beat a strategic retreat.
‘Tara!’ Her name,
much closer, startled her and she glanced back before she could stop herself. He
was weaving through the slowing cars and cutting off all possibility of escape
in that direction.
A
burst of light shone briefly on the pavement just ahead of her and a couple
emerged and ran, laughing, their arms about each other, along the road. They
had come from the wine bar on the ground floor of a glossy new office
development and shopping arcade. She had watched it come to life during the
past few weeks but a quick glance at the menu outside had convinced her that it
was far too pricey to be included on her list of lunch venues. Everything about Victoria
House was expensive, but right now
that was the last thing on her mind.
The
urgent sound of closing footsteps propelled her through the door before she had
time to consider what she would do once inside.
It
wasn’t quite seven o’clock and it was still busy with people from the
surrounding offices and shops, but there was no one she recognised. She dumped her
umbrella in a stand and hung up her coat. At least there were plenty of people
about, and now she was inside she would have something to eat. It had been a
long, hard day and as the aroma of good food assaulted her senses she realised
just how hungry she was. She would just have to choose whatever was cheapest on
the menu.
As
she looked around for a vacant table the door opened behind her. ‘Tara!’
Galvanised
into movement by the sound of his voice she threw herself into a bench seat
hidden from the door by a small grove of potted palms where a man whose deep
concentration on a business document and navy pin-striped suit suggested a
certain safety.
‘Please
pretend that I’m with you!’ she whispered, urgently. He looked up, a frown
momentarily creasing his wide tanned forehead and in that instant she knew,
without any doubt, that the impression of safety was all illusion.
This is the first of three books I'll be republishing during the next few weeks. Look out for Old Desires and Dangerous Flirtation.
