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Luca’s jaw moved as he swallowed. He was staring at her, his eyes unblinking. When he spoke his voice was low and loaded with emotion. ‘It’s been too long, El.’
Way too long—and the worst thing was that she hadn’t even noticed until today. She reached out to hug him, as she’d used to whenever they’d celebrated an exam pass or saved a patient. But Luca’s arms were suddenly tugging her in against his body, his head dipping so that his mouth found hers.
Ellie breathed deep, drawing him in as the heat and emotion swirling around them obscured everything in the world except them and this moment. Luca tasted of spices, of warm memories and of hot male. Surrendering to the need clawing through her, she focused on kissing him back.
As suddenly as it had started the kiss ended. Luca abruptly dropped his arms and stumbled backwards. ‘Ellie, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me.’ And then he was gone, racing back the way they’d come.
Her heart pounded hard and fast while her hands shook and her skin tightened with need. Luca. What had they done? Whatever it was, she wasn’t sorry. But she should be. Shouldn’t she …?
Do best friends change into lovers gradually or with a resounding thump? I went with the thump theory! Luca and Ellie haven’t seen each other for four years when they meet up by chance at an amputee clinic for children in Vientiane, Laos, and immediately both know their relationship has changed. Is it because of what’s gone on in their personal lives over the past years? Or have they woken up to something that might always have been simmering behind their friendship?
Laos is a beautiful country, which I had the opportunity to visit a few years back, and Vientiane is a busy but compact city full of colour and noise that made me smile all the time. The market where Luca and Ellie go shopping also kept me busy, buying leather bags and earrings. Then I visited Luang Prabang, where the night market is fabulous and the earrings … Well, I have quite a collection. So I had to send Ellie and Luca there, which is a defining moment in their relationship. They visit the bear sanctuary and ride the elephants—and fall further in love.
I hope you enjoy their journey—the emotional one, that is.
Feel free to drop by and tell me your thoughts at [email protected] or cruise by my site at suemackay.co.nz.
Cheers!
Sue
With a background of working in medical laboratories, and a love of the romance genre, it is no surprise that SUE MACKAY writes Mills & Boon Medical Romance stories. An avid reader all her life, she wrote her first story at age eight—about a prince, of course. She lives with her own hero in the beautiful Marlborough Sounds, at the top of New Zealand’s South Island, where she indulges her passions for the outdoors, the sea and cycling.
A December
to Remember
Sue MacKay
MILLS & BOON
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This one’s for Daphne Priest and Diane Passau—two women I’ve known most of my life and with whom I shared many experiences as we grew up.
Thanks for the catch-up lunch and may we share many more.
Hugs, Sue.
‘A deeply emotional, heart-rending story that will make you smile and make you cry. I truly recommend it—and don’t miss the second book: the story about Max.’
—HarlequinJunkie on The Gift of a Child
‘What a great book. I loved it. I did not want it to end. This is one book not to miss.’
—GoodReads on The Gift of a Child
Contents
