by Lisa Swallow
I turn back. Nate’s in the pool again laughing conspiratorially with Josh and my irritation ebbs. I may’ve landed myself with another big kid to contend with, but the Nate I found behind his walls is big-hearted, understanding, and in tune. The exact opposite of the man lost in the shadows of his past, struggling to find a way out.
NATE
I pull myself from the pool and sit on the grey marble edge. Riley’s towel-clad figure walks through the double-glass doors and I watch her for a few moments before glancing back at Josh. He hangs onto the shark toy and splashes in circles singing to himself and, as I shake water from my hair, the bizarre situation I’m in washes over me again.
Yeah, if you’d told me six months ago I’d be holidaying with Riley I’d have laughed. With Riley and a kid I never knew existed? No way in hell. But here I am.
Josh’s accident freaked me out. I’d never seen Riley helpless and frightened the way she was the afternoon I rushed her to hospital to be with Josh. She stripped my last defences away the minute she looked into my eyes with that fear.
The overwhelming need to protect Riley and fix the situation with Josh shoved away all my earlier dumb thoughts; the ones convincing me I couldn’t be what Riley wanted. In that moment, I realised I needed to let go of the denial I used to keep myself safe and stop lying to myself I could ever walk away from her. As Riley’s heart broke over Josh, a shock ran through mine too. I felt her pain as readily as my own and that bloody confused me — how I could I experience someone else’s emotions with that intensity?
Because I love her and understood for the first time exactly what that meant to me. I’d fallen in love with all the parts of Riley that once scared me: her strengths, her passions, and her refusal to be treated any less than she deserved. I saw my mirror image girl clearly for the first time — with me and in a shared future.
The love I hold for Riley intensifies each time I experience the same connection, and I tentatively share my emotions with her too. I tell Riley I love her because I think she needs convincing still, but hope I show her more often than I say.
Is this the idea of soulmates? Or one person’s neuroses meeting another’s and finding peace? I laugh at my attempt to downplay what I have. The answer depends on whether I romanticise what began as bloody unromantic, or accept that hidden beneath the layers we’ve yet to peel away is a need to let go and believe love can be what it is: love. No agendas, no analysis and impossible to avoid or explain.
Just Riley.
RILEY
The heat dampened my appetite, so I pull out vegetables to make a salad. I’m gathering lettuce and tomatoes into a bowl when Nate appears next to me and grabs a slice of cucumber. He winks at me as he pushes it into his mouth.
I look out of the open doorway to ensure Josh isn’t in the pool anymore; he’s standing at the table pouring himself another drink of Fanta. “Josh! Come inside now!”
“I don’t want to.”
“Come on, dude,” calls Nate. “Do what your mum asks.”
I shake my head at Nate’s smugness as a dutiful Josh appears wrapped in a towel. “Get changed for dinner,” I tell Josh.
Josh trudges towards his room, trailing water behind him
“You’re dripping water on the floor too,” I say to Nate.
“Fine.” Nate grabs the towel from around me and drops it to the floor, then steps onto it. He takes a lingering look at my wet bikini top and trails a finger from below the strap to my belly button. I shiver.
“Being stuck with you in Greece in the sun is a damn sight better than stuck in the snow.”
I pull him towards me by the shorts. “Even though we’re not on our own?”
“Even though we’re not on our own.” He places a kiss beneath my ear. “Because when we are on our own, it’s fucking amazing. Why do you think I spend so much time making sure Josh is worn out and asleep by seven?”
Nate squeezes my ass and bites his lip, eyes shining.
“I thought it was because you liked the excuse to be the big kid you are.” I grab his hand as it sneaks inside my bikini briefs.
“Yeah, that too. Now shut up and kiss me.”
His lips touch mine, sparking the desire for him as readily as always. He draws me close and I’m enveloped in the strength of his arms, yielding to him the way I do every time now. We lose ourselves together when we connect, as strongly as we pushed each other away in the past. The passion and longing hidden for two years still spills out with each night we spend together and I know always will.
Nate. He isn’t the man I thought I knew, even when I convinced myself I understood him. The deeper awareness of what created the guy he became, and his fears over intimacy, revealed my own fears and together we work through it all. The insecurity we carry plays off against each other, occasionally in a bad way but most often in a heightened understanding, because we recognise each other in a way nobody else can.
This complicated, beautiful man re-discovered a heart big enough to share with both Josh and me; and although some days he struggles, the fact he’s honest about this gives hope for the future, one Nate repeatedly says he wants to spend with me.
Whatever this is, and wherever we go, we’re Nate and Riley, the names as natural together as they were to everybody before we ever acknowledged this.
More than that, we’re us. A little bit messed up, and a lot the same, but anchored together in a determination to conquer ourselves the way we did each other.
The End
Thank you for reading Reprise. I hope you enjoyed the story. Please consider leaving a review on the site you purchased the book.
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COMING SOON
The Soul Ties series
Parnormal romance
This series is written under my paranormal author pen-name, LJ Swallow. These are a re-working and re-release of a series originally published in 2013 and are available for pre-order.
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Soul Ties
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Torn Souls
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Books in the Ruby Riot Series
Cadence (Ruby Riot #1)
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Shuffle (Ruby Riot #2)
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Summer Sky (Blue Phoenix #1)
Sky changed her life for a man once, and she has no intention of doing it again — even if he is a six foot, tattooed rock god who makes a mean bacon sandwich
Sky Davis is fed up with boyfriend Grant taking her for granted and when she comes home to find him wearing a girl, Sky suspects the relationship is over. She takes an unscheduled holiday and leaves the life (and guy) she hates behind.
Rock
star Dylan Morgan is struggling with fame and infamy, sick of his life being controlled by other people. Dylan cuts his hair and walks away from his role as lead singer of Blue Phoenix, leaving chaos and speculation behind.
Outside the English seaside town of Broadbeach their cars and worlds collide.
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Other books by Lisa Swallow
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Butterfly Days Series
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Because of Lucy
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Finding Evan (#2)
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The Same Deep Water
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Snow Kissed
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Also by LJ Swallow
Between (Dark Intent #1)
Paranormal romance
Acknowledgments
Thank you again to every member of the team who turn my words into books: my editor Peggy, my cover designer Najla, Jessica for dealing with the release and promotion of the Ruby Riot series, and Louise who helps every step of the way.
Thanks to the ladies who helped with a last minute read through: Hayley, Jodie, Maureen and Shari. And thanks to my readers group for the encouragement. To the January Girls: thank you for you help and support too.
Finally thanks to Nick. While writing Reprise, I was in hospital and he had a lot to take on at home. Then when I came home he continued the shopping, cleaning, understanding and love. I promise to slow down now. Maybe.
About the Author
Lisa is an Amazon bestselling author of contemporary romance and writes paranormal romance under the name of LJ Swallow. She is originally from the UK but moved to Australia in 2001. She now lives in Perth, Western Australia with her husband, three children, and Weimaraner, Tilly, who often makes appearances on Lisa’s social media.
Lisa’s first publication was a moving poem about the rain, followed by a suspenseful story about shoes. Following these successes at nine years old there was a long gap in her writing career, until she published her first book in 2013.
In the past, Lisa worked as an English teacher in France, as an advertising copywriter in England, and ran her own business in Australia. Now she spends her days with imaginary rock stars.
She lived in Europe as a child and also travelled when she left university. This has given Lisa stories which would sound far-fetched if she wrote them down, and maybe one day she will. These days, Lisa is happy in her writing cave under Tilly’s supervision.
For more information about me and my books:
@lisa_swallow_au
lisaswallowbooks
lisaswallow.net
[email protected]