The Vine

by C. A Ellis

  I do need the ladies, but I just don’t need it as urgently as I made it seem to Cole. He is right though; we do have a connection and there is chemistry between us—our flings of the past have taught us that. We are very alike, but maybe too alike.

  As I continue to walk through my best friend’s amazing wedding reception, I think of how proud I am of her and how happy for Mr. and Mrs Castle I am. What an incredible day. I spot Jett and his bandmates drinking and laughing. He really surprised Lizzy today, because when he got his invite, he said with Jetson’s gruelling schedule he would never make it, but they flew in last minute. He told Lizzy he wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

  As I look at him now, I admire again how hot he is. His band is huge, and unlike his cocky band mates, he’s still so down to earth. Even reaching super stardom status, he still doesn’t realise how sexy and gorgeous he is, and to me that is such a turn on. Maybe I need to stop the friendly banter we have and tell him. Lizzy is always telling me I should meet a nice guy, and they don’t get any nicer than Jett—that’s for sure. He is an absolute diamond.

  My eyes flick to the other side of the room and I see GISM, otherwise known as Luca, standing there looking amazing in his designer suit. What an amazing friend he’s turned out to be; we’ve all got a lot to thank him for. Mmm, maybe I should be the one to start, I think, raising my eyebrows. As I reach the ladies, I turn back to the ballroom full of people, and as I look around and take in the different areas of the room, I instantly lock eyes with Cole, who winks cheekily at me. I smirk, but my eyes keep roaming until my eyes meet with Jett’s. He smiles at me and gives me a discreet, boyish wave. My smile broadens, but my eyes keep scanning until they fix with Luca’s handsome stare and he raises his glass to me.

  Interesting, I think as I turn and walk into the ladies.

  EPILOGUE

  1 YEAR LATER

  I smile as I take one last peek before I quietly leave my babies in their nursery after settling them down for their afternoon nap. I avoid all areas of the floor I know will creak and squeak under my feet that could possibly disturb them. My twin babies are a heck of a lot of hard work, but equally as rewarding. I think back to our wedding and how much food I was putting away at the time, and I smile as I now know I was eating for three. I didn’t even realise I was pregnant until I was three months gone; my monthly cycle had been all over the place since Luke’s accident, and I feel myself physically shudder as that time of our lives briefly enters my mind and I shoo it away again. I had put on quite a bit of weight, but physically I looked glowing, healthy and a far cry from the pale, gaunt girl who was just skin and bone, that I’d been a few months before. Luke and I both adored my new-found curves so we never thought anything of it. It was when Luke and I would get intimate and he’d always like to spend a lot of time caressing my breast and gently biting my nipples, and normally it would drive me wild with desire, but suddenly I found myself grimacing slightly because they’d feel so tender.

  Luke, of course, cottoned on to this fairly quickly, and was distraught that his act of intimacy was causing me pain, so he immediately booked me an appointment to see his private doctor. Come the day of the appointment, we were both sick with worry wondering what on earth could be wrong with me, as I had started to have some bad headaches and bouts of lethargy. I think we both thought we’d had enough bad luck to last us a lifetime, and surely we weren’t going to get any more bad news, but if we did we would handle it and get through it, because together we are a strong unit who could take any crap life threw at us. After all, we had already proven we could survive even the roughest of seas. We did walk out of the doctor’s office both stunned into silence that day, thankfully not with the bad news we had suspected, but with the gloriously wonderful news that I was in fact three months pregnant, and with twins! I had a wonderful pregnancy after that; so grateful was I to our good fortune, and I had my angels delivered to me in May after a momentous—although extremely painful—birth.

  I think Luke will put that down to one of the hardest moments of his life, having to watch me in that much pain, knowing there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. It was also the day he told me that his Angel turned into a demon, shouting and swearing and throwing flannels at him when he was just trying to mop my brow to ease the pain. Katy, who was also with us on delivery day, piped up with, “Yeah, Lucas, that will do it. Nothing like a good old flannel to ease the pain of childbirth.” He scowled at her while I briefly cracked up, laughing hysterically before turning on poor Luke again with more insults. He said it was like watching reruns of Jekyll and Hyde.

  It was all worth it when Dylan and Honor entered our lives and turned our worlds upside down in the best way ever. Luke has stopped giving me pennies for my thoughts, as after we were married he said there was no need. Any concerns or worries I had from here on in I had to share with him immediately so he could take the burden from me; he really is the most incredible, thoughtful, caring, loving man. Just like my dad, I think smiling.

  I still have a pot with all the pennies in it Luke had given me during our time together; I don’t think he even knows I kept them all. I’m hoping that one day I will use them on our children so they’ll know they can tell us anything, and never to bottle things up because if you do, they can end up destroying you—as I know only too well.

  I enter our study and plonk the baby monitor onto the desk as I slide myself into the over-sized chair and open my laptop. After months of writing notes, today is the day I’m about to start what I hope will be my debut novel under my pen name Ella Castel, and I think briefly about where to start. Excitement fills me at this momentous point in my life, and I smile as I begin…

  There are two things that are certain in life—birth and death.

  I have times when I’m so glad I was born, and I pray death will never take me because it feels so good to be alive.

  In between life and death, there are key people and moments that define you as a person. I am Elizabeth Jane Castle, and here is who I believe are the people, and also the moments during my life that define me—my best friend Katy, my parents, meeting and marrying the love of my life and having my beautiful children.

  I have learnt to turn my back on misery, because happiness can be just around the corner. You can have that happily ever after; it is possible. I know because I lived it, and this is my story.

  THE END

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  It has been my dream forever to write a book, and I’ve finally done it.

  Two things were the catalyst for me; firstly, I turned 40, and secondly, a conversation I had whilst having coffee with friends one morning. After confessing what I’d really like to do, one of my friends said, “Go and buy yourself a notepad and start writing some ideas, right now, today.” I did just that, and “The Vine” is the end product. T, I definitely owe you a coffee! The other friend there on that day was Louise, and she has been through this whole journey with me. She has read this book so many times, and as an avid reader of books in this genre, I took every word of her advice and I can’t thank her enough for her support. *fist bump explosion*

  It’s been an amazing experience, and one I’m going to pursue further because I’ve got the writing bug, but I was truly plunged into a world that was completely alien to me, and would have never made it without some professional help.

  A massive Thank you to Andy and James and the team at FMG. Andy, not only are you a professional in all that you do, but you are a great friend too, and James, you have been an absolute gem when this novice has been in meltdown. I can’t thank you both enough and am eternally grateful.

  I’d also like to thank Emma Graves for her outstanding and professional work on the gorgeous cover of “The Vine”. Thanks for your patience and for working with me to get the exact cover I wanted; it’s perfect for Lucas and Lizzy’s story and truly beautiful.

  There are two other ladies who I have to say are the most wonderful, encouraging people I know, and I w
ould have loved to have been there when they received my manuscript. I bet their faces were a picture, thinking, Geez, we’ve got our work cut out here. I couldn’t ask for better Editors, so thank you Becky, Kayla and all the team at Hot Tree Editing. Becky, thank you for being there; knowing I could contact you with any worries took a lot off of my mind. Kayla the Bibliophile, what can I say? You are a superstar. My British words made you laugh, and your comments made me laugh right back, not to mention that filthy mind of yours! Remember, my mum’s got to read this.

  As an Indie author, you rely on help from book blogs, the women who run these blogs do a wonderful job even though they often have careers and families to juggle. A massive Thank-you to Gitte & Jenny at Totally Booked who are just awesome and also a huge Thank-you to the four wonders, Jo, Natalie, Francesca and Krystle, who make up “Four Brits and a Book”; you are all honest, frank and so supportive, and your banter just cracks me up.

  Thank you in advance to any other book blogs that will be supporting my journey; you are all so good at what you do, and I really do appreciate all your efforts.

  Lastly, but certainly not least, I must thank all my family—especially my husband, Jamie, for his support and encouragement, and for putting up with a messy house at times when writing was taking priority over housework, my two girls, for being as quiet as they could be when Mummy was writing (not easy for a seven and nine year old) and my Mum, for being the strongest woman I know and for putting up with my missing visits. I love you all.

  Lastly, a humongous thank you to readers everywhere; if one person reads this book and it makes them smile, cry or even laugh out loud, then I’ve accomplished everything I set out to do!

  I HOPE YOU ENJOYED “THE VINE”.

  WHAT’S COMING NEXT FROM C.A ELLIS…

  YOU MET HIM BRIEFLY IN “THE VINE”, NOW FIND

  OUT MORE ABOUT SEXY ROCKSTAR,

  JETT MATTHEWS in:

  JETSON

  COMING IN 2015

  TO KEEP UP TO DATE ON THIS AND ALL FUTURE

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