The Distraction Trilogy: Distraction Part 49

I sit on a bench nearby and watch as the car vanishes around the corner, leaving a thin trail of white smoke behind it.

I let my head loll back and inhale deeply as the rays of sun heat my skin and hopefully give me a half decent tan.

Paris is such a beautiful city and of course I've enjoyed myself, but not nearly as much as I should have. I thought this trip would be the thing to get me out of my slump, but it hasn't. I've been surrounded by honeymooning couples and lovers young and old everywhere we've been. It's been h.e.l.l at times, seeing people feed each other across the table, hearing them laugh and hold hands before kissing.

Everybody is in love.

Everybody is with someone.

Everybody but me.

My thoughts drift to Isaac and I wonder if he'll ever forgive me for leaving him and not even calling. He'd be here with me now if my dad hadn't found out and attacked him. I hope he's okay. I don't even know if there have been any lasting symptoms. I don't even know if the stab wound will leave any kind of long term issues.

I feel somebody sit beside me but I don't look up. I don't feel uncomfortable. The people of France are wonderful. Some of them hate tourists, but most are friendly and welcoming. I've met so many people who I adore.

My eyes remain closed and my brain falls blank. I shut it off with the hope that it'll cut off the hurt. It succeeds, but only for a second until I feel a hand grab mine and slide something onto my ring finger.

I pull away, angry at the unwanted touch, and glare at the culprit. "What the h.e.l.l, dude? You don't just..." My heart stops and my world falls away when I find myself staring at a mess of bright blonde hair and beautiful deep blue eyes, eyes that have haunted me for too long. I'm dreaming.

I've fallen asleep on the bench and I'm dreaming.

My fingers grab the flesh of my thigh and pinch hard. Ouch.

With parted lips I inhale a sharp breath, still not believing my eyes. "You're his French twin we didn't know about, right?"

His beautiful lips tilt up at the edges as my eyes blur with tears. "I hope not, because I'm about to kiss you and that would be awkward."

I let out a laugh and watch as he slides closer to me. He cuts a das.h.i.+ng figure in his white s.h.i.+rt and khaki shorts. "Thank G.o.d."

He stills, his head tilting as his hand gently caresses my cheek. "What?"

"You're not wearing flip flops. When I saw the shorts I got worried..."

A bark of laughter escapes him and in less than a second his lips are on mine.

We're kissing, on a busy street in the middle of France.

The kiss is gentle, pa.s.sionate and desperate. I try to push my emotions onto him. I need him to know how badly I need him, how much I've missed him and how happy I am that he's here. I feel the same come from him.

He pulls back and brings my left hand up to his lips. It's then I notice the foreign object wrapped around my finger. It's stunning, a blue stone surrounded by a cl.u.s.ter of smaller diamonds, all s.h.i.+mmering and sparkling in the midday sun. They sit on a thin gold band that fits me perfectly.

My mind doesn't register what this means, not until he says the words. "I'm marrying you this weekend."

I suck in another breath and my hands start to shake. "Are you sure?"

His body shakes with silent laughter. "I'm sure."

The tears in my eyes spill over. "But, your job, your life."

"I've quit."

Oh my G.o.d. "I can't let you do that. I'm not worth it."

His laughter isn't silent this time. "You are. You're everything. Give your heart to me."

"It'll be hard, we'll have to... commute so much and I can't leave University and you can't leave your mum."

He places his finger to my lips, "My dad said that if we were smart and in love we'd wait a couple of years and it would all work out." Our fingers lace together on my lap as the finger on my lips pushes my hair from my face. "The way I see it is, if we're smart and in love, we'll be together until you graduate and we'll make it work. We'll commute; we'll visit; it'll be hard, but it'll be harder letting you go and never having the guarantee you'll come back."

"There's no guarantee you'll want to stay with me."

"I've never loved anyone the way I love you."

I giggle. "You've never loved anyone, period."

"That too." He brushes his lips over mine once more and looks deeply into my eyes. "So, will you marry me? Will you elope with me? Will you follow me right now and say a bunch of vows and then let me take you to bed as the woman I'll one day die with?"

Will I?

"I guess so." I giggle when he pinches my arm, but it's silenced quickly by his tongue pus.h.i.+ng into my mouth.

"I love you."

"I'm pretty sure I love you more." I state resting my forehead against his.

He kisses my nose and pulls me tighter to him. "We have a lifetime to debate that."

Yeah, I guess we do.

"What the h.e.l.l are we going to tell my parents?" I ask after a brief moment of silence.

With raised eyebrows he asks, "What the h.e.l.l are we going to tell mine?"

TO BE CONTINUED...

Destruction (Book Two of the Distraction Trilogy) Coming September 18th 2015.

I'm going to ask for your forgiveness over the large gap between releases. At the time I'm writing this I'm thirty weeks pregnant with my third and final (debatable) child, due May 28th 2015. This is the main reason I'm pus.h.i.+ng the date so far forward as even though, 'Destruction' is half way to the finish line, I don't want to promise a date that I just can't finish by and let everyone down. Please bear with me, I love you guys, you're the reason I write each day but sometimes real life gets in the way (and nappies and bottles and three hours of sleep a week).

I really hope you have enjoyed reading Distraction as much as I loved writing it.

I promise that if I finish Destruction before September (fingers crossed) I'll release it early. So keep checking my Facebook, just in case as I'll be keeping it updated as much as I can.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR.

I'm now 24 and I've been writing since I could hold a pen in my hand! I love to write, it's my pa.s.sion, and I never stop. In fact I love to write so much I have started over one hundred and fifty different books before finally completing my first ever novel 'A Little Bit of Crazy' which I published in May 2013 on Amazon for Kindle. I was grateful when I received feedback as it helps me be a better writer.

When I'm not writing, I love spending time with my family and when I get some spare time (not easy with young children!) it's either reading or listening to music. You won't find me without a book or my Kindle in my hand. I read whilst I'm cooking, cleaning, talking, walking... you could say reading is my other pa.s.sion!

Thank you for taking the time to read my book. I appreciate any kind of feedback be it good or bad. This has been a huge learning curve for me and I'm happy to receive any advice/criticism...praise? That you wish to provide. Don't be shy.

Thank you, Love Alex.

end.