February Or Forever Read online

  February or Forever

  Juliet Madison

  February or Forever

  Juliet Madison

  In this heartwarming coastal romance, Escape bestselling author Juliet Madison asks, what if your favourite celebrity fell in love with you?

  Yoga teacher and single mother, Chrissie Burns has a plan: move into the rundown beach house left to her by her deceased aunt, renovate it, sell it, and move on. The scene of a terrible accident years ago, the house needs to get out of Chrissie’s hands as soon as possible.

  But Tarrin’s Bay, where the house stands, has more to offer than bad memories. The town is lovely, the people friendly, and even Chrissie’s young son finds friends and begins coming out of his shell. Employed at Serendipity Retreat as a yoga instructor, Chrissie is shocked to be given the role of private teacher to Drew Williams, Australia’s top singer/songwriter for the month.

  Relationships between instructors and clients are strictly forbidden, but Drew draws happiness out of Chrissie with his down-to-earth nature and sense of humour. Days of stretching and bending may bring Chrissie unexpected peace and strength, but she knows that this interlude must end, and there’s no pose or position to aid her when Drew walks away and leaves her broken-hearted.

  About the Author

  Juliet Madison is a naturopath-turned-author with a background in dance, art, internet marketing and perfume sales (yes, she was one of those annoying people in department stores who spray you with perfume). Nowadays she prefers to indulge her propensity for multiple careers by living vicariously through her characters. She likes to put these characters into extraordinary situations and take them on a challenging journey to discover their true passion and inner strength, weaving in some laughs, tears, romance and sometimes a touch of magic along the way.

  Living near the beach on the beautiful south coast of New South Wales, Australia, Juliet spends her time running her internet business, raising her son, writing as often as she can, and doing her best to avoid housework.

  Juliet is a proud member and volunteer with The Romance Writers of Australia and she loves to interact online with readers and writers via Twitter (@Juliet_Madison), and Facebook (www.facebook.com/JulietMadisonAuthor). She can be contacted through her website at www.julietmadison.com where readers can also download some free short stories.

  Acknowledgements

  I’d like to thank Kate Cuthbert and Escape Publishing for supporting my writing career and allowing me to continue sharing my stories with readers around the world, and my editor Belinda Holmes for her enthusiasm for my work.

  I’d also like to thank my family, friends, and the writing community for your support and encouragement, and my mum for reading the first draft of this novel and getting excited about it.

  Thanks to author, Nicola Marsh, for recommending the nifty little writing machine, the Alphasmart NEO, which has helped me write faster without distractions from the internet and helped me complete this manuscript in record time! Happy to pit our Alphies against each other for a writing race anytime. ;)

  Thanks also to author, Kate Belle, for suggesting the name ‘Serendipity’ for the health retreat in this book, and a special mention to Jessie Chapman’s book Yoga Postures for your Body, Mind, & Soul (Harper Collins 2000), which was a great help to me many years ago when I first got into yoga, and which I revisited while writing this book to help with the yoga scenes between Chrissie and Drew.

  And thanks to all the wonderfully talented singers out there who inspire people with their music every day, and inspired me to create the character of Drew.

  To my sister at heart, Alli Sinclair.

  Contents

  About the Author

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Bestselling Titles by Escape Publishing…

  Chapter 1

  Chrissie Burns should have learned by now that white clothing and motherhood didn’t mix. She rubbed a damp cloth at the smear of Vegemite on her Lorna Jane yoga top and wished she could also rub away the anxiety that had resurfaced since moving to Tarrin’s Bay. It was known as The Town of New Beginnings, but for Chrissie, it was the town of bad memories.

  ‘I won’t go, Mum, I won’t!’ Her six-year-old son, Kai, planted his Vegemite-stained hands on his hips in defiance.

  Chrissie sighed. ‘Kai, you have to go to school. C’mon, let’s wash your hands and clean your teeth.’ She gave up on the smear and gently grasped her son’s arm, but he yanked her hand away.

  ‘Kai, please. You can’t stay home.’

  ‘But why, Mum, why do I have to go?’ he whined, his freckled face creasing and blue eyes pleading.

  ‘Mummy has to go to work, you know that. Kids go to school and parents go to work. Now c’mon.’ Chrissie led him into the bathroom and washed his hands on his behalf, and, failing to get him to clean his teeth, left him crying in the hallway while she retreated to her bedroom and ripped off her stained top. She replaced it with a silvery-grey version of the same; a racer-back singlet with extra stretch, and returned to her red-faced son.

  Kai sighed and trudged outside to the car, his backpack thumping against his little body with each step. Chrissie grabbed her bag and locked up, then dashed to the car and started the engine. She drove down Dune Road, past Serendipity Health Retreat where she’d be returning for work, and headed towards the school. She stole a glance in the rear-view mirror and her heart lurched at the sight of her son’s blotchy red eyes and the sharp intakes of breath as his bottom lip quivered.

  She clamped her lips tight and blinked hard, determined not to let a single tear fall in front of her son. She couldn’t let him see that she was hurting too, couldn’t add to his already excessive load of sadness at Daddy Not Living With Mummy Anymore. No, tears were for when she was alone. Crying was for the shower, when the stream of water could disguise it, and the bedroom, when Kai was asleep and only the tear-soaked pillow was privy to her emotional state.

  She didn’t know what else she could do to make him happy. She couldn’t be a stay-at-home mum or homeschool him. They may have inherited a house right on the beach that would sell for a nice sum, but until the renovations were complete she still needed to earn a living and stick to a tight budget. Plus, this job was her saviour; she needed it for her sanity.

  Chrissie pulled into the ten minute drop off zone outside the school and forced a smile as she unbuckled her reluctant child from his seat. ‘It’ll be fun, darlin’, you wait and see. I bet Mrs Kitson has some super-cool activities planned for today.’

  Nothing. No eye contact, no smile. Chrissie drew a deep breath and helped Kai from the car, his arms firmly crossed and glued to his chest.

  ‘It’s not fair,’ he mumbled. ‘You’re so mean.’

  Chrissie ran a hand over her head and gripped her ponytail, tightness clenching her jaw. With no time to argue, she raised her chin and marched Kai into the school playground. The bell had just gone and kids were lining up in their class rows. She nodded a hello to a
couple of mothers who looked like they belonged in the dictionary under ‘happy’ and ‘perfect’, and led Kai towards his Year One classmates. Mrs Kitson flashed a smile as they neared, and curved her hand towards Kai to encourage him to line up.

  ‘He’s a bit upset today,’ Chrissie explained as Mrs Kitson’s eyes narrowed in concern at Kai’s red face.

  ‘He’ll be fine, you go. We’re going to have a great day, aren’t we, Kai?’ She crouched to his level and he eyed her cautiously.

  Kai unfolded his arms and grabbed hold of Chrissie’s Lycra pants as she stepped away. ‘Kai, I have to go now.’

  ‘No,’ he said, gripping the fabric tighter. It was so stretchy she could probably get all the way to the school gate before he lost his grip or she rebounded, or, heaven forbid, showed the entire school her three-dollar undies.

  She wrapped her hand around his small fingers and peeled them away from her yoga pants, and Mrs Kitson grasped his hand gently but firmly. ‘He’ll be fine,’ she whispered with a reassuring nod. ‘I’ll call you if there are any problems.’

  He looked far from fine, but Chrissie stepped backwards, offering a feeble wave to her unimpressed child, before turning and walking away. She didn’t dare look back. In another six hours she’d return and he’d probably act like nothing had ever happened, until the next morning when the struggle would begin all over again.

  She got in the car and closed the door, paused for a moment to steady her breath, then turned the key in the ignition and drove around the corner into Seaview Road. It sloped downwards, and Chrissie’s eyes scanned the ocean panorama, stretching across the horizon and wrapping around the town. She gulped, a lump of dread bobbing back up like a cork in water. To anyone else, the view might be called spectacular, and it was beautiful, but to Chrissie the word that came to mind was deadly. Her chest rose sharply with fast, shallow breaths as she drove slowly down the road.

  No, not again. Not after all this time.

  Panic wound its way up her spine like a spiralling vine, tightening and gripping with each breath. Her heart pounded, each beat trying to outdo the previous one, until she gasped for breath. Chrissie slammed on the brakes, veered off to the side of the road and put on the handbrake. She placed her hand on her chest in an effort to stop the rising fear, as heat rose up her neck and sweat pooled at her lower back.

  Oh God, oh God.

  Her hand shook against her chest and she reached for her water bottle with the other, taking a quick sip.

  Okay, I can handle this. Use the techniques, Chrissie. Remember?

  She lifted her hands as she sucked in a long, deep breath, as though leading the air into her lungs, then turned her palms downward and lowered her hands with the exhalation. She repeated the technique her therapist had taught her years ago, until her breathing slowed. She didn’t care whether any passers-by could see; she only wanted to regain control.

  It’d been years since she’d had a panic attack. She’d thought they’d run their course, dying away along with the life she’d left behind. But being here again, where it all started, must have triggered something. Something she wished she could forget.

  Chrissie glanced around the street dotted with a few cars, an elderly couple walking their dog, and mothers hand-in-hand with their toddlers who walked two steps to their one. Just an everyday Monday morning. There was no reason to feel scared, everything would be alright. Chrissie talked herself around, and eventually put her hand on the key to turn the ignition. Before doing so, she clicked open the glove box and took out a CD, her favourite CD: The Best of Drew Williams. The Aussie icon’s music always calmed her, made her feel grounded and positive; exactly what she needed right now to get this day on track. And the fact that he was as hot as the summer sun didn’t hurt either.

  She resumed driving and let the smooth, earthy tone of his voice soothe her senses. The pitch perfect notes gave order and structure to the chaotic thoughts in her mind, and soon the panic and fear dissipated.

  Chrissie pulled into a spot in the staff parking area at Serendipity, even though she could easily park at the house, it being only a short walk away, but with her workday ending at 3 p.m. she had to get to the school in time to pick up Kai. Reluctantly, Chrissie switched off the engine along with Drew’s delicious voice, and readied her mind for the day ahead.

  Serendipity was a beautiful place to work; no busy, loud offices with endlessly ringing phones and chatter, unlike her previous job at the newspaper. Stepping through the doors here was like entering a sanctuary where the outside world didn’t exist. Chrissie walked down the corridor towards the staff zone, breathing in the hint of orange essential oil wafting in the air. She nodded hello to one of the nutritionists as she passed the staff lounge, and was about to walk upstairs to the yoga studios when someone called out.

  ‘Oh, Chrissie, could you come in here a moment?’

  Chrissie turned to face her boss and manager of the retreat, Helena Washington. Her thin glasses perched on her nose and white-grey hair falling in wisps around her face, she ushered Chrissie into the main office.

  Oh no, am I in trouble? She was a little late, but hoped it didn’t matter since she didn’t have to teach a class till nine-thirty.

  ‘How are you settling in?’ Helena asked.

  ‘Well, thanks. I love it here.’ Chrissie smiled.

  ‘Good, good.’ Helena pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose. ‘You met one of the other instructors, Rachel, last week…’ Chrissie nodded. ‘Well, the poor lass broke her leg yesterday. She fell from a horse and got trampled on, will be out of action for quite a while.’

  ‘Oh no, is she going to be okay?’

  ‘Yes, yes, luckily it was only her bones that got damaged and not her internal organs, otherwise it could have been a different story.’ Helena shook her head.

  Ouch. Chrissie felt for Rachel; she didn’t really know her but couldn’t imagine how painful it must have been, let alone the idea of being bedridden and not able to move around and stretch her body.

  ‘And you’d like me to take over some of her workload?’ Chrissie assumed.

  ‘Yes, some, but Lisa and Damon can share the load as well. Mostly, there’s another job I was hoping you could take on in her place.’

  ‘Sure, as long as it falls within the school hours we agreed upon, I can do anything that’s required.’

  Helena’s mouth curved up into a faint smile. ‘Are you interested in taking on a challenge?’

  Taking on challenges? Story of my life.

  Chrissie widened her eyes and nodded.

  ‘Good. It’s just that with Rachel gone, you’re the most experienced instructor we have here, and I need the best for this job.’ She rested her hand on the edge of the desk and leaned closer. ‘We have a V.I.P. guest staying with us for the month of February, arrived last night. He’s requested daily yoga sessions — private sessions — and I assured him we could accommodate his request.’

  Wow, only a few days in a new job and she was getting a promotion? Just what she needed; a chance to expand her experience and keep busy and focused on work. ‘Of course, I can do that.’ Chrissie thought it was probably some corporate guy on stress leave, needing a month of rejuvenation.

  ‘Now, I know you can only do five days a week and the occasional Saturday, but he is fine with that. I said you would create a personal program for him to practise on his own time too, to get the most out of his stay.’

  ‘Definitely.’ Creating individual yoga programs was one of her favourite parts of the job. She loved selecting the poses to suit each person’s needs and putting them together into an exercise prescription. Yoga was more than exercise; it was about unifying the body, mind, and spirit.

  ‘Great.’ Helena clapped her hands together. ‘Now there’s one other thing,’ she picked up a manila folder, ‘I’ll need you to sign a legal document agreeing to keep the knowledge of his visit to yourself. His lawyer has requested complete discretion and privacy during his stay. Can I
count on you for your professionalism?’

  Man, who was this guy? Oh my God. What if he was some big name politician…did politicians even do yoga? She couldn’t imagine the pollies taking a break during Question Time for a spot of downward dog.

  ‘I won’t say a word to anyone,’ Chrissie replied, her brows drawing together. ‘Who is the guest?’

  Helena opened her mouth but closed it again, then led Chrissie to the corner window of the office which had a snippet of a view into the V.I.P. garden. ‘See for yourself.’

  Curiosity tingled inside as Chrissie peered out the window. Her heart beat faster in anticipation then skidded to a halt at the sight of the man. There, sitting on the garden swing, swaying back and forth with a guitar on his lap, was none other than the owner of the voice that had permeated her car only minutes before.

  Chapter 2

  ‘Drew Williams?’ The words almost choked her as they catapulted out of her mouth.

  Am I seeing things?

  ‘The one and only,’ Helena replied. ‘You a fan?’

  His biggest.

  ‘Um,’ she gulped, running her hand down her long blonde ponytail, ‘He’s ah, very gifted.’

  In more ways than one.

  Chrissie stole another glance in his direction. His tanned face appeared to glow under the sun’s rays, his eyes squinting, but he didn’t seem bothered. He strummed his guitar, then put it aside and jotted something down on a piece of paper. Writing a song?

  ‘He grew up here in town, did you know that?’

  ‘I knew he came from somewhere down this way, but wasn’t sure where.’

  ‘Yep, Tarrin’s Bay, born and bred.’ Helena swivelled the rod hanging from the Venetian blinds, reducing the sunlight to thin horizontal slits, signalling the end of Chrissie’s spying opportunity. ‘He’s asked for a session this morning, can you do that?’

  ‘Now?’

  ‘No, after your morning group class. 11 a.m.?’