I have been lucky enough to be asked to be one stop on Katie Fforde's blog tour for The Perfect Match and my exclusive material is an introduction to Dominic, the hero of the book. Dominic Thane previously broke Bella's heart which lead to Bella leaving her home town and move to the countryside.
Langley’s
expansive lawn, sent there by the notice on
the gate:
‘In the garden’. She felt a bit like the Boden
poster
girl, but she thought the print dress was probably
appropriate
for drinks with her friend – whom she must
remember
to call Jane – and her nephew. Pretty but
respectable
was the look she was going for. She had
picked a
bunch of flowers from Alice’s garden and put
them in a
jam jar so Jane wouldn’t have to find a vase.
Even
though Jane had a garden full of flowers Bella felt
she
couldn’t arrive empty-handed and she knew Jane
would
appreciate them.
She could
see them sitting where the rose grew up
into the
tree behind, on the chairs where she and Jane
had often
sat, drinking tea and eating cake. But as she
got
nearer, she realised Jane’s nephew looked familiar.
Two steps
on and she recognised exactly who he was
and
wished, with all her heart, that she could stop,
turn and
run back across the lawn to her car. There,
sitting
in a lovely sunny garden she knew well, was
the
reason she had left her hometown and her first
job.
‘Darling!
How pretty you look!’ said Jane Langley as
Bella
approached.
Dominic
Thane stood up.
Two steps
later Bella was face-to-face with her past.
‘Dominic
says you two know each other,’ said Jane
Langley.
‘What a coincidence!’
‘Yes,’
said Bella, trying to smile. ‘Hello, Dominic.’ Just
for a
moment, their eyes locked. He glared at her with
such
dislike it made her catch her breath. She’d worked
hard to
get away from him, physically and emotionally,
and
seeing him again, entirely unexpectedly, was a
shock,
especially given his reaction to her. She sat down
without
waiting to be asked. It was either that or fall
over. She
put the flowers down without even handing
them
over.
Dominic
passed her a glass of champagne from the
tray on
the table. Jane was looking at her a bit oddly,
she
realised. Bella took the glass. ‘Are we celebrating?’
‘Dominic
brought it. Isn’t it kind?’ Jane frowned. ‘Are
you all
right, dear?’
‘I’m
fine!’ said Bella, sounding to her own ears a bit
strangled,
hoping no one had noticed she had yet to
make eye
contact with Dominic since sitting down.
‘Shall we
have a toast?’ he said. ‘To the reuniting of
family
members and old friends.’
He raised
his glass to his great-aunt and then looked
across at
Bella, but she didn’t look back. If they’d been
friends
once, the look he had given her told her they
were
anything but friends now. But why? How on earth
had that
happened? She hadn’t said goodbye to him
when
she’d left, but surely he wouldn’t care about that?
And
certainly not three years on!
Bella’s
first sip of champagne at least made it possible
for her
to talk normally. ‘So, er – Jane, when did you last
see
Dominic? You might have told me, but I’ve forgotten.’
It wasn’t
the best opening topic of conversation, but it
was the
best she could do.
‘He was a
page boy at a family wedding when I last
saw him,’
said Jane. ‘He looked enchanting. It was before
he took
after all the men in his family and his hair went
white the
moment he reached thirty. Then it was as dark
as his
eyes.’
‘I prefer
to call it silver, not white, Aunt Jane,’ said
Dominic
and suddenly laughed.
A jolt
went through Bella and she took another
desperate
sip. Her body was letting her down. It had just
been a
schoolgirl crush – nothing had happened between
them! Not
unless you counted a kiss under the mistletoe
that
might have – but probably hadn’t – contained a hint
of something
more. Her brain told her it was just because
the
moment Dominic laughed, his rather severe features
were
transformed into something very attractive. His
silver
hair highlighted his dark eyes, framed with brows
and
lashes that were equally dark. It was only her body
responding.
Her brain was in charge; it would be OK.
No one
spoke and Bella sipped her drink, trying to
think of
something to say, wishing someone else would.
‘The
garden’s looking lovely, Jane,’ she said at last,
sounding
like an actress who was ad-libbing rather
unimaginatively.
‘Thank
you. Since the weather has obliged I’ve been
able to
get quite a lot done,’ said Jane. ‘Oh, and thank
you for
sending that lovely young man. He’s set up a
brilliant
system so I can water my tomatoes without
doing
more than turn on a tap.’
Bella
smiled. She’d thought the lovely young man was
to be a
secret, but obviously her old friend felt it was
all right
to mention him in front of Dominic. ‘I’m glad
it all
worked out OK.’
‘And he’s
quite happy to come and do some of the
heavier
things for me if I want him to. I have got Keith,
who does
the lawns, but he’s not really a gardener. I
can’t
trust him. But Aiden knows his stuff.’
‘Oh
good,’ Bella said, deciding to leave the conversation
instigation
to the other two. If she went on she’d end
up asking
Jane what she thought of the latest goings on
in the
Archers.
‘Would
you like some more champagne?’
Bella
looked up. Dominic’s expression was as cold as
his
laughter had been warm a moment ago.
‘Yes
please,’ she said quickly. She was not going to
get
through this without some sort of support, and
alcohol
would have to be it.
Much to
her relief Dominic and Jane began talking
about
family members and Bella was left to her own
thoughts.
Was it
just coincidence that had brought Dominic into
her
relatively new and comfortable life? He couldn’t
have been
following her, surely!
Or did he
want to tell her off because she’d stopped
Jane
selling her house? If so, why wait until now? She
had done
that less than a year after she’d moved here.
No, she
was being paranoid, she decided. He didn’t
dislike
her and he wasn’t following her.
‘So, are
you here for long?’ she asked when there was
a break
in the conversation.
‘I’m
joining a practice in the area. As a solicitor,’ he
added.
Bella’s
heart lurched. She hadn’t forgotten he was a
solicitor
– they’d both worked for the same large estate
agent,
but here? Nevil’s estate agency wasn’t big enough
to have a
separate legal department; they used local
solicitors,
and that would mean she and Dominic could
easily
run into each other.
Still, if
Nevil brought up his name she’d say something
damning
about him, and that would be the end of it. It
would be
far too embarrassing to have to work with
him
again.
‘Oh?’ she
said. ‘That’s interesting.’
‘It
should be. I’m very excited, about it.’
He didn’t
sound terribly excited, but he always had
been cool
and unemotional.
‘He was
going to rent while he looked for somewhere
to buy,
but it seems silly to do that when my house is
so big,’
Jane explained. ‘You live with your godmother
and it
works well, doesn’t it?’
This was
a nasty shock. She would have to time her
visits to
Jane more carefully. As Jane was looking at her
appealingly,
she quickly nodded. ‘It works brilliantly, but
I’m very
well house-trained.’
‘But you
could find him a nice house, couldn’t you?’
Jane went
on.
‘I might
be able to, but don’t forget’ – she laughed
lightly,
sounding slightly shrill – ‘other estate agents are
available.’
‘I’m very
well aware of that,’ said Dominic and he
frowned.
His very dark brows, in stark contrast to his
silver-grey
hair, looked like clouds gathering before a
storm.
What
Bella longed to know was whether he’d be
bringing
his wife with him.
‘What
sort of house would you want?’ asked Jane. ‘A
family
home? Period features?’
Bella
couldn’t help smiling as she realised her long
chats
with Jane had rubbed off on her language.
‘I’d like
something to do up and, yes, period details
would be
good. I don’t want a new-build.’
‘How many
bedrooms?’ asked Bella, glad to be on
firm
ground again.
‘It would
really depend on the property.’
‘More
than two?’ She couldn’t help herself asking.
‘Definitely.’
She still
didn’t know about his wife. Not that it would
make any
difference, not now.
‘Well,’
said Jane, who was beginning to relax, ‘you
can’t
expect Bella to find you a house if you don’t tell
her how
many bedrooms you want.’
‘I’m not
particular. And I’m not in a hurry. If it’s
OK with
you, Aunt Jane, I’m happy to keep staying
with
you.’
Bella
didn’t like this plan much. ‘I think you should
rent. If
you’re a cash buyer, you can go into a rental
property,
learn about the area, which parts you like best,
and then
you’ll be in a good position to proceed if the
right
property comes up.’
Dominic
raised one of his thundercloud eyebrows.
‘That’s
me told!’
‘No,’
said Bella firmly, ‘that’s you advised. Of course
no one is
obliged to take advice if they don’t want to.’
She got
up. ‘Now, I’d better go. You’ve probably got a
table
booked.’ She bent down and kissed her friend’s
cheek.
‘Thank you so much, Jane. It was charming, even
if there
wasn’t cake.’
She
straightened up. ‘Goodbye, Dominic. It was – interesting
meeting
you again.’
Then she
walked across the lawn, her back stiff and
her chin
up, wishing her heels didn’t keep sinking into
the
grass.
I have also been asked to give away two copies of this fantastic read to two of my blog followers. To enter please enter the rafflecopter giveaway below. Books will be sent out direct from the publisher.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you to the publishers, Century, for the competition prizes and for allowing me to post this exclusive extract.
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