Our Hearts Entwined
Lilliana Anderson
Table of Contents
Dedication
Foreward
Acknowledgements
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Dedication
To Logan, who wants the world for all of us.
“God hath given you one face, and you make yourself another.”
- William Shakespeare, Hamlet.
Foreward
I was taking my self-imposed week off, after writing A Beautiful Forever’s first draft and my husband asked me what I was planning on writing next. I told him about a story idea I had and that in turn sparked his mind. He said – ‘How about you write something like…’ and from the point the ideas flowed and we have spent a wonderful couple of months talking to each other over Alter’s plot points.
I have had a wonderful team of helpers this time around and I really feel like this book has the strongest storyline out of anything I’ve written so far.
Hopefully, my readers will agree on this one too. I have to admit I’m really nervous about releasing this one, it’s a little different to my normal stuff. It could be an absolute flop, or it could be really well received. Only time will tell, but until those first reviews start coming in, I’m going to be existing with butterflies in my stomach!
Acknowledgements
First and foremost I must thank all of the Beta and Advanced reviewers who agreed to look over this book.
Marion Archer of www.makingmanuscripts.com – you were amazing. Your ability to ask questions and force me to see what my manuscript needed was second to none. I think you should call yourself a ‘muse for hire’!
Mary – who was my constant sounding board during my re-writes. I harass the crap out of you every time I write a book, but you are so patient and so honest with me, that I can’t help but love you – even when you say you don’t like it at first. I’m glad that in the end you were happy!
Celsey, Betchy, Anna, Candice, Devon, Joy and Retha – Thank you so much for your opinions, your corrections and your encouragements. It amazed me that we all picked up different errors to each other in the final read through. I feel confident that together – we found most of them! Without all of you behind me, letting me know how much you enjoyed the story – I would be a nervous wreck right now. Thank you, thank you! I hope you’ll all be happy to sign on for the beta reading experience next time around too!
To my early reviewers – Isabel, Rachel, April, Jodi, Loren, Morganalisis, Morexette, Jessica, Robyn, Alyssa, Crystal and Nancy – Thank you so much for agreeing to read and review!
Whether, you loved it, hated it, or just couldn’t find the time to read it – I still greatly appreciate the support you gave me, no matter how small.
I also want to thank my family, especially my husband for supporting me while I write. My husband listened to my ideas and gave me great story suggestions, and held my hand while I bit my fingernails nervously while I waited for beta responses and reviews to come back.
The very last thank you is to you, the person reading right now – you are the whole entire reason that I have worked so hard to create this book. Enjoy.
Please Note: Written in Australian English - The book you are about to read features the use of sign language at times. When the characters are conversing only in sign the speech is in italics and when they are using their voice as well as signing, the speech is in italics marked with speech marks.
Chapter One
“What time is it?” Eric Dundas asked his long-time girlfriend, Mia Smyth as he stretched his arms above his head on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Gently closing the book over a finger to mark her place, Mia leaned over to the side table and pressed the home button on her phone. “Almost four,” she replied, as she picked up the metal butterfly bookmark Eric had given her for her last birthday and hooked it over the spine of the book. Eric stood and stretched. She watched him, placing her book on the couch beside her. “You heading home?” she asked.
“Yep,” Eric said with a slight yawn as he switched off the television he’d been watching a football game on, and placed the remote on the side table. “Oh, before I go, you’ll have your period next weekend won’t you?” he asked, moving to collect his things after spending the weekend at her flat.
“I find it very disturbing that you know my menstrual cycle so well,” Mia replied with a laugh, standing and stretching herself so she could walk him out.
“I plan my social calendar around it,” he told her, the corner of one side of his mouth quirking up and causing his cheek to crease in an almost dimple, his golden stubble shining in the light that streamed through the window as it touched his tan skin.
“You’re funny, and to answer your question, yes. I will have my period next weekend – but I still expect to see you at least once. Preferably Saturday before your football game so you won’t be drunk or hung over,” she insisted.
“Done,” he said smiling and leaning down to kiss her on the cheek before stepping outside.
Smiling, Mia leaned against the door to close it, sighing happily as she wandered over to her small kitchen where she flicked the kettle on to make a cup of coffee in preparation for the work she had ahead of her.
As much as Mia loved Eric, she was always happy when he went home on Sunday afternoons so she could work on her lesson plans for the week ahead in peace. They had been together for a little more than five years, and the routine they had going worked well for both of them.
They had spoken of one day moving in together and perhaps marrying before they started a family, but while they were still in their early 20s, neither felt entirely ready to settle down.
Flicking on the radio, Mia smiled as she heard Florence and the Machine’s Only if for a Night, she had a deep-seated love for Indie rock and hummed along as she carried her freshly made coffee to the table where her work was waiting for her.
Mia taught a small group of deaf teens at a special needs school in Melbourne’s Eastern suburbs, becoming fluent in Australian sign language when she was a teen after her best friend, Louise, had developed a severe case of chicken pox that resulted in her losing the vast majority of her hearing.
Mia adored her work and genuinely enjoyed watching the camaraderie between her students as they immersed themselves in the one place where they were fully accepted. Their class mates were just like them and could understand their lan
guage. Lip reading was hard, so being able to sign freely and be understood was a blessing for all of them.
She carried her coffee over to her round 70s styled dining table. It was the dining table she had sat at as a child, with its white and black flecked laminate top, and its aluminium legs and edging. She also still had the same orange-brown faux leather chairs that stuck to the backs of her legs in summer and let out a whoosh of air every time someone sat on them. The setting had seen better days, but she loved it as it reminded her of simpler times.
Taking her first blissful sip of the bittersweet liquid, she started to arrange her paperwork around her, opening her laptop and waiting for it to power up as she checked her diary for the schedule she was to follow that week.
First thing Monday morning, she had a meeting between the principal and a fairly new family at the school who were bringing their son’s psychiatrist with them as well. He was only seventeen and had lost most of his hearing in a car accident six months before. He was being very resistant to learning Auslan well enough to fully participate in the deaf community – preferring to rely on the tiny bit of hearing he had left or not listen at all.
Mia sighed as she looked over the notes she’d been making about her observations of the boy, Corey Blackburn. While dealing with his frustration, he had been very disruptive in class and other times, he spent the lesson looking out the window, not participating at all. Although, she did see more involvement from him when he was in her art class - he seemed to enjoy working with charcoal and oil pastels. She was hoping that they could somehow use art as a way to reach him. She anticipated that they would come up with some sort of plan at their meeting. She hated seeing one of her students so miserable.
***
As Mia walked up the path towards the school early the next morning, she was surprised when she saw one of her students arriving at the same time as her.
Waving first, she signed a greeting to her student, Callie, a sixteen year old girl who had been deaf since birth and was one of Mia’s more enthusiastic pupils.
Why are you here so early? Mia asked in sign.
My mum had the early shift today, so I’m going to work on my homework in the library until class starts, she said, falling into step next to Mia as they entered the school’s front gates.
Standing just outside the administration building were Corey, his parents and a striking man, with neatly styled jet-black hair, wearing a charcoal suit and a pale blue shirt, who, Mia assumed, was the psychiatrist.
Mia greeted them all warmly, shaking their hands in turn. When the psychiatrist took her hand, her breath caught, the simple touch sending a warmth up her arm that both confused and elated her.
“Cayd Donnelly,” he stated, his voice a soft rumble that seemed to curl through her body via her ears. He smiled at her, their hands staying connected for longer than was normal in a professional setting as his thumb moved over the back of her hand in an absent-minded caress.
As if suddenly realising what he was doing, Dr. Donnelly gave Mia a short nod before he released her hand and stepped back. The swift movement managed to dislodge his dark hair so it fell forward slightly and caught the corner of his hazel eyes, causing him to reach a graceful hand up to brush it into its rightful place.
Mia stared at him, unable to tear her eyes away. When she’d imagined the man she was going to meet this morning, she had pictured an older greying man, with wire-rimmed glasses and a beard. Not a man so young and beautiful that he could have been sculpted personally by the hands of Michelangelo himself.
Heat crept across her cheeks, flushing them pink as she caught herself staring and, with great effort, finally tore her eyes away, focusing instead on Corey and his parents.
“Er…Tamara – the principal - should be here shortly,” she said to them all brightly, before turning to Corey. “Would you like to go and join Callie in the library? We’ll be about an hour,” she spoke clearly and signed to him.
She watched his eyes drift over to Callie, who had stopped at the nearby water bubblers for a drink, before he nodded his head, jogging over to her before she could walk ahead of him.
Smiling to herself, she watched the two walk off together, Callie talking and signing simply for Corey to understand. A small amount of hope blossomed inside Mia as she thought that Callie may possibly be the key to getting Corey more involved.
“Never underestimate the power of a pretty girl,” Cayd commented, making eye contact with Mia as if he had somehow heard the thoughts run through her head. Something passed between them, electrifying the air, causing Mia’s body to ignite under his gaze. An embarrassing gasp burst from her lips and her cheeks flamed yet again.
“Can I offer you all tea or coffee while we wait?” Mia asked, trying her best to sound professional while admonishing her brain for flitting certain images through her mind - the kind of images that involved little clothes and were completely at odds with her current relationship status.
“That would be wonderful,” Mrs Blackburn replied, beaming as she watched her son walking away. Mia could see the hope in her eyes too and felt that this meeting was most likely to have a positive outcome after all.
***
“Thank you for your insights on Corey, they’ll be very helpful to me,” Cayd said to Mia when the meeting was over, and they had farewelled Corey’s parents.
“You’re welcome Doctor Donnelly. I’m only too happy to be of help,” she replied, her heart thumping against her chest as he looked at her, watched her. Her reaction confused her. She couldn’t figure out what was going on. She’d never responded like this around someone before.
“Cayd, please - ‘Doctor’ sounds so formal,” he told her smiling, his voice like long fingers, caressing her senses.
They stood smiling inanely at each other for a few minutes before Cayd broke the silence. “Listen, I ah… don’t normally do this, but would you like to maybe meet for coffee, or a drink sometime?” he asked, his hand floating up and raking nervously through his hair.
“I’d love that,” she said without thinking, before catching herself and adding, “But I can’t. I don’t think my boyfriend would be ok with it.”
They locked eyes for a moment, the air humming around them. “I understand,” Cayd said quietly, a flash of disappointment lighting up his eyes. “It was lovely to meet you Mia,” he said, nodding courteously at her before turning to leave, politely thanking the school’s principal, Tamara O’Keefe, on his way out.
The moment the door clicked shut, Tamara stood next to Mia, who was still frozen to the spot. “Oh my, I think I almost came watching the electricity spark between the two of you. What the hell was that?”
“It was nothing,” Mia said, trying to brush it off.
“Nothing? Did you see the way he was looking at you in the meeting? Oh my, my, my,” she said, fanning her face with her hand. “I’m going to have a hard time concentrating today after that.”
“Don’t you have a school to run?” Mia asked half in jest, letting Tamara know that she wasn’t planning on indulging any further talk over the matter.
“You’re no fun,” Tamara pouted. “I’m getting old Mia and I’ve been married for nearly twenty years. You have to give me something to tide me over occasionally.”
Mia laughed, shaking her head as she said, “Yes Tamara, you are so old at forty-two I think you might need a walking frame soon.”
“Well, you never know,” Tamara joked, heading into her office, leaning over and holding her back as if she was suddenly too old to stand up straight. Mia stood alone, a smile plastered on her face as she tried to figure out how she was going to concentrate for the rest of the day also, somehow knowing that her dreams that night were going to be filled with a particular tall, dark and handsome doctor.
Chapter Two
“This is a nice surprise. I thought you’d be getting ready for work,” Eric Dundas murmured lowly next to his girlfriend’s ear the next morning. He’d been sent into the 7Eleven by his bo
ss to grab a couple of meat pies and chocolate milks for them to have before they started off on their first job.
She spun around quickly, looking slightly surprised and perhaps a little cautious. It seemed to take her a moment longer than usual to respond happily to her boyfriend’s attentions.
“Um… shouldn’t you be at work…honey?” she replied cautiously.
Eric laughed and kissed her on the forehead, his light-brown hair falling forward to tickle softly against her skin. “Very funny Mia, I am at work – Baz is outside in the ute. I’m just getting our breakfast before we go to our first job… and since when do you call me ‘honey’?”
“Oh, uh, I’m just trying it out – do you like it?”
“I don’t know, you’ll have to try it again when I see you this weekend. I’ll call you when I’m finished.”
With that, Eric leaned in and kissed her, sucking her lower lip gently with both of his. His eyes flashed bright for a moment as he peered into his girlfriend’s eyes. A slight furrow formed on his brow as he studied her before brushing his knuckles gently against her cheek.
“You look really beautiful today,” he barely whispered before kissing her again in good bye. He walked away from her, paying for his food, then winked at her as he left the shop.
Touching her lips lightly with her fingertips she smiled to herself. When Eric kissed her she felt a bolt of energy flood through her body, it surprised her and she wanted more.
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