A Twist of Fate (32 page)

I apologized to
James and Hannah again, feeling bad for deceiving them about our
relationship but they both reassured me that they were happy for
us. Hannah gave me a big smile as Alex and I walked out the door,
his arm firmly around my waist. It wasn’t until we reached his car
that I groaned loudly in frustration. “What, baby?” he murmured as
he kissed my neck, “If you can’t wait, I can pull the car around
and I’ll take you right here on the hood.” He laughed as his
fingers played with the hem of my top.

“I drove here,”
I moaned. “I have to drive the car back.” He straightened and
glanced over at the bright red Ford Festiva.

“You really
have a thing for piece of shit cars,” he laughed.

“It’s a loaner,
smart ass! You should be appreciative; it got me here didn’t it!” I
smiled as he glanced back over at the car

“Then I am
eternally grateful to the piece of shit car,” he moaned in my ear.
“I’ll follow you back to your apartment and then I’m taking you
home.”

I climbed in to
Matt’s rental as Alex slid into his sexy car, its engine roaring to
life behind me. A stupid grin spread over my face, as I grabbed my
phone and sent a message.

- Want to race? Lexi
xx

- Are you insane? I’ll
be at your apartment before you hit second gear. I love your
enthusiasm though. 10 points for effort! Alex xx

- Is that all you
love? Xx

- I love everything
about you baby xx

- Do you love me
enough to let me drive later? xx

- Why do you ALWAYS
want to drive?? You seemed to enjoy it last time my hands were on
the wheel. :-P xx

- I remember you hands
being on a lot of things; on the wheel was not one of them. PS I
did enjoy it, repeatedly I might add. Still want to drive though
xx

- Why don’t we agree
to take turns, each option has its own virtues. PS I love you
xx

- I can agree to that!
PS I love you more xx

- We can debate who
loves whom more when you are in my bed. Now do me a favor and stop
running that beautiful mouth of yours and DRIVE (seeing as you were
so keen before) xx PS I still love you even though you are
mouthy

- You never complained
about my mouth before PS I still love you even though you are
argumentative. I’m going, I’m going!!! xxx

I laughed as I
looked in my rear vision mirror at Alex’s smiling face, this time
it would be different. My mind flooded with possibilities and I was
excited at the prospect. I knew it wasn’t going to be a cake walk,
we were both strong, opinionated and career orientated, but we
loved each other and that had to count for something didn’t it?
Either way I was willing to take that leap, for Alex it would be
worth the fall.

###

Frustrated by the
lack of strong female characters in the current fiction I was
reading I set myself the challenge to write something that was
interesting, compelling and yet easy enough to read that was still
enjoyable. Pulling from my own past "colourful" experiences and the
amazing personalities I have surrounded myself with, I had no
shortage of inspiration. With a strong slant on erotic fiction, my
core characters are empowered women who don't have to sacrifice
their femininity.

A Twist of
Fate

A Leap of Faith
(due September 2013)

A Time for Hope
(due January 2014)

Thank you are
words that don’t even come close to conveying the gratitude I feel
when I look at the people around me, the ones who have supported
me, nurtured me, believed in me. Without them, I would be a poorer
version of myself, here, existing but with no richness in my
life.

To my two
beautiful children who are the coolest kids alive, my hope in life
is that I instil in you that you can achieve anything, and that the
only thing that limits you is your mind. You make me a better
person and I can’t imagine my life without you. Thank you for
putting up with “Moody Mummy” when she was writing, but most of all
thank you for being awesome. You are and will always be my greatest
accomplishment.

To the amazing
group of people I have surrounded myself with- each one of you fits
in my life like an intricate puzzle piece and I am incomplete
without you. You inspire me daily in your own way but most
especially I am blessed to be in the company of such wonderful,
strong, beautiful women. I adore you all.

To my tireless
editors, Karen, Nat and Sam. They were my “Kates and Christines”
seeing in me what not everyone did, trusting me to get the job
done. Thank you for reading, re-reading then reading again my many
drafts. I appreciate your time, your effort and your energy so that
I was able to bring to life this story. I knew you would tell me if
it sucked and wouldn’t “appease” me. Like Lexi, I don’t like to be
handled. Thank you for your patience, your laughter, your opinions
and your persistence - I’m not the easiest person to “edit”. Sam,
you were my biggest champion, we shall ride this wave together
wherever it goes- this will not be forgotten or go unnoticed!

Thank you to
the amazing photography of Angelique Ehlers who captured the
beautiful images for the cover and to Gianni Renda who took the
image and designed the cover which by far exceeded my creative
vision.

Lastly to my
husband Gep, for his unwavering love and support, who over the
years has embraced my “craziness” allowing me to be the woman I am.
The insane ups and downs we have endured over the years would be
enough to fill five lifetimes, which still would not be long enough
with you. Your belief in me, spurred me when my own belief had
waned. I know I’m not always easy to be around, especially when
consumed with creative madness but you accept me, without question.
I love you; you will always have my heart.