Alex started to play, watching Eli the whole time with a smile so proud it almost lit up the room. She was nailing it, and so was he. A performance so magical, so beautiful, that I couldn’t help but be moved.
How my life had changed.
I glanced at my grandmother, dabbing her eyes with her handkerchief, the one embroidered with her initials, the same box she’d given to Eli with EB sewn into the corner. ‘All ballet dancers have their own handkerchiefs,’ she said to an ecstatic Eli on the bus during the journey over.
The last note played out and Eli took her bows to the noise of the cheering crowd filling the auditorium.
‘That was Eli Burnett accompanied by Alexander Burnett on cello from the dance school On Pointe led by Natasha Bevan.’
‘You were amazing!’ I said as Eli flung herself round my waist.
‘That felt so good!’ she laughed, recognising the feeling, loving that she felt the same way as I did when I danced.
‘Eli, you danced beautifully,’ Alex said, leaning down to hug her. ‘I’m so proud of you.’ I watched her skip away to the other children from dance class, smiling as they started congratulating her and pulling her into hugs.
‘I love you,’ Alex said, watching me with adoration as he pulled me to a discreet corner.
‘I love you too.’
‘Move in with us.’
‘What?’ I gasped.
‘You heard me,’ he replied. ‘Move in with us. I want you with me, Natasha Bevan. Every step, every minute, every second. Always.’ I wrapped my arms around his neck, sighed against his cheek. Thought about how far we’d come in the last few months and my unwavering need for him. ‘You’re hesitating,’ he replied. ‘Let’s take small steps first. Perhaps you can leave your toothbrush in the bathroom, or I can make you some space for an underwear drawer.’
‘You prefer me not to wear underwear.’
He kissed my neck. ‘That’s true.’
‘Can I think about it?’ I asked.
‘No.’
I smiled, his straight delivery reminding me of when we first met. ‘OK,’ I said, kissing his lips. ‘We’ll start with a toothbrush.’
‘It’s a start,’ he replied.
I eyed the man so used to getting his own way as he started to put away his cello. A slight smile appeared on his lips, knowing I was watching him. Feeling that he knew I was doing the familiar overthinking strategy of being cautious, protecting myself…a force of habit.
‘Nat?’
‘Yes,’ I said as he came back.
‘Stop thinking about it and say yes,’ he replied, kneeling before me, slipping his hand up my leg and kissing my inner thigh. ‘I love you. I’ll look after you, I’ll fucking adore you for the rest of my life.’ I leant down. Pulled him to me. My heart skipped a beat when he wrapped his arms around my waist, clasping them behind me, unable or unwilling to let me go. ‘Tell me yes, beautiful.’
‘Yes,’ I replied. ‘But only because I adore you too.’
* * *
Thank you for reading Lament. I’ve written a bonus epilogue that catches up with Nat and Alex two years later. Just sign up to my newsletter for more info! If you’ve already signed up, check my latest newsletter for the link.
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Other Books By Lynsey
The Music and Letters Series
Let Me Be Your First
Elle Davis is a hopeless romantic, an epic daydreamer, and best friend to party girl Abi. Oh, and she’s also a twenty-three-year-old virgin. She has always dreamed of love at first sight and the fairy-tale ending; however, as the burden of her virginity increases, so does her sexual curiosity…
In her mission to find Mr Right, Elle inevitably stumbles across Mr Wrong. Following a chance encounter with a colleague, she decides to take the first steps…
Luke Simms is funny, sexy and cocksure with as much baggage as the lost luggage department at Heathrow airport. He doesn’t do commitment, but he does offer Elle the experience she craves.
Ben Newman is romantic, witty and drop-dead gorgeous. He is also chasing the fairy tale. But after a string of dating disasters, he’s ready to give up on the dream and end the search.
Find out if Elle saves Luke Simms from his mission of self-destruct, or if she ends Ben Newman’s search for his fairy tale…
* * *
Let Me Be Your Hope
Abi Sinclair is a determined social worker and committed party girl. She’s independent, ballsy and living the single girl’s dream. But underneath the bravado and empty one-night stands, she’s hiding a broken heart…
Jamie Dawson is Abi’s lost love, the only man who ever made her feel alive. When he left Nottingham two years ago to take care of his terminally ill mother, they agreed to communicate only by letter, both believing their love was meant to be.
One regrettable lie forced them down very different paths.
One rash decision forced them apart.
But Jamie is back. And he’s Abi’s new manager. Only he’s a different man—too different.
Desperate for answers, Abi won’t stop until she uncovers the truth behind Jamie’s two-year absence…
* * *
Let Me Be Your Truth
From the outside, Kate Roper has life all figured out—a career as social worker, friends who love her, and a perfectly sensible relationship with a loyal but boring man. She has her life sorted neatly into boxes…until she meets Danny, a tortured artist with a troubled past. They say opposites attract, and Danny’s sexual confidence intrigues Kate. His tattoos enthral her. He is everything she doesn’t think she needs, yet she craves what he has to offer.
Art therapy sessions at a local therapy centre have saved Danny from his tormented past. But when Kate shows up with her positivity, paint brushes and flirty skirts, Danny can’t seem to escape the grim reminders she triggers of when he needed help the most and was left to bury the past under his addictions.
Danny doesn’t do romance. He does sex. Amazing sex. He can teach Kate the art of orgasms so that his Miss Goody Two-Shoes learns the difference between monotonous and mind-blowing…
As their relationship intensifies, their pasts collide. They soon find that they have more in common than they ever would have thought, but can Kate and Danny find their truths in the unlikeliest of relationships?
* * *
Let Me Be Your Last
Gem Brown had it all. A successful husband, two gorgeous boys, and a life mapped out. Until doubt started to creep in.
Suspicion can drive you mad.
But suspicion can also prove you right.
The day Gem found her husband teetering on the edge of ecstasy, his mistress on her knees before him, provided her with…clarity. She would never trust a man again.
But four years later, through the strength of friendship and the love of her kids, Gem feels ready to start taking chances.
And then comes Josh. He’s a match made in heaven (or was it Loveisintheair.com?). Epic dates, swoon-worthy grand gestures, and a promise of happiness threaten to test her never-trust-a-man-again mantra.
But is Gem ready to fall in love again? Will Gem and Josh ever start testing the theory that high levels of sexual tension often lead to earth-shifting sex? Can Josh help her to heal old wounds, or will ghosts of the past fail to let her go?
* * *
Stripped Bare
I couldn’t deny that seeing my ex-boyfriend jiggling his junk in the face of an ecstatic bride-to-be was a complete mind hump.
I didn’t normally get giddy over strippers, but this wasn’t any ordinary stripper. Ethan was my childhood friend, my teenage crush, the boy that featured in all of my firsts.
We had made a childhood pact. If we didn’t find the right person to lose our virginity to by the time we reached eighteen we would be each other’s first.
First kiss, first love…
First heartbreak.
We had be
en apart for three years.
I had forgotten how glorious he was. I watched him grind his hips to the music, creating a dance with the woman in front of him. But after the rip of Velcro, his thong thrown in my direction, his eyes finally focused…on me.
Who knew being whiplashed by a sequinned thong would lead to a moment of clarity? It was time to start questioning everything that happened between us until I was left feeling bare.
Stripped bare.
Stripped Bare is a 30,000-word novella. If you like them long and meaty, this book may not be for you. Or depending on the context…maybe it is.
* * *
Sliding Home
I was flying high with the Florida Falcons until an injury completely changed my life. Playing baseball had been my dream since I was a kid and America couldn’t get enough of the Brit who’d made it to the big leagues. The game was my world, but suddenly I couldn't do it anymore. I was bored. I was frustrated. So I filled the void.
Sex was an easy answer for a pro ball player with an English accent, and soon my misdemeanours were splashed across the tabloids. Now I was a bad joke, a sleazy internet meme, a washed-up third-baseman who enjoyed playing with women more than playing the game.
I was given an ultimatum: go home to England and turn things around, or face being dropped. My reputation had been knocked out of the park for the final time. I needed a lifeline.
And then she showed up. An obstacle in my path struggling with a suitcase.
Jess tempted me before I’d even left the States. But there was something more. She intrigued me. Could the actress with the knockout smile help turn my life around?
I offered her a business arrangement she couldn’t refuse. No complications. No distractions. What could possibly go wrong?
Sliding Home is a novella that was originally featured in Rounding Third: A Baseball Anthology.
* * *
A Novel Christmas
Go to an island, my publisher said. Reclaim your writing mojo, he added. Be inspired, he suggested. Oh, sexy shenanigans, was I inspired. Drew Carolla would do that to a woman. Reclusive and brooding, an ex-pilot-come-sexy-woodcutter-come-luxury-wedding-venue-owner-come…here.
Writing romance doesn’t come easy when you don’t have a muse, and I was on a deadline. Four weeks to write my next bestseller or face being dropped by my publisher. Thankfully, watching Drew chop wood, sweaty and shirtless, soon had the words flowing like water through Cornish coastline rock pools.
But Drew had his own stories to tell. Why did his luxury wedding venue no longer host weddings? Why did he scoff at the idea of romance? And why, despite that, did he look at me like he wanted to wake up on Christmas morning and find me naked in his bed?
Conundrums. Drew was full of them. Too bad I wasn’t writing psychological thrillers.
Would Drew Carolla, a man who didn’t believe in romance, inspire my greatest love story or leave me with unfinished chapters?
About Lynsey
Lynsey M. Stewart enjoys writing stories about characters that experience a few bumps in the road before finding their happily ever after (also known as contemporary romance with plenty of heat). She lives with her husband, her soul mate and muse, along with their gorgeous, precious, ridiculously independent little girl. Lynsey began writing after being inspired by great books, amazing writers and wonderful stories that she couldn’t stop thinking about long after reading the last word. If she’s not writing, you can usually find her with her head in a book or singing along to music. She’s hopeless, but she enjoys pretending to be Adele every once in a while.
Find Lynsey on:
www.lynseymstewart.com
[email protected]
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Acknowledgments
To Ashley Martin at Twin Tweaks Editing. You have an immense talent for spotting inconsistencies! Thank you for making this book shine.
Thank you to Kari March for designing the cover I had in my head and nailing it.
Thank you to Judy Zweifel for your proofreading skills. I look forward to working with you again.
To Beth at Panda & Boodle. Thanks for helping me spread the word!
To Ann, Jessica and Laura. Thanks for your comments and for helping me smooth out Lament as part of the beta process. I know I can trust you to be honest with me and that’s so important. I cannot thank you enough.
Special thanks to Monica Marti for naming the bookstore Canterbary Books. I had to choose your suggestion because it’s a lovely nod to Kate.
A special thanks to Jessica, Megan, Laura and Karin for all you do for me! I’m thankful to have people like you supporting me on this journey.
Lament Page 26
