Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Romancing the Flinders
    Romancing the Flinders
    Romancing the Flinders
    Ebook78 pages1 hour

    Romancing the Flinders

    By J. Thiele

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Callum west works at his father-in-law's shipping company, trouble is, his wife has been dead for four years. Now his secretary and lifelong friend Courtney is about to resign and start a family. His parents are both deceased and he's been estranged from his drug-addicted brother for years. Everybody in Callum's life either leaves or dies. So, he's learned not to rely on anyone sticking around. The only thing that he knows he can still count on being there when he wakes up every morning is his job. That is until he meets his new assistant Mercy. Now he can't even trust himself, as his emotions start to flounder and he finds himself replacing his deceased wife in his dreams with the face and body of his new secretary, Mercy.

    Mercy always has a hard time trusting people after her long-term boyfriend Ryan was discovered cheating on her. Where she confided in her best friend Lisa, she found out that she too had betrayed her by sleeping with the sleazeball. After Callum and Mercy get off to a tense beginning they realize just how much absence really does make the heart grow fonder.

    Can Callum put his guilt aside to make room for Mercy and will Mercy learn to trust again?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMelissa Bell & Jordin Thiele Inc.
    Release dateOct 28, 2018
    ISBN9781386490425
    Romancing the Flinders
    Author

    J. Thiele

    J. Thiele lives in Brisbane, Australia. She writes in a variety of genres, ranging from paranormal romance, old fashioned who did it – Detective novels and most recently has broadened her scope with the addition of writing horror. She finds writing therapeutic and centring which tends to balance out her energetic personality, and the occasional bout of insomnia. Although she has realised that writing horror at night can raise your blood pressure when you see a movement out of the corner of the eye. It’s all too easy to scare oneself half to death.

    Read more from J. Thiele

    Related to Romancing the Flinders

    Related ebooks

    Romance For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Australia Reads At Home

      May 18, 2020

      Australia Reads At Home
      7 min read

    • Article

      Freedom

      Aug 6, 2020

      Freedom
      7 min read

    • Article

      A Double Life

      Dec 7, 2020

      Sadie is in the kitchen, already dressed in school uniform, fastening the clips on the violin she chose for her most recent birthday, when Gabriela heads downstairs the following morning. Seven years old: how the hell did that happen? Briefly, she wo

      6 min read

    • Article

      The Last Friend on Earth

      May 4, 2023

      It was as if Doreen Saunders had been waiting for me, passing the time until my arrival. She might as well have been sitting in a rocking chair, knitting needles clicking, jam tarts cooling on the side, the door wide open, waiting for the next visito

      6 min read

    • Article

      Heavy Is The Crown

      Nov 19, 2021

      Heavy Is The Crown
      10 min read

    • Article

      Take a Writer Like Him: My Complicated Love Affair with Kingsley Amis

      Aug 24, 2018

      1. As much as I may rack my brain, there are 15 minutes or so in the dark that I can’t account for and that I’ll never get back—15 minutes during which, I have to think, that creep’s hands were touching my body. It’s a weird thing to think about all

      12 min read

    • Article

      From Dawn ’til Dusk

      May 21, 2020

      From Dawn ’til Dusk
      5 min read

    • Article

      Echos

      Jan 10, 2019

      Before Corrine’s husband abandoned her in Berlin, he liked to say that her name reminded him of the word “corrupt.” But ending in a twist rather than a split. Her last name was the French word for “swimsuit” but he never mentioned that. This seemed s

      17 min read

    • Article

      Left To Lose

      Jul 10, 2022

      Around the time she gives up her name, it starts to feel like this entire revolution isn’t worth it anymore. The world is probably lucky that Kelian—she still remembers Kelian, in spite of everything—is there to pick up the pieces, the way he always

      11 min read

    • Article

      The Other Side Of THE FENCE

      Mar 1, 2023

      The Other Side Of THE FENCE
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Other Side Of THE FENCE

      Mar 1, 2023

      The Other Side Of THE FENCE
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Date

      Jan 7, 2021

      The Date
      5 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Mar 23, 2020

      Julia Ebner works for a counter-extremism think tank that watches and documents radical groups from the outside. Worrying that she isn’t getting the full picture, she goes undercover, joins various groups and experiences them from the inside out. Thi

      4 min read

    • Article

      Night Flying

      Aug 2, 2018

      Night Flying
      10 min read

    • Article

      Billy Connolly: ‘It Might Be Lovely On The Other Side’

      Oct 17, 2021

      A fostered-off schoolboy going nowhere fast, turned apprentice welder on the Clyde. A welder turned regionally popular musician. A musician turned nationally popular comic. A comic turned Hollywood actor and an actor turned New York artist, then a re

      10 min read

    • Article

      Karen’s CHOICE

      Jul 7, 2021

      Karen’s CHOICE
      6 min read

    • Article

      Catch It If You Can

      Nov 4, 2021

      Catch It If You Can
      3 min read

    • Article

      Safety

      Mar 1, 2023

      IT WAS only a dream, a bad dream, and nothing else. The man in Vidal’s dream was stalking a woman, spying on her from the shadows, following her down a dark alley as she sought refuge from a downpour. The woman was vaguely familiar to Vidal, though h

      13 min read

    • Article

      Just The Way YOU ARE

      Feb 7, 2023

      Just The Way YOU ARE
      9 min read

    • Article

      An unexpected GIFT

      Apr 12, 2023

      An unexpected GIFT
      6 min read

    • Article

      Great Scot

      Oct 22, 2021

      Great Scot
      10 min read

    • Article

      I’ll Not Risk Myself

      Feb 10, 2024

      My phone reception is better outside the laundromat, so I spend most of my time waiting for laundry on the bench near the door. I don’t talk with my friends, but I surf the news. I like to know what’s going on. I don’t like people to know about me, t

      13 min read

    • Article

      Suspicious Minds

      Apr 7, 2022

      Suspicious Minds
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Way Things TURN OUT

      Jun 3, 2020

      The Way Things TURN OUT
      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Romancing the Flinders

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Romancing the Flinders - J. Thiele

      Prologue

      ROMANCING THE FLINDERS

      Callum West sat staring at the photo which was perched on the corner of his desk, wondering why he hadn’t taken his own life already. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t thought about it enough, it was a daily struggle for him not to end it, and today was especially hard compared to all the others. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door, and without acknowledgment, his receptionist and long-time friend Courtney walked in with another woman following close behind her.

      Callum, this is Mercy. She’s going to be our temp until you can find someone full-time. Courtney introduced them as Callum rose to his feet to greet the young woman.

      Mercy? That’s quite an unusual name, Callum commented as he extended his hand and added, Thanks for coming in. We’re hopeful we’ll find someone quickly, or better yet, I can convince Courtney to have a change of heart and stay on after her baby arrives. He smiled in Courtney’s direction.

      Not likely, The heavily pregnant Courtney replied with a smile. As soon as this bubble pops, Rob and I are off to sunny Queensland where the weather is beautiful one day,

      And perfect the next. All three of them said in unison.

      I’ll leave you two to get to know each other for a while. I have some calls to make. After which I’ll come back and show you the ropes. Is that okay Mercy? Courtney announced with a giggle.

      Callum felt his heart suddenly quicken at the thought of being abandoned by his receptionist. He wasn’t ready to be left alone with Mercy yet. He wanted to continue with his mourning process. What the hell was Court thinking? She knew what day this was.

      Courtney knew precisely what the date was. It was the ninth of September. The day her best friend was killed in a car accident. The day that changed all of their lives forever. The day she witnessed the man she'd grown up with, started to merely exist, rather than being alive. His wife Natalie was four months pregnant with their first child and was on her way to see the obstetrician when the other car came from out of nowhere, T-boning her and trapping her broken body behind the wheel. She died in the arms of a stranger before the ambulance had even arrived to try and save her.

      The other driver was in a stolen car when he caused the collision. He was trying to make a quick getaway from the side street where he’d acquired the vehicle. He remained in a coma for over a week before the machines were turned off and he also passed away from his injuries.

      It had been four years since that fateful day, and Courtney knew, it was time they all let her go. It was time they moved on with their lives.

      Yes, Courtney knew what day it was, but what Callum didn’t know, was that this was the day that would give him back his life. The day that would trigger a new beginning for him because he’d held himself responsible for far too long. How could he have known that the car would come and take everything he loved away from him? He was supposed to drive Nat that day, but he’d gotten caught up in a meeting, and Nat was forced to go alone. Would it have changed things if he was driving? Would he have taken the same route that she had? Would he have left earlier or perhaps later? Or would they all be dead right now? It was time to stop asking all the same questions and start forgiving himself. It was time to let her go.

      Chapter 1

      ROMANCING THE FLINDERS

      Mercy sat staring over Callum’s shoulder, the view of the Mount Lofty Rangers behind him was enough to make her forget that they were in a high-rise building in the middle of Adelaide City. Adelaide is a smaller city in comparison to all the others unless you’re a small country girl carrying around a heavily broken heart, then the hustle and bustle of Rundle Mall is quite intimidating. Mercy found comfort the higher up she worked and the further away from the general public she got.

      Mercy? Are you still with us? Callum asked when he caught her daydreaming instead of taking notes.

      Huh? Oh god, I’m sorry Mr. West. I guess I just got caught up in the view. She stammered and blushed.

      Callum chuckled, I understand. I too find myself staring out the window several times a day. It’s very peaceful, isn’t it? Hard to believe we’re in the heart of the city. And please, call me Callum, it’s a bit formal in this day and age to call me Mr. especially when you and I are so close in age. He blushed, realizing that he’d just admitted to checking into her profile. He hoped she wouldn’t catch on to his slip. Fortunately, she didn’t give it a second thought, why wouldn’t he check into her background? After all, he was looking for a replacement for Courtney, and as the temp, she would naturally get the first look-in. He’d be a fool not to check out her resume, and she was far too broken to think anything else of it.

      Let’s break for lunch, shall we? Callum suggested avoiding his own awkwardness.

      It’s only 11:00 am, she replied.

      It’s been a long morning, and I’m starving, he insisted as he ushered her to the door.

      Oh okay, she conceded as the door quietly closed behind her.

      Callum returned to

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1