That Girl
By Rachel Strong
Blurb
After serving half of a three-year prison sentence, James is out and ready to try and get his life back on track, which means forgetting about the girl who sent him to prison in the first place - despite the fact he’s still in love with her!
Katie knows that she can’t see James, but that doesn’t make it any easier. If she does it could send him straight back to prison, but, she still loves him and is desperate to make things right and tell him how sorry she is for ruining his life.
After accidently bumping into each other, James and Katie can’t stay away from one another and so begin to see each other in secret. After a slight wobble on James’s part, when he decides he can’t take the risk of going back to prison, Katie decides enough is enough and it really is time to move on and put James behind her.
Heartbroken, James decides to try and get his life in order. But due to his conviction it’s not as straightforward as he would like, leaving him miserable and despairing at what his life has become.
When a job opportunity comes up hundreds of miles away he doesn’t hesitate to head south and put his troubles behind him.
Can James and Katie forget each other and move on with their lives without one another?
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Excerpt
About the Author
Chapter One
January 2012
Katie
All I can think about is
him! Today’s the day he’s being released - I know this as his parole officer
sent me a letter informing me. I want to see him, but I know it’s not allowed,
I know he would end up back in prison for breaching his license conditions.
I’ve thought about him every day for the last eighteen months’ - but I didn’t
think I’d want to see him as much as I do right now.
“Kate, you’ve been staring
into space for most of the day, that essay won’t write itself you know,” Mum
sighs, walking into the kitchen with a basket full of washing.
She is the last person I can
talk to about this. She knows he’s coming out today, she saw the letter too,
she hasn’t said anything - but I know she thinks he shouldn’t be released yet.
“I know,” I reply, getting up from the table. “I’m going to pick Hollie up from
nursery,” I tell her, picking up my car keys and heading for the front door.
I drive to the nursery on
auto pilot, I’m not meant to pick her up for another hour, but I have an
overwhelming urge to see my daughter, an evening of Disney princess’s and
snuggles is what I need right now. She will take my mind off it all.
But the moment I see my dark
haired beauty, she takes me right back to him - she looks so much like him.
April 2008
“Happy Birthday!” I exclaim,
hugging Becca. “Eighteen at last!”
“Thank you,” she giggles, hugging me back.
“Come on, come and meet Liam.” She’s grinning and I don’t have chance to reply
before she grabs my hand and propels me in the direction of two lads - one of them
grabs my attention straight away! He’s incredibly tall, with short, ruffled,
light brown hair. He has an impressive muscular physique, with huge biceps and
broad shoulders. I really can’t stop staring at him - he’s hot . . . I hope to
god he's not Liam!
“Liam,” she begins, putting her hand on the
one with short, dark hair - much to my relief! “This is Katie, my cousin.
Katie, this is Liam.” She’s smiling so much I’m scared her face is going to
crack.
“Nice to meet you, Katie,” Liam grins, whilst
shaking my hand.
“You too,” I reply. It’s nice to finally meet
the guy my cousin hasn't stopped talking about for the last month. I don’t
think I have ever seen Becca as happy. I really am pleased for her.
“Katie, this is James, Liam’s best mate,”
Becca adds as an after-thought, indicating to Mr Gorgeous - who I can’t stop
staring at. I need to get a grip, it’s embarrassing.
“Hi,” I reply, suddenly going all shy.
“Hi.” He smiles and I feel my cheeks turning
red. He’s got a cute smile, I could stand here all night staring up at James,
but at that moment my mum calls me away. “See you later,” I say reluctantly,
heading across the room, to where my mum is standing impatiently waiting for me
with my grandma.
* * *
“Katie, you know you
can’t see him,” Becca warns.
“I know,” I sigh, “It’s just
. . .”
“It’s just nothing!
Seriously, stay away from him, it really wouldn’t be fair on him if you did, he
would go straight back to prison.”
I stare at her in shock -
amazed that she’s worrying about James going back to prison, when two years ago
she could have killed him.
“He’s my fiancé's best
friend,” she says, when she sees me looking at her with my mouth hanging open.
“He’s done his time, let him be whilst he’s on license. You don’t want him to
go back inside, do you?”
“No, do I hell, I didn’t
want him to go in the first place,” I reply, whilst wondering where James is,
what he’s doing and how he feels to be free after eighteen months in
prison. “What about Hollie?” I add,
because I know he’s going to want to see her.
“You know all that, you know
he is only allowed supervised contact with her - and that doesn’t mean you!”
I sigh loudly. “I just . . .
I just . . .”
“I know, Kate, I know, but
it’s time to move on. You’re eighteen years old, you have your whole life ahead
of you and there are so many nice boys out there that you could fall in love
with…”
"I have a child.”
“So? Katie, you’re beautiful
and such a lovely girl, you could have any lad you want. James Askew is not the
be all and end all!”
He is to me - I would do
anything to be with James - I still love him!
James
“Seriously, Mum, stop
staring at me,” I laugh, though I’m not joking. I’ve only been home two hours
and every few minutes she comes over and either squeezes my arm, ruffles my
hair or kisses the top of my head like I’m five years old. And now she is
sitting across from me at the kitchen table, just staring at me with a silly
grin on her face.
“I’m sorry, I can’t help it,
I missed you,” she says, sipping her tea.
“I know you did, but it’s
starting to creep me out a bit,” I reply with a sigh.
“Yea, come on, Lynn, leave
the poor lad alone,” Dad says with a laugh, from the other end of the table.
“It’s alright, I’m gonna go
upstairs and un-pack, she can’t stare at me there.” I stand up, push my chair
in and head into the hallway, sticking my tongue out at Mum as I pass her.
“Cheeky boy,” she calls
after me.
“See, he’s fine, I don’t
know what you were worrying about?” I hear Dad say, as I’m halfway up the
stairs. I stop and listen.
“He’s trying to act fine for
me, Will. He’s putting on an act, he’s not the same old Jamie.” Mum sighs
sadly.
I don’t want to listen to
anymore, so I carry on upstairs to my room.
It kills me to think what I
have put my mum and dad through over the last few years. How did I get myself into this mess? Is the question I have been
asking myself over and over again, ever since this whole nightmare began. Three
years ago I had a job I loved and a gorgeous wife, now I have neither, it’s all
gone. No job and a wife that wants nothing to do with me and who's taken my son
thousands of miles away.
I know it’s all my fault - I
only have myself and my own stupidity to blame. But at the end of the day, if I
could go back and change it all, I doubt I would, as I know I couldn’t keep
away from Miss Katherine Greene! And no matter how much I try to convince
myself otherwise, I know I’d be with her like a shot if I could - I love her,
even after everything that happened.
April 2008
“Put your eyes back in your head, Askew!”
Liam laughs, patting me on the back.
“Have you seen her?”
“Yea.” He laughs again, clearly amused by me.
“What are you like? Come on, let’s get another?” he suggests, shaking his empty
pint glass at me and heading for the bar.
The last thing I wanted to do tonight was
come to Liam’s girlfriend’s eighteenth. He didn’t want to come on his own and I
felt sorry for him, so I had to give in. I’m glad I came now, because the tiny
brunette in the short, pink dress has made my night. She’s absolutely stunning
and it certainly beats sitting at home, moping over the fact my that girlfriend
of two years has just dumped me.
I spend the rest of the night watching Katie
on the dance floor amongst a gaggle of girls. I want to go and talk to her, but
I don’t know what to say. I’m not normally nervous when it comes to girls, but
it’s been a while since I’ve done any chatting up and I think I’ve forgotten
how.
By the time I’ve plucked up enough courage to
go and talk to her, the party is wrapping up and everyone is moving on to a
club. I only agree to go as I really want to get to know Katie. When we get
there, I spend ages trying to locate her, but after an hour I give up - she’s
nowhere to be found. I’m seriously disappointed.
“Where’s Katie?” I shout to Becca, over the
music.
“She’s gone home.”
“Oh, can I have her number?” I ask cheekily.
“No.” Becca laughs and walks away, leaving me
gutted that I’m not going to end the night with Katie.
* * *
The
knock on the door brings me out of the past and back to the present. “Have you
got a minute?” Dad asks, opening the door slightly and sticking his head round.
“Yea,” I reply, trying my
best not to sigh. I just want to be left alone for a bit.
Dad comes in and closes the
door whilst I sit up on the edge of my bed.
“Don’t suppose you’ve given
much thought as to what you’re gonna do with yourself now, I mean work wise?”
he asks, sitting down beside me.
I can’t stop the sigh that
comes out. “No, not really.”
“I was thinking you could
come and work for me?”
“What, as an accountant?” I
exclaim with a groan. This is what I have tried to avoid my whole life -
working for my dad.
“Well, no, seeing as you’re
not qualified, but we could use you in the office and put that math’s degree to
good use. What do you think?”
“Can I think about it?” I
ask, not wanting to say no straight away. I need to come up with a good excuse
as to why not.
“Yea, okay,” Dad replies,
sounding disappointed and making me feel guilty as I know he's only trying to
help. “Dinner won’t be long,” he adds, standing up and heading for the door.
“Okay.”
“Listen,” he begins, turning
back to face me, “go easy on your mother. I know she’s a pain, but the last
couple of years haven’t been easy on her.
If she’s being too . . . over the top, just let her, she’s just pleased
to have you home.”
This makes me feel even
guiltier than I did before - if that’s possible? “Yea, I will.”
“Great, see you in a bit.”
He opens the door and leaves me to it.
“Fuck!” I mutter, throwing myself down on the bed and rubbing my
face. What have I done?
Later on, when I can finally
escape my parents and I’m in bed, I realize as much as I hate the idea, I have
no option but to accept my dad’s job offer. I need a job and it’s not like I
can go and get my old job back!
About the Author
Rachel Strong is a romance author and lives in Lancashire, England, with her husband, three children and little dog Daisy. Rachel works part time as a Health Care Assistant at her local hospital, but her real passion is writing.
Ever since she can remember, Rachel has been writing stories but didn’t really take it seriously until summer 2012 when her husband discovered one of her stories, read it and convinced her that it was good. She loves writing and creating characters, sometimes a whole day can pass her by, just sitting at her laptop, typing away.
When she’s not writing, Rachel loves to read slushy romance novels, chick-lit and a good thriller. When she finds a spare moment she will be found curled up on the sofa with her nose in a book.
Rachel’s debut novel ‘Complicated Love’ is out now with her second novel ‘That Girl’ is due to be released this coming June.
Find her here
Visit All the Stops on the Tour:
June 13th
The Bookworm Lodge - www.thebookwormlodge.com - Book Excerpt/Promo Post
Little Shop of Readers - http://littleshopofreaders.com/ - Book Promo Post
T&L Book Reviews - http://tasz1976.wordpress.com - Book Excerpt/Promo Post
One Book At A Time - Booksandwinearelovely.blogspot.com - Book Promo Post
The Writing Garnet - HTTPS://Thewritinggarnet.wordpress.com - Book Review
June 14th
Grass monster - Amazon/GoodReads - Book Review
Vikbat - http://vikbat.blogspot.co.uk/ - Book Review/Promo Post
The Bookdragon - http://sheisadude.blogspot.com/ - Book Review
Boundless Minds - www.boundlessminds.org - Author Guest Post
ItsShelbyMariee - http://itsshelbymariee.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1 - Book Review
June 15th
JustaBooklovinJunkie - http://jabooklovinjunkie.blogspot/ - Book Review/Excerpt/Promo Post
Liz Ellyn - https://lizellyn.com - Book Review
Fervently Curious - ferventlycurious.wordpress.com - Book Review/Excerpt
Love Sex and Other Dirty Words - http://lovesexandotherdirtywords.com - Book Promo Post
Little Novelist - Www.littlenovelist.com - Book Excerpt
Hello...Chick Lit - http://hellochicklit.com - Book Promo Post
June 16th
Rachel Brimble Romance - http://www.rachelbrimble.blogspot.co.uk/ - Author Guest Post
Have books, Will read - www.havebookswillread.wordpress.com - Book Excerpt/Promo Post
Bookmyopia - www.bookmyopia.wordpress.com - Book Excerpt
Book Lover in Florida - https://bookloverfl12.wordpress.com/ - Book Excerpt/Promo Post
Ali - The Dragon Slayer - http://cancersuckscouk.ipage.com/ - Book Review
The Book Basics - https://thebookbasics.wordpress.com/ - Book Review/Promo Post
June 17th
Steamy Book Momma - http://steamybookmomma0.blogspot.com - Book Review
Book Groupies - http://bookgroupies2.blogspot.com/ - Book Promo Post
Brittany's Book Blog - http://www.brittanysbookblog.com - Book Review
Sparkles at Midnight - www.sparklesatmidnight.com - Book Review
MsWanderlust - www.mswanderlust1963.wordpress.com - Book Review/Excerpt
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