Through the Glass

by Lisa J. Hobman

  Through the Glass

  by

  Lisa J. Hobman

  This is a fictional work. The names, characters, incidents, places, and locations are solely the concepts and products of the author’s imagination or are used to create a fictitious story and should not be construed as real.

  5 PRINCE PUBLISHING AND BOOKS, LLC

  PO Box 16507

  Denver, CO 80216

  www.5PrinceBooks.com

  ISBN 13:978-1-939217-52-3 ISBN 10: 1-939217-52-0

  Through the Glass

  Lisa J. Hobman

  Copyright Lisa J. Hobman 2013 Smashwords Edition

  Published by 5 Prince Publishing

  Front Cover Viola Estrella

  Author Photo: Craig@craigphotographystudio.com

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations, reviews, and articles. For any other permission please contact 5 Prince Publishing and Books, LLC.

  First Edition/First Printing August 2013Printed U.S.A.

  5 PRINCE PUBLISHING AND BOOKS, LLC.

  "Another heart tugging romance from Lisa J Hobman. Through the Glass was captivating and the characters, even in their ugliest of times, were warm and likable. Lisa's uncanny ability to pinpoint emotions and make the reader feel them are astounding. Her vivid descriptions of Scottish scenery jump off the page. It won't be long before Lisa J Hobman is a bestseller with these genuinely wonderful characters she brings to life."

  #1 Amazon Bestselling Contemporary Romance Author

  Bernadette Marie

  Dedication

  For Mum, Dad, Rich & Grace

  The stars in my sky

  I love you more than words

  Acknowledgements

  Gosh, I honestly have so many people to thank right now that I’m sure to miss some…so please forgive me if I do…Here goes…

  Thank you first of all to my husband and daughter for their continued support and encouragement. You are my world and I love you both to the moon and back. The fact that you allow me the time to stare at my laptop for hours on end with minimal complaint tells me that this means as much to you both as it does to me and that feels wonderful.

  To Mum and Dad. Regardless of what has been going on around you, you have always been there for me when I’ve had my mini meltdowns. There aren’t enough words to express how much you both mean to me. But know that I love you both a million bags of sugar. Yet again you have been encouraging and have helped me to believe in myself that little bit more.

  To Claire. I am pretty sure I have driven you mad with talk of rankings and reviews but you have listened and enthused nonetheless and for this I am eternally grateful. Love you sis.

  To my fab beta readers Ali, Claire, Liz and Claire – thank for once again giving me honest feedback and for being willing to let me thrust huge piles of paper in your face when you already have such busy lives. Your eagerness to read my manuscripts just bowls me over and I love you all for that.

  To Ali. Thank you for continuing to shout at me and talk sense when I have my wobbles. You’re my Scottish voice of wisdom and not only do I adore your accent I think you are pretty fab too ;-)

  To Craig. I’ve known you since I was tiny and you travelled all the way up from Yorkshire to Scotland to take my photo. What a wonderful friend and talented photographer you are. Thank you from the bottom of the dog bowl ;-)

  To all the ‘Happy Hobman Dancers’ the wonderful supporters on my Facebook page. You guys are the best encouragement an author could wish for. Many of you have been with me from the start and I think the world of you all! You guys are what make this whole thing so bloomin’ exciting!

  A huge shout out to I Heart Books, First Class Books, Totally Booked Blog, Globug & Hootie Need a Book, Island Lovelies Book Club, Booked on Romance and A Book Whores Obsession pages on Facebook. Along with many others. Your support has been immense! Thank you sooo much!

  To Borderline Tattoo Collective. I took a crazy step to commemorate my first book and you helped me to do it. You are amazing artists and made my time with you so special. Thank you!

  To all the bloggers who have allowed me to take over their precious space from time to time – thank you, thank you, thank you!

  To the amazing authors I have met during this journey – Bernadette Marie, Kate Roth, Lila Munro, Carmen DeSousa, Christine Steendam, Denise Moncrief, Y H Forward, Jon Rance, Allan Bott, Jan Romes to name only a few and there are so many more – your advice and chats mean so much – thank you.

  5 Prince Publishing – you took a chance on an unknown author and I continue to be a proud member of your team. Thanks to Linda for your support and advice – I’m looking forward to working with you in the future!

  Last but certainly not least a special thank you to my editor and friend, best-selling author Bernadette Marie. It’s been a rollercoaster and I know I’ve driven you crazy but you’ve stuck with me through my continuing neuroses and I’m so grateful that you put up with me. You are teaching me so much and I’m enjoying every bit of it.

  Dear Reader

  First of all I want to say a huge thank you to you! Seeing as you are reading this it means you have already purchased Through the Glass or that you are considering doing so. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that…okay I think maybe I just did.

  Ahem…anyway, moving on… If you follow me on Facebook you will know that I’m a little bit bonkers and that I’m totally obsessed with writing. Through the Glass is my second novel and I have other projects in the pipeline so keep a look out!

  I discovered this passion for writing almost by accident and I have to admit that I’m now completely consumed by it. I love creating characters that, I hope, are believable and that you, the reader, can relate to. My story lines are about ordinary people dealing with relationship issues that any one of us could have experienced.

  I don’t profess to try and change the world but I live in hope that my stories have a positive effect on people and leave them feeling a little warm and fuzzy at the end. You maybe won’t get the ending you were anticipating every time but I aim to leave you happy and wanting to read more. I hope that this happens. If it does then this has all been worthwhile.

  As you take this journey with Felicity and Jim I hope you are drawn into their lives as they try to discover which path to take and whether to take it together or separately. And once again I would like to say thank you for embarking upon this journey with them…and with me.

  Best wishes

  Lisa J Hobman

  Through the Glass

  Chapter 1

  February 2009 - The Break-up

  “So, that’s it then, Flick?” Jim raised his arms in exasperation. “You’re leaving? You’ve completely given up?” He was past trying to convince Flick that they could make a go of it, work things out, get through this and come out the other side stronger. The past few months had been one argument after another and Flick had spent less and less time at home.

  “It’s for the best, James. And please don’t call me Flick.” She sighed. “It’s not my name. Not anymore. I grew up. It’s good in the adult world you should visit sometime, you might like it.” She snorted derisively.

  Jim shook his head, sadness oozing from every pore. “Aye, well you’ll always be Flick to me. And I’ll always be Jim. What’s with all this Felicity and James bollocks anyway?” His accent always became stronger when he was angry. This was one of those occasions when the true Scotsman came out fighting. His chest heaved as he tried to calm the storm raging beneath his skin.

  He almost didn’t recognise the woman standing before him in their bedroom, her fitted designer clothes complete with p
earls and a shoulder length smooth sleek hairstyle. Such a contrast to the girl he fell in love with. Back then it was all flowing blonde waves and long, floating skirts. She was softer then, in every way.

  “Well, as I said James, Felicity is my name… Flick was left behind at university. She was doe-eyed, foolish, and rash… Look, there’s no point us going over old ground.” She pulled the handle up on her wheeled suitcase. “I’ll be staying with Polly and Matt for a while whilst I figure out my next move.”

  Matt had once been Jim’s closest friend but that friendship had somehow fizzled as his relationship with Polly had intensified. That saddened Jim.

  Felicity went on. “Nilsson-Perkins have offered to help find me a new place near the city centre so I can be closer to the main gallery.” She wandered over to him and placed her hand on his arm. “It’s for the best, James. I think you know that deep down.”

  He looked, pleadingly, into her eyes, his chest still rising and falling at a rapid rate. “For whom? For me? I don’t think so.” His voice cracked as he shook his head. He stared intently and for several moments she seemed caught in his eyes. He thought he saw her shield begin to melt but she shook her head and looked away.

  Turning back to him she shrugged her shoulders. “It was inevitable when you think about it. We’re from two different worlds… We want completely different things, James.” Her voice softened as she squeezed his arm. Her blue eyes, that were once full of love were ice cold.

  She wheeled her case toward the bedroom door and turned back to face him one last time. Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears now and Jim was relieved to see some, albeit small, expression of human emotion from the woman he had witnessed slowly becoming some kind of hard, Siberian robot.

  “For what’s it’s worth…James…I do love you. You were my first love and so I probably always will. I just feel like…” She paused. Clenching her eyes closed as if to find the strength to carry on speaking, a tear escaped. “Like maybe we’re not good for each other. We’ve grown apart. I’m ambitious and you…you want babies and the white picket fence thing… I’m just not ready… I’m not sure I ever will be. In a way I’m doing you a favour.” A sob escaped her throat as she spoke. “This way at least you get to meet someone new and have children and do all the family things that I’m just not capable of.” She sounded to Jim as though she was trying to convince herself.

  Jim’s lower lip began to tremble. “I don’t want anyone else…it’s you. It’s always been you.” He clenched his jaw. “What I don’t get, Felicity, is that you wanted those things too. We were both on the same page. I don’t understand how we changed.”

  “We didn’t change. I did. Like I said, I grew up.” She shook her head. “I know that you haven’t changed.” She snorted. “Sorry, Jim but it’s true. In all these years you’ve kept the same hairstyle, the same clothing, and the same laid back attitude. You still work in the same second hand bookstore, you still drive that ancient Land Rover, and you still take that bloody dog everywhere you go! You’re not a student anymore, James. Maybe I want more, huh? Maybe I want someone who makes an effort!” Her voice gained an octave as her emotions began to get the better of her.

  Jim widened his eyes in horror. “Whoa! Now just hang on there, lassie!” He held up his hands and his stomach knotted at her stabbing words as they sliced his heart.

  He stepped toward her. “You can’t say that I don’t make an effort. Just because I’m in no way materialistic doesn’t mean I don’t care. I love you. I always have. You are my world! I don’t need things, Felicity. I need you!” His heart ached as it bombarded the inside of his chest. “I’ve done everything in my power to make you happy. I don’t know what else I could have done. And for the record, I’m not the one who’s given up here!” He raised his voice too, finally giving in to the pent up frustration he’d been harbouring.

  “James, we want different things. Accept it. Move on…please!” She opened the door and he made a grab for her. She swung around and crashed into his arms. Without thinking he took her face in his hands and kissed her with all the passion he could muster. To his amazement she didn’t slap him; she kissed him back. Dropping her suitcase she seemed overwhelmed by desire, anger, passion, lust, whatever the hell it was. She grabbed at his dark, shaggy hair as he ran his hands through hers, desperate to express his love for her, desperate to make her change her mind.

  He moved from her mouth to her neck, his kisses urgent. Her head rolled backward and she moaned, grabbing at his T-shirt and pulling it over his head in one swift aggressive move. Before either could realise what they were doing or how they got there, they staggered backward and tumbled, wrapped around each other, onto the bed. Their lips locked as their tongues danced and probed each other’s mouths.

  ~~~~~

  Jim tugged at the hem of her skirt until it was up around her hips. She ground herself into him, needing to feel him. She gasped as he slid his hand up her inner thigh to her panties. Grabbing them, he dragged them down her legs and then returned his hand to massage her where she needed his contact the most. She whimpered and moved her hand down his toned torso, skin on skin, until it rubbed against the hardness, evident through his jeans. He reached for her breast and, releasing it from her bra, he took her erect nipple into his mouth, teasing with his tongue. She gasped again as pleasure and desire rocketed throughout her body, desperate for him.

  Fumbling with one hand Felicity unfastened his jeans and slid her hand inside, releasing him. A low growl escaped from his throat. Felicity pulled at him and urged him on until he slid inside her, worshipping her breast with his mouth as he moved. Before wrapping her legs around him, she clawed at his buttocks willing him deeper. He rested his forehead on hers and looked deep into her eyes where tears had begun to escape and cascade, relentlessly, down her face, soaking through her hair.

  “I love you, Flick. I love you so, so much…don’t leave…please don’t leave,” Jim breathed. His eyes sparkling as the dampness in them threatened to spill over.

  It didn’t take long before their breathing became shallow and erratic; their movements faster, more and more urgent. Their eyes stayed locked. Suddenly they were climaxing together, sharing a delicious, overpowering orgasm that left them both spent and gasping for breath.

  ~~~~~

  As his breathing calmed, Jim kissed her and smiled, stroking her face tenderly. He caught her tears with his thumb. “I knew you still loved me. I knew it couldn’t be the end of us. I just knew it, Flick.” He smiled lovingly, his lip trembling again with overwhelming emotions fighting for release.

  He manoeuvred to lay by her side and held her to him. “We’ll work this out. You and me, Flick. We can get through anything. It’s always been you and me.” He whispered as he stroked her cheek and kissed her again, deeply, passionately.

  She pushed him away, releasing herself from his arms, touching her swollen lips where his had just been. She stood, adjusted her skirt and blouse, and looked down where he still lay.

  “I’m so sorry, Jim… Nothing has changed. I’m still leaving.” Her wavering voice broke as she whispered the stabbing words that he did not want to hear.

  He pulled his brow into a frown and sat upright. “What? I…I don’t understand.” He rose to his feet adjusting his clothing. So many emotions battled and stirred inside of him. So many questions. He shook his head and asked again, his heart pounding so hard he thought it would burst from his chest. “What do you mean nothing’s changed?” He pointed to the now crumpled bed. “We…we just made love. Flick…I…I don’t understand. Why would you do that if nothing had changed? It has to have meant something?”

  With regret visible on her face and a look of deep, deep sadness in her eyes, she touched his face, tears leaving trails down her own cheeks. “Oh James…it was just…such a beautiful way for us to end things…it was goodbye.” Gently, she stroked his cheek and left.

  Jim stood for a moment, stunned, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.
An uncomfortable silence fell over the house and he was momentarily paralysed as if time had stood still. Hurt and angry, he wondered how the hell she could be so damn cruel.

  Eventually, after what felt like an age, he recovered the use of his legs and walked over to the window. He looked down to the street and observed her throwing her case into the back of the silly little convertible she was so very proud of. She was all designer suits, first class flights, champagne dinner meetings, and sports cars. Well, at least she fit in well with her new crowd, if not with him.

  She looked up to the bedroom window and their eyes met. He saw her begin to raise her hand to wave but she stopped as if deciding the gesture was somewhat inappropriate, given the circumstances. She gave a sad half smile, climbed into the driver’s seat and drove away.

  Jasper silently came into the room, walked over and nuzzled Jim’s hand. It was as if he knew his master’s heart was breaking. Jim scratched the Labrador’s head and crouched down so that his face was level with the affectionate animal. He sunk his head into Jasper’s fur. It was then that he was overcome with emotion. It was then that he began to sob.

  ~~~~~

  On Saturday and Sunday there were a few comings and goings from the house. Jim made the effort to be absent when Flick’s friends came to collect more and more of her personal belongings. They didn’t speak much to Jim when he was there. They hardly made eye contact. The actuality of Flick’s belongings gradually dwindling saddened him. The more items she removed the less chance there was of reconciliation. Jim had gradually lost contact with his friends from university as they had gone off around the world to begin various careers and they had made new friends as a couple—Art world friends. These people didn’t even have to choose sides. They were already on one.