Twisted Love

By Marilyn McPherson

Three relationships. Two chance meetings. One extraordinary tale of romance, desire and the ultimate betrayal.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marilyn McPherson
• Release date: Jan 18, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311962850

Marilyn McPherson

I live in Melbourne, Australia and have a full-time office job, but my real passion is writing. I write on the train to and from work most days in a notepad and type it up on the weekend. My email address is [e-mail] if you want to email me about any of my books. Thanks to everyone who has left a review.

Book preview

Twisted Love

Marilyn McPherson

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2014 by Marilyn McPherson

Smashwords Edition License Notes

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Books by this author:

A Family Affair

A Family Affair - First Born

A Family Affair - Next of Kin

The Faithful Watcher

Stray

Lottie’s Patch

Twisted Love

Note to Reader

This novel is written in Australian English.

Acknowledgement

Thank you to chilombiano for use of his image.

Chapter 1

Kyle

Kyle Thomas stood mutely at the pedestrian crossing, his eyes carefully assessing the oncoming traffic. The roads were busy. Already that day he’d witnessed two examples of erratic driver behaviour. Perhaps people were anxious about getting caught in the rush-hour traffic. Kyle didn’t trust the drivers to stop as they were supposed to, and only stepped onto the road once he was sure they had seen him.

He didn’t have time to be injured. There were too many things to be done and his to do list was long. Organising a wedding was more involved than he’d imagined.

That morning he had visited a well-known city bakery, prized for its original and extravagant creations. He had ordered a grand wedding cake with eight tiers, decorated with yellow peonies flowing from layer to layer. It was the sort of cake that people would photograph and tell their friends about afterwards. It was expensive too, the sales person pricing it four times higher than what Kyle thought was reasonable. However, he did not argue, not overly minding the blatant overcharge. There would be no expenses spared for the wedding. It would be beautiful and romantic – a day to remember always for Liv and her family and friends.

After that appointment, Kyle visited the country winery where Liv and he would say their vows and hold their reception afterwards. It was on a large rural estate, and had taken him over an hour to reach. If the weather was kind to them on the day, they would be married near the rose garden. If it rained, they would marry in the small white wedding chapel perched upon a hill providing a magnificent vista stretching to the nearby mountains. Both options were good, and Kyle was pleased to find the estate as beautiful in reality as it had appeared online.

Kyle met his event coordinator and together they created a running sheet for the day, making decisions about the menu and table decorations along the way. He didn’t like to ponder decisions too long, and the coordinator had said how impressed she was by the progress they’d made. Usually, she’d said, couples spent months agonising over various issues. But Kyle felt comfortable with quick decisions. It provided a certain comfort. There wasn’t time to linger on this or that. He’d told Liv the event could be organised quickly, and he didn’t want to give her any reason to back out or postpone the date. If everything stayed on track, it wouldn’t be long until he and Liv were married.

Liv was busy at university, focussed on completing her second year of a business degree. And as the short engagement was at Kyle’s insistence, he agreed to organise all the details that a wedding required. But if the truth was known, he was enjoying the process. Luckily he wasn’t marrying the kind of woman who’d dreamed of her wedding day since she was little. Liv wasn’t concerned about colour themes or whether chocolate or fruit cake was served. Her stated priorities were choosing a beautiful dress and writing the vows that they would say. Kyle was pleased to let her organise both of those items, but he encouraged her not to leave either until the last minute. After all, the wedding was only three months away. If there was no sign of progress by the coming weekend, perhaps he could print some sample vows and maybe a list of bridal shops. He could sort them by proximity to the university which was where she spent so much of her time.

When they’d met six months ago, Kyle knew instantly that she was the one. He was in a bar, and there was Liv surrounded by a group of women. She’d worn white, and he couldn’t take his eyes off her. She looked as virginal as freshly fallen snow. He bought her and her friends a round of drinks. It was an easy token introduction, and provided him with the chance to speak to her. He’d made a joke and she’d laughed. From that point he did his best to charm her, and later that night she’d agreed to exchange phone numbers.

The next day, he called her and sent one dozen red roses to her house. Their romance had been natural and easy – as if it was meant to be.

He waited until one month had passed before proposing. Of course it was sooner than most men did such things, but he couldn’t wait a day longer. She had declined of course, and her response had been expected. She told him that two people getting engaged when they hardly knew each other was reckless. But not to be deterred, Kyle proposed regularly for the following five months until one day she said yes. He had wooed her entire family during that time, ensuring he also had their blessing.

As he crossed the road, Kyle thought about the two remaining tasks for the day. He was going to try on suits for an hour, and then attend an appointment he’d made with the local florist. His order would be large, as flowers were required for the bouquet, table settings and lapels. He also planned for large bouquets to be sent to all the women in Liv’s family on the night before the wedding. It would be a thank you for raising such a beautiful and special young woman. Only the best florist would be selected for his business, and if that meant he had to visit every florist in town, so be it.

But just then the lists and planning in Kyle’s head faded into the background. In front of him was an elderly man in the process of leaving the post office. Unexpectedly he staggered from the door and began to wobble dangerously. There wasn’t a moment to waste. Moving quickly, Kyle caught the man before his body hit the ground.

Are you okay? Kyle asked, trying to guess what might be wrong.

Clearly the old man was still conscious, but very dazed. I’m diabetic, he whispered in a barely audible voice. Light-headed. Need something sweet.

Kyle knew enough of diabetes to realise that liquid sugar was best. He looked around for a shop from which to buy a drink. Juice would be perfect, and the old man would soon recover after drinking it.

Luckily there was a café nearby. With the old man’s arm around his shoulder, he carefully guided him in that direction and helped him inside. A few customers watched the scene with interest, as Kyle and the old man stumbled towards a booth. Their entrance had created an unexpected dramatic interlude.

A waitress approached to see if there was something she could do.

He needs some juice, Kyle told her. Please hurry. He is diabetic and needs something quickly.

She dashed away and returned soon after with a tall glass of pink juice and a straw. It’s cranberry, she said, handing it to the old man.

He took a slow sip and then another straight after. After a couple of further gulps, he pushed it away. That should be enough. Just need to wait a couple of minutes now.

Kyle thanked the waitress and took a note out of his wallet to leave on the table. It was clear that the old