by Wendy Louise
She’s a great dancer, but in all honesty, I’m better.
My goal is to take to the stage as part of a dance company. I want to continue my studies and complete a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. In particular, I want to study at the Juilliard School in New York. It has forever been my dream to be accepted by them and dance among the elite.
Coop starts to strum the first chords of the song on his guitar and we start to move to the stage. The crowd roars as the drum kicks in and they recognise one of their favourite Awesome Rebel songs.
We start the routine and the adrenaline that always fires through my veins takes over as I move my body to the music.
I’m on the side of the stage closest to my brother while Leah is over near Coop. We have to shimmy around the guys during this song and I always hate doing that to Gray. It just doesn’t feel right. Coop is usually on my side of the stage by this part of the song, but tonight he hasn’t moved.
I see Leah close in for the kill and my stomach drops.
Coop smiles at her and while I try not to dance too close to my brother while he sings, I watch them from the corner of my eye.
Leah gives Cooper a flirty smile, one that he returns, and I feel the adrenaline in my system dissipate as it’s replaced with my blood - boiling.
I move away from Gray, towards centre stage, ready for the main part of the dance that takes place over the instrumental part of the song. Leah gives me a smug smile as she takes her place beside me.
The beat kicks in and we both start the sequence for this part of the song.
If Leah thinks that she can make a move on Cooper then she has another thing coming.
As I dance my heart out beside her, I decide that it’s now or never.
Coop needs to decide what we are doing.
And if he decides that he wants to do me, then it’s all or nothing.
Game on Leah.
I smile out at the crowd and allow the confidence of performing to take over.
Cooper Lane could be everything I’ve ever wanted.
But can I be the same for him?
To all the amazing people that downloaded Forever is Mine and talked about it with their friends, I can’t thank you enough. We got it to the number 2 free download spot on iBooks here in Australia, number 9 in the USA and number 3 in the UK. I never thought a book of mine would be in such a position. Thank you, thank you, thank you. X
To my wonderful husband who was as excited as I was each time Forever is Mine inched higher up the download chart. Your on-going support for my writing means the world to me. Thanks for allowing me to take time out to do this. Love you lots. X
To my two beautiful children who are so supportive of my writing, even though they are both way too young to read any of my books. I love your faith in me and your unwavering enthusiasm. Love you both bunches. X
To my S-I-L Sandra for being an awesome BETA reader and my extra pair of eyes. You met my deadlines and gave me such great feedback, and I appreciate it more than you know. I hope you realise that you now have a new job, and there will be many more to come! X
To my writing buddy and dear friend – Jes Logan. Thanks for all your support and words of wisdom as we take this writing journey together. Couldn’t do it without you. X
To my family and friends who share my facebook posts and get the word out there for me. I am so very grateful for your support. X
To my parents, and parents-in-law – thanks for supporting me and reading my books. Your enthusiasm means the world. X
To my sister Jo, my B-I-L Mark, and my gorgeous niece and nephew, thanks for your support, for always sharing my posts on facebook and for sharing this ride with me. X
To my cousin Bree and her hubby Trent, thanks for being my greatest cheerleaders. Can’t wait to meet the new little cheerleader in a couple of months. X
To my Facebook sisters – Courtney and Caitlin – thanks for always sharing my posts and for helping me get the word out there. I really appreciate it! X
To Emily from E.M. Tippetts Book Designs who once again brought my characters to life with her wonderful cover work and marketing materials. Thank you so much. X
To everyone who downloaded Forever is Mine and sent me encouraging emails and messages, thank you. I’ve had the most gorgeous emails from readers, telling me how much they loved Ethan and Ava. I hope you all loved Grayson and Olivia just as much.
XOXO
Sienna and Cooper’s story
Coming soon….
Sienna Adams wants to dance. It’s all she’s ever wanted. When she has the opportunity to tour the world and dance on stage with her brother’s band - Awesome Rebel, she takes it. But Sienna gets a lot more than she bargained for when she falls for the lead guitarist, the laid-back and gorgeous, Cooper Lane.
Falling in love wasn’t part of her plan, but sometimes plans change.
Cooper Lane loves to have fun. He’s easy-going and never takes life too seriously. Until a shock discovery in his family has him torn between touring with his band, staying with Sienna, or going back home to Australia to support his mother.
Sometimes life throws you a curve ball and the dreams that were always so important to you no longer seem so meaningful.
With everything life throws at them, Cooper and Sienna face some hard decisions. But sometimes it’s the hard times in life that make you realise which dream is the most important, and that love is all you need to carry you through.
Hi, I’m Wendy Louise. First and foremost I’m a Mum and a Wife. I live in Melbourne, Australia and my first love, aside from my family and travelling, is reading. I love books. I can’t get enough of them. The experience of writing is wonderful and I hope you enjoy reading my books as much as I enjoy bringing them to life.
I hope you enjoyed Forever is Yours, Grayson and Olivia’s story, as much as you enjoyed Ethan and Ava’s story in Forever is Mine.
Next up will be Sienna and Cooper’s story – Forever is Ours. I look forward to sharing that with you all in the New Year.
For those of you asking about Madeline’s story, yes, it will be part of the series and I look forward to sharing it with you all sometime in 2016.
Head on over to my website to check out my other release – Side by Side. There is a sneak peek of it over the page…..
I’d love to hear from you, so feel free to contact me.
Happy reading!
Wendy XOXO
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When Katy Lou Reynolds tags along with her boyfriend to an Underground Cage Fight the last thing she expects to find in the ring is her childhood best friend, Elijah.
Katy has carved a nice life for herself; she is a successful author, has great friends and lives in a nice apartment in San Francisco. Seeing Elijah in the ring brings back all the memories of her school years, a drunken mother, an absent father and relentless school bullies. Most of all, it re-awakens the feelings she had for him.
Elijah has always held her heart, from the age of three to now, and seeing him again brings all those feelings to the forefront.
But he left her when they were fourteen and didn’t keep in touch, so is it worth risking her heart to make him part of her life again?
Elijah Trent is a great fighter. He channels all the aggression and frustration he suffered at the hands of an abusive father in to every fight, every time. His success feeds his lifestyle full of new cities and endless women eager to spend time with him. Elijah has always regretted leaving San Francisco in such a hurry as a kid, but most of all, he regrets leaving behind his best friend Katy Lou. A friend who he loved and protected with his life.
There isn’t anything he wouldn’t give to see her again, but if he does, would she forgive him for leaving her and risk her heart?
What the book bloggers said:
“I ended up reading Side by Side in one day. I was invested in the story and I was desperate to
see how this story was going to unfold. Side by Side could be summed up in two words – Elijah Trent…Friend to lovers + cage fighting = TINA LOVES IT.”
Tina The Bookworm
“OMG. I devoured this book and felt all the feelings while reading it. Ever wonder what true love is? Well this is true love at its best.”
Kimmy Loves to Read
“5 Stars. I absolutely loved this book!!! I was hooked from the first chapter and could not read fast enough to see how this story would end for Katy and Elijah!!”
Melanie from Books Need TLC
Here’s a sneak peek of Side by Side. Head to my website for the links to download it….you can sample the entire first chapter there also.
A Different Life
The shrill beeping of the alarm wakes me at seven on the dot like it does every other morning. I rub my eyes to rid them of sleep and run a hand over my face recalling the fact that I have dreamt about Elijah for the fifth night in a row, which is never a good sign. I have dreamt of him; of that day on and off for the nine years since he walked out of my life without so much as a goodbye. No words, no letter, no conversation, just nothing. No life, no Elijah and nothing. That was the day I felt like my world imploded and crashed around me so I guess I should call this recurring dream a nightmare because every time I wake from it I feel the absolute dread in my stomach with the realization that he is gone.
He. Is. Gone.
I look to my right and see Jacob’s dark head buried in to the pillow beside me. Jacob, my boyfriend. We’ve been together on and off for two years. I love him but I am not in love with him. I was once, but not now. He is convenient, comfortable and nice to me so we stay together. I know he feels the same way as me. I see how his eyes flare when tall, shapely women pass by. I see how he lusts after them with dark eyes. Dark eyes that used to look at me like that, but no more. He rolls to the side and places a heavy arm across my stomach. “Morning babe,” he says with a deep gravelly voice.
I place my hand over his on my stomach because the contact feels good and I roll closer to him, burying my face in to his neck to catch his scent and to snuggle close. I have always been a tactile person, I like touching and I like the feel of Jacob’s arms around me. I attribute that to Elijah. He was the first person to wrap me up in his strong arms, squeeze me and make me feel safe.
My Elijah, only he’s not mine anymore.
You’d think I’d be over it by now. The dreams always bring it all back. I don’t have them very often, but when they come back they come back with a vengeance. I rub my hand roughly over my head as if it will help to rid my mind of my thoughts.
Of him.
It’s hard to forgive and forget when you had your soul mate and you lost him. I know I was only fourteen and what would I have known about soul mates at that age.
Right?
Wrong!
I knew.
I knew with every fibre of my being that he was it for me. It was a bone deep, gut wrenching feeling that I fear I will never have again for the remainder of this life.
I give Jacob a squeeze and then pull back the covers to make my way to the bathroom.
“Where are you going?” Jacob groans from the bed, rolling on to his side before scooting up against the headboard.
“I have to write today. I told you yesterday. I have a deadline in a week and I have to meet it.”
“Damn,” he says, “I was hoping I could get some action this morning.” He raises his eye brows as he reclines on his elbows, revealing his tanned chest and abs as the cotton sheet pools around his waist. He gives me that smile that snagged me in the beginning and his left dimple makes an appearance.
I laugh as I disappear through the bathroom door, “Sorry babe, no can do this morning.”
I hear him groan as I reach in to the shower cubicle and turn the water on hot. I want to wash away my dream, and my thoughts and this life. I would if it was possible, but I know it’s not.
This is my life.
This is where I have ended up and I have to grab it by the horns and live it because I can’t have a different life no matter how much I may want it.
I am a writer.
It’s the one thing about my life that I like.
Hell, I love!
I think my writing is a way for me to escape the reality of what I live. I pour every emotion, every wish, every dream and every hope in to every book that I write. It’s made my novels very popular and I have a great fan base. My third novel was the one that got me a traditional publishing deal and now my books grace the shelves of book stores and the screens of e-readers all over the world. My genre is romance and every hero I have in every book I write is based on Elijah. He’s the only one I can even think about using as a muse, and the women who read my books adore it.
Like me, they adore him.
I dig deep each time I write a new leading man and stretch my mind back to my childhood best friend who loved and protected me from the age of three when he moved next door to me until he disappeared from my life at fourteen.
My childhood best friend who protected me from bullies at school who would chase me home. The same bullies that would tease me about my alcoholic mother.
My childhood best friend who lived his own nightmare with an abusive father.
Hell, I need to shake these dreams.
I settle down at my laptop, open up the file that I have been working on and continue to edit my current masterpiece. I have to hand it over to my editor next week and I still have ten chapters to review. I’m a bit of a perfectionist so this can be a long and laborious task for me.
Jacob appears in the doorway, freshly showered and looking yummy in his sweats and a tight grey t-shirt that shows off every plane of his magnificent chest. “I’m out of here Katy.” He saunters over and places a wet kiss on my cheek. “You remember that we have the fight tonight right?” he asks.
Shit! I forgot about that. Jacob loves going to underground cage fights, the type where they use mixed martial arts to just about kill one another. I hate it, but I go with him because he enjoys it and I guess that in some dark recess of my mind, I like to use some of what I see in my novels. I admit that a few of my leading men have been fashioned on the occasional ripped body of some of the fighters that have graced the ring. That said, there is so much I would rather be doing than watching guys throw punches and kick one another to the point that one or both are covered in blood, but I put up with it for Jacob.
“I haven’t forgotten,” I lie.
“Great, I’ll pick you up at seven then. Be ready.” He places another kiss, this time a soft, dry one to my lips, before he grabs his car keys from the buffet by the door and heads out. “Later,” he calls back.
I hear the front door close with a soft click as I lean back in my chair and rub my hands across my face again. These dreams are disrupting my sleep and that in turn disrupts my ability to think clearly and concentrate on my writing. I head to the kitchen for coffee. I make it strong and black and return to my computer with it in hand, hoping that it will somehow contain the magic brew that will wipe all the thoughts, dreams and memories from my jumbled mind so I can get back in to the job at hand.
The afternoon passes in a blur of words and typing and before I know it I need to drag my sorry self out of the chair and get ready before Jacob comes to get me. The venues for these fights are usually old, barren and very cold so I always dress warm. I pull on a sweater over my faded skinny jeans and grab a bright scarf that I twist artfully around my neck so that it both warms me and adds a fashion statement. I pull my hair back in to a messy bun and add some small silver dangling earrings with little stars hanging from the ends to my ear lobes to complete the look. A brush of mascara and a swipe of gloss and I’m done.
I run to my room to grab a clutch and fill it with just the essentials, my money, ID, gloss and phone. Just as I am fastening the clasp, the doorbell rings. I move to grab it and snag my foot on the stool by the door of my bedroom. The heel of my a
nkle boot catches and I fall, hard. “Ouch!” I yell. I grab my ankle that feels like it is twisted and try to get my boot off to rub it.
“Katy!” I hear Jacob say from the other side of the front door, “Are you okay?”
“Use your key Jacob and come in here,” I call back, “I tripped.”
Jacob appears in a blur at my bedroom door and lifts me effortlessly from the floor, moving both of us to the end of my bed and helping me to remove my shoe. “What did you do?” he asks as he places his long fingers around my foot and starts to rub it.
I feel like a total idiot. “Don’t ask.” I groan back.
“Should we just stay in?” he asks, but I see the disappointment in the crease between his eyes. He lives for these damn fights.
“No, we should still go,” I respond. “Can you go grab me some anti-inflammation cream from the cabinet under the sink in the bathroom? I’ll put that on it and I’ll be good to go.”
He places me gently on the edge of the bed and moves towards the bathroom door. “You sure?” he asks.
I nod, “Yep, I need to get out, I’ve been indoors typing all day. I want to go.”
Jacob returns and softly applies the cream to my ankle and foot. The entire room fills with the methyl salicylate smell that comes with these balms. I don’t mind it; it smells like a locker room after a really good football game. Jacob replaces my sock and helps me to carefully put my boot back on. “Maybe you should wear flats tonight Katy?” he presses.
If there is one thing he should know about me, it is that I do not compromise my footwear for anyone. Shoes make the outfit. They also happen to be my weakness. One look in my walk-in robe and anyone could see that. I have a lot of shoes. Close to a hundred in fact, not that I would ever admit that to anyone.