About Three Authors

by Patti Roberts

“Jesus!” Becky dropped the flowers on the ground, then took off down the hall. She pushed open the stairwell door and ran down three flights of stairs. She slammed into the exit door with her shoulder, pushed it open, and ran into the empty foyer of the apartment building. She ran towards the glass sliding doors and jumped up and down when they didn’t open. A second later they slid open. Outside, snow had begun to fall, limiting her vision. She looked right. An old couple were walking hand in hand along the pavement, a toy poodle skipping alongside them. She spun around, turning left, then spotted him farther down the snow-covered pavement.

  “Gary?” she called out, running towards him, weaving in and out of pedestrians.

  He kept walking, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

  “Gary!” she called again, louder this time. He made no sign that he had heard her.

  “Gary! Stop! It isn’t what you think. Please stop.”

  Gary halted, but didn’t turn to face her.

  She caught up to him, her hand reaching out slowly to touch his hunched back. “Gary?”

  He didn’t turn to look at her. “I shouldn’t have come. It was a mistake. I knew you were involved with someone here, but I just thought… Well, it really doesn’t matter what I thought, does it? It’s my own fault for not calling you first.” He began to walk away.

  “Stop!” Becky demanded, stamping her foot. “Clive is just a friend. Nothing ever happened with Clive. Well, it kind of did. I kissed him, but it was like kissing my brother.”

  Gary didn’t move for a long moment. “You’ve got a brother?” He turned to face her, his face unreadable.

  Becky shook her head. “Maybe. Who knows? I wouldn’t count it out just yet.” She shrugged, biting her bottom lip. “The point is, I’m not in love with Clive. I’m in love with you. You see, I wished for you, too.”

  Gary grinned, then removed his hands from his pockets, resting them on either side of her face. Stepping closer, he lowered his face, then kissed her. The kind of kiss that brought great men to their knees. The kind of kiss that powerful kingdoms went to war over, pitting man against man, according to Greek mythology.

  Breathless, and with her legs feeling like cold, overcooked spaghetti, Becky wrapped her arms around him, and kissed him back. After a moment, she pulled away and rested her head against his chest. With his arms wrapped tightly around her, she knew she was exactly where she was supposed to be. She closed her eyes, a smile playing on her lips. She knew that with him she would become the woman she was destined to be, and that she would follow him anywhere.

  “I mean it, Beck,” Gary whispered, his breath stirring her hair. “My life is incomplete without you in it. You decide what we do, where we go, from here on in. Whether it be in England, or in Australia. My heart has belonged to you from the moment I first saw you looking at those tool bags in the hardware store, and it has belonged to you ever since. You just say the word, and that’s where we’ll go.”

  She looked up into his eyes. “But your business is in Australia.”

  “And your job is here, in London. Look, we don’t have to figure it out straight away. I’ve taken the next six weeks off.” He shuddered as a gust of snow twirled violently around them.

  “You’re freezing,” she said, only just noticing his bare hands. “Where are your gloves, for goodness’ sake?” She rubbed his hands briskly in her own.

  “I don’t own any,” he said.

  She pulled his hands beneath her coat and wrapped them around her waist. “Perhaps you should take me home then?” she said, a broad smile on her face. “Oh, wait.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket. “I have to cancel lunch with Felicity.”

  He took the phone out of her hand, reached behind her, and then slid it back into her pocket. “Already sorted. How do you think I know where you live?”

  “You talked to-”

  “I did.”

  “Really? Who else-”

  He pulled her closer. “Too much talking,” he said, pressing his lips to her mouth, and silencing her.

  They walked hand in hand back to the apartment, periodically gazing at each other just to make sure they weren’t dreaming.

  They kissed in the privacy of the elevator, their hands moving, searching.

  An old man stepped into the elevator on the second floor, and they extracted themselves from each other, and tried not to laugh.

  “Hello Mr. Arkinstall. How are you today?” Becky asked, squeezing Gary’s hand.

  He nodded. “Very good, dear,” he mumbled, before burying his head back in the horse racing guide in the newspaper.

  On the third floor, they exited the elevator and, hand in hand, they ran down the hall towards her apartment.

  When they reached the open door, Gary slipped his arms back around her. His lips found hers, and pressed against them. He never wanted to stop kissing her.

  Between kisses, she murmured, “This isn’t permanent, you know. You and me, here. It’s just for now, just for a few weeks, and then that’s it.”

  Gary stopped kissing her, extracting himself from her. He turned her face towards his with both hands and stared straight into her eyes, a questioning look on his face. Had he misunderstood her? Did she not want him? A cold hand squeezed his heart, and he could feel himself holding his breath. “I don’t understand. You said –”

  She leaned down to pick up the roses at the door, then, taking hold of his hand, she walked backwards into the apartment, pulling him in after her. The interior was spotless, thanks to Felicity and her OCD. Everything was tidy and in its place. Every picture on the wall hung dead level, made possible only by the spirit level Felicity carried in her Chanel handbag for just that reason. Magazines were stacked neatly from big to small on the coffee table. There wasn’t a pizza box, cereal box, or dirty mug in sight.

  “This can never be permanent,” she repeated, “because I’ve decided to sell the place. I’m leaving London for good. With Felicity’s help, I’ve already got a couple of people interested in the place.”

  Her words shocked him into silence. “I can’t do casual, Becky, if that’s what you’ve got in mind. Not with you. I’m all in, or all out.”

  “Neither do I. I want it all as well. But not –”

  “Becky. I don’t understand. What do you want?” He asked, exasperated, his hands held up in front of him in surrender. One minute she was telling him she loved him, and the next minute she was telling him it wasn’t going to be permanent. He was at a complete loss.

  “What do you want?” he asked again, lowering his hands to his sides.

  “This can’t be permanent, Gary, because I’m all in, too. I want it all, but I can’t have it all here. With the internet, I can work anywhere, and I want to live with you, in your little cottage by the lake. If you hadn’t come here to get me, I was going to jump on a plane, then just lob up on your doorstep, and ask you to love me. Will you love me?”

  Gary folded his arms across his chest. “Well, let me see…I don’t know. I’ve heard the English can be total whingers. A real pain in the arse. So I’ll really have to think long and hard about this.” He rubbed the stubble on his chin with his hand. “I guess I could always give the whole loving you thing a go, see how it pans out?”

  Becky threw her arms around his neck, hitched her legs up around his waist, and then kissed him hard on the mouth.

  He pulled away to look at her. “I’m not making any promises, though,” he said, putting her down, then removing his coat, glad to be free from its constraints. “How do you put up with all this clothing all the time? Must take you a good twenty minutes just to get ready to go outside.” He dumped his coat on the sofa, then swept her up into his arms. “Which way to the bedroom, Becky Jensen, because I really want to strip you naked, and do some really bad things to you.” He pushed the door closed with his foot.

  Becky giggled, then thrust her arm out, pointing towards the bedroom door. “That way,” she ordered. “And make it snappy, because I don’t have time for d
awdlers. I’ve got some very bad things that I’d like to do to you, too, Gary Parker.”

  Five Weeks Later.

  Becky sat cross legged in her old bedroom, a fort of packing boxes around her. In her lap sat a beautiful doll, her fingers tracing lovingly through the long, auburn hair. Outside, every tree branch and blade of grass was camouflaged by a thick blanket of snow.

  “What do you have there?” Gary asked, putting a coffee cup down on the taped-up box. He sat down next to her, kissed her, leaned back against the wall, then, watching her over the lip of the mug, took a sip of his coffee.

  “She was a Christmas gift when I was four. I just found her in one of these boxes I was sorting through. Mum mentioned her to me in the letter she wrote me before she died. As soon as I pulled her out of the box, I remembered her name. She was named Elise, after my mother.” She looked up at him, tears pooling in her eyes. “How could I forget her name?”

  Gary put his cup down on a box, then slid across the polished timber floor, and wrapped a leg around each side of her. He pulled her back against his chest, kissing her on the shoulder. “Sweetheart, you were only four. No one would expect you to remember that. It was a long time ago. The thing is, you remember now, and I’m here to make sure you never forget again.”

  She brushed away her tears and leaned the side of her face against his shoulder. “What if I’m really old and have dementia?”

  “Even then.”

  “What if I’m really old and really cranky and have dementia?”

  He kissed the top of her head. “Whoever said love was easy?”

  BECKY JENSEN’S FACEBOOK STATUS: It’s amazing how love can change just about everything.

  THE END.

  I would be most grateful if you would consider leaving a review for About Three Authors.

  Smashwords - http://bit.ly/1xMQLG2

  Book club questions for discussion, and suggested topics for your book review.

  What did you think the book was about?

  Did you feel that the book fulfilled your expectations?

  Did you enjoy the book? Why? Why not?

  What about the plot? Did it pull you in; or did you feel you had to force yourself to read the book?

  How realistic was the characterization? Would you want to meet any of the characters? Did you like them? Hate them?

  Did the actions of the characters seem plausible? Why? Why not?

  If one (or more) of the characters made a choice that had moral implications, would you have made the same decision? Why? Why not?

  Where there passages of dialog that were funny or poignant or that encapsulates a particular character?

  If you could ask the author a question, what would you ask? Have you read other books by the same author? If so how does this book compare. If not, does this book inspire you to read others?

  Did the book end the way you expected?

  Would you recommend this book to other readers? To your close friend?

  Song List.

  Christina Perri – “Something About December”.

  Bing Crosby – “White Christmas”.

  Mariah Carey – “All I Want For Christmas Is You”.

  Queen – “We Will Rock You”.

  Cliff Richard – “Mistletoe And Wine”.

  Cyndi Lauper – “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”.

  Joni Mitchel – “Both Sides Now”.

  Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – “Can’t Hold Us”.

  Beach Boys – “Surfin’ Safari”.

  Bon Jovi – “Living On A Prayer”.

  Jonathan Clay - Heart On Fire.

  REO Speedwagon – “Can’t Fight This Feeling”.

  Christina - Perri – “Arms”.

  Christina - Perri – “Human”.

  John Newman – “Easy”.

  Character pictures - http://bit.ly/1wIB6Hm

  Other publications by Patti Roberts.

  Paradox – The Angels Are Here (book 1) 2010

  Paradox – Progeny Of Innocence (book 2) 2011

  Paradox – Bound By Blood (book 3) 2012

  Paradox – Equilibrium (book 4) 2013

  Paradox – Elemental (book 5) 2015

  Witchwood Estate – Going Home (book 1) 2013

  Witchwood Estate – Ferntree Falls (book 2) 2013

  Witchwood Estate – Books 1 & 2 (eBook & print version) 2013

  Witchwood Estate – CURSED (book 3) 2013

  Witchwood Estate – Timeless (book 4) 2014

  Witchwood Estate – Witches Bitches (book 5) 2015

  Print Books

  http://bit.ly/1rS1PKN

  Contact Patti Roberts.

  About Three Authors Blog: http://bit.ly/1wIB6Hm

  Twitter: http://bit.ly/1szIGfI

  Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1waO1jO

  Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1tdwu8f

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR – Patti Roberts.

  PATTI ROBERTS was born in Brisbane Australia but soon moved to Darwin in the Northern Territory. Her son Luke was born in 1980. Patti now lives in Cairns, Queensland where she is writing the Paradox Series of books. Patti is also writing a new teen series, Witchwood Estate, (WWE), which are being published as episodic, short story fiction, along the lines of a TV series.

  Patti also designs book covers, and formats books for the electronic and print media for other authors.

  It is her wish to one day own and operate a writers retreat in FNQ Australia.

  …To the reader…

  Find your silver lining.

  I did.

  Patti Roberts.

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