Waking Up (22 page)
Authors: Amanda Carpenter
“Goodbye,” she called as the taxi drew away. “I’ll telephone when I arrive.”
“Goodbye, darling. Take care! Give my thanks to Paul.” Mrs. Morgan waved a filmy scrap of white lace handkerchief until the taxi turned the corner, speeding its way towards the station.
As they drove through the narrow country lanes that led to the centre of the small market town where she had lived all her life, her mother’s last words occupied Lisa’s thoughts. Paul! She hadn’t seen Paul for seven years.
At fifteen she had been a gauche and scrawny schoolgirl, unhappily aware of a blossoming figure that teamed ill with a red ponytail and freckles. She had been staying with Irene Bartholomew, Paul’s mother, who was a close friend of Mrs. Morgan, while her mother travelled to London to finalise matters regarding her late husband’s estate. Paul, twenty-six and visiting his mother, couldn’t have been pleased to find that he had to host a shyly abrupt teenager for three days. He had, however, accepted the situation with a good grace and had entertained Lisa with a kindness that she had never forgotten.
Unused to male company since her father’s death, she had been captivated by the tall, dark-haired man, who had teased her gently, and put her at ease, his twinkling grey eyes making her laugh at her own self-consciousness.
She frowned, her wide amber eyes staring at the swiftly moving countryside. She had thought about Paul for many months after that short meeting, and had eagerly relived her memories over and over again in the solitude of her bedroom. The firm coolness of her hand in his as they walked the country lanes together, and his masculine closeness as they sat side by side in the darkness of the cinema had become imprinted on her memory, and even now she could recall the sweet poignancy of his farewell kiss. No more than a mere brushing of his lips across the top of her head as she bade him a shy farewell, but it had remained vivid in her memory for many weeks.
She had cherished the Christmas card he had sent her a few months later, sleeping with it beneath her pillow until it had fallen apart, tattered and worn. Even Irene Bartholomew had been treated with more than usual cordiality. But eventually other interests had occupied Lisa and her childish crush had faded.
Her frown deepened as she remembered her mother’s horror when she had first talked of sharing a flat in London.
“You can’t just answer a newspaper advertisement,” she had protested. “You would know nothing about the people you were sharing with!” Her concern had been genuine: a fastidious woman, she couldn’t imagine joining a household of strangers.
Paul’s mother had arrived during the conversation. Large and well-corseted, she had removed her gloves from well-manicured hands and patted her carefully coiffured hair into place before she offered a solution.
“I’ll telephone Paul,” her slightly harsh voice had cut across Lisa’s protestations. “It’s no trouble. He’ll be pleased to find you a flat near his and provide a friendly face as well.”
Mrs. Morgan had been delighted with the suggestion and when the offer of a flat had duly arrived she had insisted on paying the first year’s rent. “It will give you a chance to establish yourself comfortably,” she had said, sealing the cheque into an envelope before Lisa could stop her. “And I feel much happier knowing that you are close to someone familiar.”
“You can hardly call Paul familiar, Mother!” Lisa had laughed, her irritation at being treated like a child giving way to small curls of excitement as she remembered him. She pictured his smiling brown face with its straight nose and strong cleft chin, and the twinkle in his curiously pale grey eyes with eager anticipation. That he would find her more interesting than the fifteen-year-old schoolgirl of seven years ago she didn’t doubt.
The startling redness of her curling hair had muted to a deep rich copper that attracted frequent admiration, while her firesides had faded into a clear creamy complexion that enhanced the tall elegance of her slender figure. But while Lisa recognised that she had blossomed into an attractive woman, she was still unaware of the extraordinary magnetism of her vivid beauty. The gaucheness of her teenage years had given way to a quiet reserve that added a mystique to the gentle smile that shone from her large, widely spaced, amber eyes; and a happy disposition coupled with an insatiable appetite for books made her a charming and knowledgeable companion.
“We’re there, luv!” The taxi driver’s cheerful voice interrupted her thoughts as the car pulled to a halt outside the pretty redbrick station.
Waking Up
Amanda Carpenter
Friends for life…but could they have even more?
Robbie Fisher had been friends with Jason Morrow for years. A lifelong confidant, he’d listened to all of her hopes and dreams for the future before leaving to pursue his.
After years away, Jason is back in town, looking after his parents’ house for the summer. But Robbie’s all grown up now, and suddenly uncomfortable with spilling all of her secrets to her handsome neighbor.
The cute boy next door has become a stranger…and a disturbingly sexy one at that. But can they forge a new relationship to replace the old?
This Retro Romance reprint was originally published in May 1986 by Mills & Boon.
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B
Cincinnati OH 45249
Waking Up
Copyright © 2013 by Amanda Carpenter
ISBN: 978-1-61921-780-5
Edited by Heather Osborn
Cover by Angela Waters
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Original Publication by Mills & Boon: May 1986
First
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
electronic publication: November 2013
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