Although he was raised in Scotland, Jim was by no means heading home. Dumbarton, place of his upbringing, held no pull for him now with his parents gone. They had put every penny they could aside for their sons. The brothers discovered after their parents’ deaths that this was the reason for their frugal existence. The modest town house they inherited on top of the savings had meant that Jim could buy himself a place, albeit small and a little run down. Although the money had always been intended to set him up in a home with Felicity, he’d sat on the money for years not daring to dip into it lest it be swallowed up on minor frivolities. But that home—their home—clearly was never meant to be.
The choice of his new location, Shieldaig in the West Highlands, was more of an escape. He had visited as a child with his family when they were on holiday, but he didn’t remember too much about it. His memories were all in the family photos he’d kept. He just knew that it was a peaceful, almost undiscovered place, certainly more his pace of life than London. Because he had no memories of Flick here, he knew he could start afresh.
Wipe the slate clean.
There would be nothing around each corner to remind him of what a mess he had made of things. He could reinvent himself if he so wished. Not that he would do that. He wasn’t pretentious. That had kind of been the problem really. He couldn’t pretend to be anyone but himself and this hadn’t been good enough. He’d come to realise, in recent years, that Flick was out of his league. But he also knew that he wasn’t a bad person. Other than a failed marriage he had nothing to be ashamed of. He had loved his wife more than life itself. He’d tried so damned hard to fit in with her life and all its glamour. But he simply wasn’t that good an actor.
His brother, Euan, had escaped too. He had emigrated to Australia to be with the woman of his dreams whom he had met two years ago whilst travelling through Europe.
Jim was slightly envious of Euan’s relationship with Tara. She was very easy going and fun to be around. Every bit the beach babe, she had a petite frame, sun bleached curly hair, and eyes as green as the brightest emeralds. Euan had always been into sports and had excelled in football at school. He had been travelling around Europe with some of his football team mates when he was introduced to Tara in a bar in Germany by one of his friends.
Euan was due a visit to the UK. He had promised Jim, during their phone call a few days ago that he would be back at some point this year and would be bringing Tara back with him.
“It’ll be great to see you, bro! I can’t wait! I’m looking forward to seeing where you end up living now that you’re rid of Cruella De Ville!” Euan chuckled. He had actually always seemed to like Felicity but in recent years that clearly had changed.
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Genre – Contemporary Romance
Rating – PG-17
More details about the author
Connect with Lisa J. Hobman on Facebook & Twitter
Website www.lisajhobman.co.uk
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