Rebecca has just turned thirty. She’s happy living a perfectly comfortable and predictable life. She’s even ready to marry her long-time boyfriend whenever he finally gets around to asking her. But all that changes when her best friend whisks her away to Italy for a much-needed vacation.
In the midst of site seeing and finally letting loose, Rebecca manages to catch the eye of a young English tourist but doesn’t let it go to her head. By the time she’s back in the States and back in the arms of her long-time beau, Rebecca has already forgotten about Peter, Paten, Paul…whatever his name was, that is until he shows up at her brother’s cabin in the woods.
A life of normalcy, routine, and stability gets turned upside down as Rebecca decides whether or not she’s truly ready to get married. And if so, who is the one she’s really meant to be with?
Once on the other side, Rebecca could see that she was inside a large crater of some kind. The hole opened up like a basin. The sky was bright and blue. The light revealed a pictorial gallery of treasure all around them. Paul and Rebecca sat back-to-back for a while just staring at the images, silently taking in their beauty and embedding them into their hearts and memory. Finally, Paul had to ask, “Aren’t you going to take any pictures?”
“No, I don’t think so.” Rebecca’s voice was almost a whisper, and Paul responded by holding his breath. “A photo would never do this justice. I think I’ll keep this to myself. It’ll be my one thing, my secret to keep.”
Paul turned slowly and Rebecca followed his movement. “It’ll be our secret,” he said, smiling at her and staring into her eyes.
After a few more gazes, Paul and Rebecca decided to return to the group, hoping they hadn’t missed the bus. When they reached the low valley they’d traveled, they could see that the bus had arrived. They each began to run and shout out, “Wait, don’t leave us! Wait,” but they were too late. Exhausted and out of breath, Rebecca immediately decided to take her frustrations out on poor Paul.
“So, I guess this is the kind of muddle you’re used to. This kind of thing never happens to me.”
“I’m sorry we missed the bus; you don’t have to be so upset.”
Rebecca stood silent for a moment and remembered the Petroglyphs. She knew it wasn’t his fault and that she was wrong to snap at him. “I’m sorry, Paul. I really am. I don’t do well with change. That’s why I plan everything, and this wasn’t part of my plan.”
“No worries,” said Paul. “I learned from my friend Rick, when plans don’t work out, go walkabout.”
When Rebecca looked up at Paul with pure confusion on her face, he realized he needed to better explain himself. “Rick’s an Aussie. What his statement means is, don’t just sit around. Between the two of us, we have enough food and water to get us fifty miles in a desert. All we need to do is walk about ten.”
“Oh, only ten,” Rebecca muttered. “Ten miles is easy.”
“Come on,” said Paul, “it won’t be that bad. The day is early and long this time of the season. Plus, you’re dressed for it. The quicker we start walking, the quicker we make it back to the inn.”
Rebecca wasn’t going to argue with Paul’s logic, so they got up and began walking. Rebecca assumed she’d have trouble keeping up with Paul’s stride, but it didn’t take long for her to figure out that he’d slowed his pace to keep up with her. Paul actually seemed to be enjoying the time alone with Rebecca, a notion she wasn’t sure if she was comfortable with.
Paul talked most of the way, making the time seem to fly by. He told Rebecca about his mother dying when he was very young from cancer and how he and his dad had been coming here every year on her birthday to visit all the places she loved. Paul told her about him and his father, and how though his father was an old man even when he was a baby; they were more of best friends than father and son. They were very close and talked about everything. It was his father who encouraged him to become a writer. His father told Paul he went into banking because his father was in banking, but that he always wished he’d followed his dream to become a jazz musician.
Before Rebecca realized it, she and Paul had reached the village where the inn was and soon they would be in their warm, dry rooms preparing for dinner. The sky had clouded up and it looked as though rain was imminent, but they didn’t rush back to the inn. They’d walked a long way and knew the end was near; they were okay with catching a few droplets if it came down to it.
A few feet from the entrance of the inn, standing under an old street lamp, Rebecca turned to Paul and smiled at him, breathing a little heavy. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but thank you. I had a really wonderful day.” Instead of offering the customary reply of, ‘You’re welcome’ Rebecca had expected to receive for the kind words she let flow freely from her mouth, Paul decided to show his appreciation for her gratitude in a more expressive manner.
Paul quickly charged through the space separating Rebecca from his touch and enveloped her body. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her lips tenderly, savoring every moment. Paul slid his hands up to Rebecca’s neck and massaged it as her head began to tilt back. He continued to press his lips to hers and caress her tongue while taking in her breath and absorbing her warmth and unchecked desire.
Rain began to pour heavily upon them, but Paul didn’t seem to notice. However, Rebecca did. Snapping out of the trance triggered by Paul’s tender kiss, Rebecca turned her head and tried to push herself away from him, but Paul did not want to let her go. Finally, she reached her hands up to his face and held his cheeks. While staring into his wide, wild, brown eyes, she pleaded, with a quiver in her voice, “Please, Paul, let me go.”
Paul looked at her. He sensed her longing and felt the reflexive touch of her hands struggling not to pull him in closer to her. He knew she didn’t really want him to let go, but her words and her eyes said otherwise. As soon as Paul let go of her, Rebecca ran into the inn.
It's Like the Full Moon 2nd Ed © 2016 Toinette Thomas, published as Glorie Townson.
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#love, #circleoffriends, #lovetriangle, #30something, #secrets
COMMENTS
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Lovers of romance will delight in this lovely novel.
Oh that was lovely!!
And HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Today on A Small Gang of Authors, Toinette Thomas, introduces us to nice scene from her romance novel, "It's Like the Full Moon," written under the penname, Glorie Townson. Stop by and check it out.
Happy Birthday, Toi! Wonderful excerpt!
Writing romance is not something that comes easy to me, so I'm especially proud of my
#romcom It's Like the Full Moon.
Lovely romance....just love romance, don't you?
Actually, it's growing on me. I think I adore romantic comedy.
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