Whispered Wishes by Sue Lilley
Three people are hiding secrets. Time is running out. Secrets can’t stay buried forever…
The reclusive millionaire is protecting his motherless young daughter. The last thing he needs is a romantic distraction. His new neighbour is an intrusion. Yet he can’t get her out of his head…
The ruthless celebrity photographer will stop at nothing and never looks back. He’s the fame-hungry darling of reality TV. But past demons are catching up with him and he’s clinging too close to the edge…
The woman has sworn off men forever. Duped and humiliated, she seeks refuge in her dream cottage in the middle of nowhere. But it’s almost derelict, far from the rural idyll she craves. The guy next door is maddening. A single dad, as hostile as he’s hot…
Then tragedy comes snapping at their heels…
The child goes missing. She’s alone in the depths of winter and the three are intent on blaming each other. After all that’s occurred, old hurts run deep and trust is not on the agenda. But they must team up to find her before it’s too late. Unless they bury their toxic past, they’ll squander all hope of a happy-ever-after.
If you like your relationships fiery and unpredictable, you won’t want to miss this suspenseful romance. Get right to the heart of this sizzling love triangle. An intriguing tale of bad choices and second chances.
Targeted Age Group:: adult
Heat/Violence Level: Heat Level 4 – R Rated
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
It was inspired by a real life encounter I witnessed on a train. He was a total surf-dude and she was a young executive lawyer type. They started off bickering but after three hours on the train, they were all over each other, clearly heading for a hotel. I was intrigued and desperate to follow them. But I reined in my stalker tendencies and wrote it down instead.
How Did You Come up With Your Characters?
I start with a situation between two people. I know why they’re there and where they’re trying to get to and then I develop them scene by scene. It’s like when you meet a new person. Only the external characteristics are visible at first then as you spend more time with them, you find out more about their background and personality. It’s their story I’m writing so for me that’s the best part of it and I have been known to walk around the house talking to them when I’m working through some dialogue. I particularly love a misunderstood rebel character, the bad boy with a soft centre. Who would love him enough to put up with that behaviour and still believe in him?
Book Sample
Olivia crushed every image of poor lost Katie, alone outside in the driving snow. She’d convinced herself the wind had sent her imagination wild. How would she bear it if she’d ignored the little girl tapping at her door?
Nathan was beating himself up. He stalked around her lounge, frantic hands tearing at his hair. Desperate to keep busy, she tidied the room. Her phone was under a magazine she hadn’t bothered to open. It was dead as a dodo again. What was wrong with the thing? She stuck it on charge in the kitchen, guilty that she could feel such relief to be out of the room.
Nathan wrenched the front door open. A blast of sleet spewed over him. She tried to pull him back but he swiped her hand away.
“I can’t sit here doing nothing. I need to be out there, searching for my daughter.”
“You’ve been out already. The police said wait.”
“So where are they?” He yanked up the zip on his battered green parka. The terror in his eyes challenged her to stop him. “This damn snow will cover every last footprint. When did it get this heavy?”
Then Bob appeared, hunched against the blizzard. He had Rufus with him. The dog struggled in the snow, deeper than its legs where it had drifted. What did that mean for Katie if she’d fallen and couldn’t get up? Olivia felt sick.
Bob closed the door behind him. Beneath the wind-burn on his cheeks, his pallor was ashen. “How far have you been? Down as far as the beck?”
“Why would she go down there?” Nathan growled, knuckles bloodless as he worried at his zip. “She’s terrified of the beck. Oh God! You think she fell in? This is your fault,” he lashed at Olivia. “If you’d bothered to put that fence up, this wouldn’t be happening.”
Tears stung her eyes. There was nothing she could say in her own defence.
“No need for that,” Bob said. “Far as I know, that land’s never been fenced.” He thumped a torch into Nathan’s palm. “She’ll be home before you know it. But let’s look anyway. Put your mind at rest.”
Olivia dreaded being alone with her morbid thoughts. But someone had to stay and wait for the police. The empty house echoed with Katie’s infectious chuckle. What if they never heard it again?
Nathan’s wishing well sat on its shelf, the hopeful gift neglected in the gloom of their falling-out. She stroked the inscription and made a wish, whispering in the shadows for Katie to be found unscathed…
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