Yours Forever

Prefer to buy a paperback edition? Click here!

Ten years ago, he broke her heart and left town. Now he's back to fix her crumbling house—but can he repair the damage he caused to her heart?

Flo Pelletier learned early that people leave—first her hippie parents, then the man she loved most. So she's built a life that depends on no one: her bed-and-breakfast, her community, her carefully guarded independence. The last person she wants to see is Rob Connelly, back in Lantern Bay after a decade away.

Rob knows he destroyed the best thing in his life when grief and poor choices drove him away from Flo. Now he’s home with a chance to make amends—starting with saving Flo's beloved but deteriorating house. If only she'd let him close enough to try.

When Flo's business faces financial ruin, she has no choice but to accept Rob's help with renovations. Working side by side forces them to confront the past neither has fully healed from. But as old feelings resurface and new secrets emerge from the house's very walls, they'll discover that some foundations are worth rebuilding—and some love is strong enough to survive even the worst mistakes.

A story about second chances, forgiveness, and the courage to trust again when your heart has been broken before.

~Lantern Bay — a coastal haven where broken hearts heal and families find home~

—Lantern Bay—

1. Yours to Give
2. Yours to Treasure
3. Yours to Cherish
4. Yours to Keep
5. Yours Forever
6. Yours to Love

—Mackenzies—

1. A Place Called Home
2. Secrets at Parata Bay
3. Escape to Shelter Springs
4. What You See in the Stars
5. Second Chance at Whisper Creek
6. Summer at the Lakehouse Café

Excerpt

“Rob!” Flo said, annoyed that despite her wish to avoid her ex-boyfriend, there was a note of excitement in her voice. She immediately tamped it down. “What are you doing here?” She was pleased she sounded annoyed.

“Good to see you, too, Flo,” said Rob with his usual low rumble. His voice had always got to her, its vibrations traveling deep inside of her, making a connection she no longer wanted. He was wearing a bushman’s oiled jacket left open, with worn jeans and a black t-shirt underneath. He was broader, more muscled than he’d been when he’d left Flo and New Zealand all those years ago—a period of time which she thought of as forever. He was, not to put too fine a point on it, even sexier than before.

Flo forced herself to ignore her instinctive reaction, which was to jump into his arms and allow him to carry her off. She’d done that years before and look how that had ended. She couldn’t even allow herself to give her usual warm welcome to visitors, because Rob was different. Rob was the man who’d hurt her beyond pain itself.

“I guess you’re here to see your little sister?” One thing was certain, Rob wouldn’t have come to see Flo. When they’d last met, she’d made it clear she wanted nothing to do with him.

“Yep. Mind if I come in?” He glanced up at the leaking roof through which rain now ran in thick, rope-like cords. “I would have come to the back door as usual, but the path by the beach is impassable now. You really should—”

“Get that seen to,” she interrupted. “I know, and I will.”

Flo opened the door wide, and he stepped into the hallway. She suddenly remembered how he used to call and see her and her grandmother, his tall frame filling the hallway in a way which neither she, nor her grandmother, had ever done. He had a presence, and she’d forgotten about it. The appearance of Amber in the hallway, all large eyes and ethereal beauty, brought her back to the present.

“Rob! What are you doing here?” asked Amber.

Rob shook his head. “Not you, too.” He sighed. “I’m here because David asked me to come.”

“David?”

“Yes, David. Your husband.”

Amber looked like she’d recovered. “I know who David is! What’s happened? Is everything all right?”

“He’s fine. He’s still in Shelter Springs.” His usual kind voice replaced the cool tone he’d used with Flo. He’d always been close to his youngest sister, and he obviously wanted to reassure her. “He says to tell you that Aimee sends her love.”

“Aw, I miss my darling niece. Like you must miss your—”

“But he asked if I’d pick you up,” interrupted Rob quickly.

Flo frowned. Rob might be a cheating bastard to her, but he was the kindest brother, and she’d never heard him interrupt Amber before. Not even when Amber was at her wackiest.

“What were you going to say, Amber?” asked Flo. “Rob might miss what?” Or who, she thought to herself.

Amber blushed and looked nervously at Rob. She shook her head.

“David reckoned you’d have walked to Flo’s,” continued Rob, as if Flo hadn’t spoken. “And the storm is only going to worsen.”

Amber smiled at the thought of her doting husband. “How come my husband knows so much about me?”

“I don’t know,” said Rob with a smile. “It’s almost as if he loves you or something.”

Amber beamed. “Yes, he does.”

Flo’s heart tweaked a little, and she looked away. So much love and none of it for her. “Well, you’d best get going then.” She gave Amber a quick hug. “Thanks for coming and getting me started.”

“I’ll be back when I can. And Maddy and Gabe will, too. We’ll all pitch in and help.” Amber turned to her brother. “Won’t we, Rob?”

Rob raised his eyebrow in question at Flo. “That’s up to Flo.”

Amber turned to Flo. “You will accept Rob’s help, won’t you?”

Flo shot Amber a dark look. Amber knew full well that Rob was the last person she’d accept help from. They both knew. “No. But thank you all the same,” she added. She might hate the man who’d broken her heart so many years before, but she could be polite and grown up about it.

“Why not?” asked Amber.

Flo lost control of the tumult of emotions which surged through her whenever Rob was around. “Because I don’t want him around.” Her heart pounded, and she regretted the words as soon as they’d escaped, like steam, relieving the pressure but scalding everyone in sight.

Rob sucked in a sharp breath. “Right, I guess that’s our cue to leave. Amber? You ready?”

Amber was looking worriedly from Flo to Rob and then back to Flo again.

Rob sighed and disappeared outside onto the porch.

Amber ignored Rob’s question and gave Flo a hug and held on tight. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“It’s okay. I shouldn’t have said that, but I feel you guys are pressuring me to do something I don’t want. Amber, after what happened, I don’t want anything from your brother.”

“I just want the people I love to love each other.”

“That only happens in fairy tales.”

“No, no, it doesn’t. I won’t believe it. I won’t let it be like that.”

“Please, Amber, just leave me be. I know what I’m doing.” And right there was the biggest lie of all.

While Amber went to collect her things, Flo was drawn to the porch, her eyes fixed on the dark shape of Rob’s back. She knew the tilt of his head, knew that her words had hurt him. And she felt guilty, despite the pain which she still nurtured and kept close—because how else could she protect herself?

“I’m sorry, Rob. That came out harsher than I meant it to.”

His shoulders relaxed a little, and he turned slightly and looked over his shoulder at her. The dim yellow light of the outside light caught his face. It made his gaze warmer somehow. She swallowed.

“It’s OK. I only hope that one day you’ll forgive me.”

Amber’s arrival on the porch, carrying too many bags, saved Flo from answering. Amber juggled the bags as she tried to pull on her raincoat. Flo avoided Rob’s eyes, but could feel his gaze on her as if it were a physical thing. It had always been like that. Some things, it seemed, never changed.

Amber yelped as a drip turned into a river of water as it broke through the rust in the porch roof. Was it Flo’s imagination or was there more rain gushing through the holes in the porch? Amber put up her umbrella and grinned at Flo. “I’ll be around again as soon as I can. But we’ve made a start.” She gripped Flo’s arm. “And don’t forget to look for the key for the—”

A tearing sound from above interrupted Amber. Rob and Amber looked up. With one quick movement, Rob pushed Amber back into the hall, where she stumbled into Flo’s arms as the porch roof came crashing down along with a waterfall of rain.

Without a thought, Flo rushed out into the pouring rain and grabbed Rob’s arm as he threw aside a rusting piece of corrugated iron, which had narrowly missed his head. He pointed to it, his eyes ablaze.

“Are you OK?” shouted Flo above the sound of the thundering rain. She could hardly see him in the gloom, as the porch light had gone the same way as the roof. All she could see were angry eyes and rain-slicked hair and body.

“Amber could have been killed, Flo! Amber or you! This has got to stop right now!”

She released her grip on his arm and stepped away. “I guess you are OK.”

“Come in, you two!” shouted Amber from the hall. “You’re both going to get soaked.”

“Too late for that,” said Flo, relieved to release Rob’s angry gaze and step back into the house. She busied herself, taking off her over-shirt and tossing it into the tray meant for umbrellas. She kept her gaze averted for a moment as she tried to slow her pounding heart. Rob was right, but she’d be damned if she’d admit it. Suddenly, she felt the tight grip of Rob’s hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t turn away from me again, Flo. This time it’s serious. This place is a death trap, and it’s about time you did something about it.”

She lifted her chin angrily. “Don’t you think I’m trying?” She took his hand and pulled it from her shoulder. “Don’t you think I work every moment of every day to earn money to keep me, my house, my garden afloat?”

“It’s sinking now,” murmured Amber after peering out at the soggy lawn. She shot Flo an apologetic look. But Flo’s gaze was firmly on Rob, who held up his hand to pacify her.

“Don’t you hold up your hand to me, Robert Connelly, as if I’m some kind of mad dog that needs calming down!”

“He’s only trying to help, Flo,” said Amber, looking anxiously from one to the other. Flo sighed, exasperated. She knew Amber hated scenes, especially scenes between people she loved. Which meant virtually everyone in Amber’s world.

“I know, but I don’t need help.” She turned away because she didn’t want either of them to see she was lying or to see that her eyes were filled with tears. She waited for one of them to contradict the lie. But neither said anything. It was up to her. She looked up to the ornate plaster ceiling and blinked, willing the tears to disappear. She’d read somewhere that you couldn’t cry if you looked up. She turned to them slowly and gave them a weak, rueful smile.

“Perhaps it would be more accurate to say I don’t want help.”

“No one wants help, Flo,” said Rob, in a deep soothing voice which made a small place, deep inside of her, melt a little. “But sometimes you have to take it. You give to people all the time. It’s about time you accepted something from them.”

Damn. She couldn’t stop her lips from trembling. She didn’t trust herself to speak. All she could do was nod, as she thought about all the work which needed doing on the house.

She sniffed and cleared her throat. “Well, I guess the porch…” she trailed off as her voice threatened to break.

“The porch, yes,” said Amber, gamely poking her head out the open door. “That would be an excellent start. Very good indeed. Yes.” She nodded, over-keen to get this scene over and move things onto a pleasanter footing.

Flo couldn’t help smiling, understanding exactly what Amber was doing, and caught Rob’s answering smile. “It would be a good start,” she said to Rob.

For a moment, that little place inside of her which had melted at his voice, melted a little more under the tender gaze of his eyes. Then Amber moved, and the spell was broken.

“Brilliant!” said Amber.

Rob looked from Amber to Flo once more. “I’ll be back in the morning to assess the damage. We’ll have it fixed in no time.”

“But I can’t—”

“I don’t want money. Actually, you’ll be doing me a favor. I have skilled men waiting to begin work on a project in Christchurch. They can work here until the next project is ready.”

He stepped away and turned to look outside. “Let’s get going, Amber. I’ll see you tomorrow, Flo. Bright and early.”

“Right,” Flo said. “And thank you!” she called out to Rob and Amber’s receding backs as they ran across the soggy lawn toward the front gate where Rob’s four-wheel drive was waiting. Rob waved a hand in acknowledgement before opening the gate for Amber.

Flo watched them leave. Then she glanced across at where she’d seen the man earlier and briefly wondered whether he’d been looking at her—it had certainly appeared that he’d been looking at the house—or whether it was a random moment. Random, she decided as her gaze turned up to the open sky where once the porch roof had been. The entire structure had twisted off its steel supports.

Rob had been right. It could have been very serious if he hadn’t pushed Amber out of the way. She shuddered at the thought of Amber being hurt. She would never have forgiven herself. And if Rob had been standing slightly to the left… She closed her eyes with a gasp as she felt the pain which he would have felt. It sliced inside her and in that moment she knew she’d never be free of Rob Connelly. Whether she liked it or not, and she didn’t, he occupied a place in her heart which would be forever his.

But that didn’t mean she’d risk the pain of rejection again. Guilt motivated Rob—that much was clear. If he’d left her once for another woman, he could do it again. And that would kill her.

Bright and early, she thought, as she gave one last sweeping glance around the garden, being hammered by the rain. In the meantime, she thought, as she closed the door on the rain, she had work to do. She had guests to feed, rooms to clean, baking to do for the café. And then there was the decorating, the accounts, potting the plants she sold at the weekend market—the list was endless. She felt as if she were treading water with one arm tied behind her back and she was slowly—inch by inch—slipping under.

Bright and early, she repeated Rob’s words. Despite her initial determination to keep Rob Connelly out of her life, she felt relieved. Maybe, just maybe, he’d just thrown her a lifeline.

***