Tara has made a promise.
A promise to wait six months for Riley to come home from his tour of duty, so they can be together.
But as secrets and lies are uncovered, it leads Tara to question their commitment, and she is finding it difficult to keep that promise.
The distance between them is growing, and only one person can fill the void, Tara’s best friend Cole.
As Cole tries to support Tara, he is struggling with demons of his own, that threaten to tear him away from the life he has built for himself.
After devastating news is received, who will be there to pick up the pieces?
I looked at Cole, slightly amused. “We go out all the time.”
“No, we go to your place, we come here. We go to the gym, for a run on the beach, or we go to Songbirds. We don’t go out.”
We were sitting on Cole’s couch in his apartment, looking at light fittings for Reds on the Internet.
He was wringing his hands. “Would you like to go out with me?” he asked.
I frowned. “What, like on a date?”
“If that’s what you want to call it. I don’t know, I’ve never been on a date. But if going out to dinner and then a club together is a date, then sure, let’s call it a date.”
I looked at him warily. “You do know I’m engaged, right? You haven’t forgotten?”
He shrugged. “In theory. But there’s no harm in letting me take you out. I mean, officially take you out—on a date.”
I had to think about this for a minute. Was it asking for trouble to let him believe we could actually date when I had made a commitment to Riley?
“You know, even if you pay for dinner, I’m not going to sleep with you,” I said with a smile.
“So what’s the point of paying for dinner, then?” he asked cheekily. He took hold of my hands in his. “I wouldn’t expect you to sleep with anyone on a first date. You’re not that kind of girl.”
I exhaled slowly, weighing up how to respond. “Okay, we can go out on three conditions.”
He nodded.
“Firstly, we need to have other people there, so maybe Marcus and Nicole can come with us.”
“Like a double date,” he said, teasingly.
I chuckled, and shook my head. “Secondly, you have to stop calling it a date.”
He grinned at me cheekily.
“Thirdly, you have to wear your Calvin Klein jeans, the ones that fit your butt really well.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I awoke with a start.
My arm had gone to sleep from laying on it all night, and my face was squished into someone’s neck. It was Cole’s. I inhaled his warm cedar and musk scent. Even after sleeping on the couch all night, he smelt unbelievable.
Sitting up, I moved my head from side to side, trying to stretch out the kinks.
“Good morning, sleepy head. Did you just sniff me again?”
I looked down at Cole. He was grinning up at me as I rubbed my shoulders and numb arm.
“Good morning,” I replied with a groan, as I stretched my arms over my head. “You know I’m staying here so I don’t have to sleep on a couch. Kind of defeats the purpose, spending the night out here.”
He sat up and started rubbing my arm, trying to get the blood to flow back into it.
“I disagree. I’m sure I’m much more comfortable to lay on than your lumpy couch.” He moved his attention to my shoulders, and I sighed. “Besides, it’s not every day I have someone dribble all down my neck.”
I wiped my hand across my cheek. It was damp. Oh my God, I had dribbled in my sleep. I checked Cole’s neck and quickly wiped it dry.
“You should be used to it,” I said, trying to make light of the embarrassing situation. “You have girls drooling over you everywhere you go.”
He chuckled. “No one who matters.” He took my hand away from his now dry neck and held it. “Until now, that is.”
Songbird, book 1
Every relationship changes you, some for the better, others can shatter your confidence and almost destroy you.For the musically talented, twenty-four year old Tara O’Connell, her relationship with Stephen almost broke her, until Tara found the strength to leave.
Now she is on the road to discovering that it is never too late to pursue your dreams and follow your heart.
As Tara’s self-belief grows, she meets two men she is instantly drawn to who will change her life forever.
Corporal Riley Hammond is a soldier in the Australian Military Special Forces. With his smiling sapphire blue eyes, Tara falls for him instantly. He is thoughtful and caring, and gives her the support and love she needs.
While Cole Michaels is the overconfident singer in a popular local band. His charisma, emerald green eyes, tattoos and piercing, have girls falling at his feet. But while Cole pushes
Tara’s buttons, he also pushes her to reach for the stars.
Both men couldn’t be more polar opposites, but both offer Tara different qualities that she needs to fulfill her destiny.
As Tara continues her journey, she will discover fate can offer you more than one path. Her fate is in her own hands, and the choices she makes, will shape her life forever.
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While Lisa Edward has called Melbourne Australia home for her entire life, she has lived and worked in England, and travelled through most parts of Europe and the United States. She loves nothing more than spending time with her husband and beautiful daughter, or curling up into the early hours of the morning with a great novel. By day, Lisa works in the analytical IT field, so relishes the opportunity to foster her creative side through writing. Her deep appreciation for literature was nurtured from a young age, being taught to respect books and get lost in their stories. She enjoys reading honest and realistic novels that are relatable, thought provoking and leave a lasting impression. She can’t write without music playing, using the emotions from different songs to invoke that of her characters. Lisa takes inspiration from her own life experiences, the people around her and those she has met in her travels.