Love Me, Love My Sister

By Elli Buchanan

It's been 10 years since Beth Taylor has seen the man she secretly gave her heart and body to as a teenager, and now he's her boss.

Their relationship grew from the letters that passed between them when he was fighting in Vietnam and she was a high school senior; but he believed the letters where coming from Beth's beautiful older sister Jennifer, whom he had met in a Sydney nightclub the night before he was deployed.

Can Beth put her feelings behind her and work with Nic?

When Jennifer comes to town with Nic in her predatory sights, will Nic forgive the woman he believes broke his heart and again fall under her spell?

Can Beth stand by and watch it happen or should she tell him the truth of the deception she and her sister committed all those years ago?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elli Buchanan
• Release date: Dec 13, 2015
• ISBN: 9781502247476

Elli Buchanan

The ideas for several stories came about when my man and I were 'floating around on a boat' in the Mediterranean for 16 months. Plenty of time for the creative juices to flow and undoubtedly the experience of a lifetime, but before any of these ideas became fully fledged books; we returned to Australia and the 'real world' of jobs and in my case, opening a small business. Nearly 5 years later, the business sold (loved, but its time had passed) and now time to write again. 

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Love Me, Love My Sister

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Elli Buchanan

PUBLISHED BY:

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Copyright © 2014

Revised 2015

www.booksbyellibuchanan.com

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All rights reserved.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Books by Elli Buchanan

Romance Novella

Love me, Love My Sister

Re-Runners Series

Re-Runners – First Life

Re-Runners – Second Life

Re-Runners – Third Life

Part 1

Re-Runners – Third Life

Part 2

Click here to view Re-Runners VIDEO BOOK TRAILER

Or www.booksbyellibuchanan.com/rerunners-video.html

––––––––

The Sky Kingdom Short Story Series

(Co-authored with Sierra Mullins)

Paranormal Shifter Romance

Forbidden Mortal

Story 1

Hawk’s Desire

Story 2

Where Loyalty Lies

Story 3

Final Flight

Story 4

The Sky Kingdom Box Set

Short Story

Paranormal Romance

The Cursed Arrow

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Many thanks to my partner Marc Peters for his welcome constructive criticism and editing panache. Kirsten McClure, my computer techno-genius and ideas girl in all things pretty (web page, cover design, etc etc etc) – Her brilliance just goes on and on.

CONTENTS

1982 - Sydney - Australia

1971 – 11 years earlier - Brisbane

1982 - Sydney

1971 - Letters to Vietnam

1972 - Return from Vietnam - Brisbane - 11.05pm

1972 - The next morning

1982 - Manly Beach - Sydney

1982 - Baxter Constructions

1979 - London

1980 - Beth & Marco

1982 - Mid-week morning - Manly Beach

Saturday Night - Cocktail Party

Jennifer

Monday morning

Monday Night

Opera House Restaurant - Monday night

Tuesday morning

Tuesday - Wednesday

Thursday morning

5pm Thursday

Thursday Evening

Kings Cross - Sydney

Friday Morning

Nic

Friday Night

Saturday

Seeking out Sally - Manly Beach

Tuesday to Friday - Nic

Beth

9pm - At the Gallery - Nic

At the Gallery - Beth

‘The Truth Shall Set You Free’

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1982 - Sydney - Australia

Beth felt unsettled. Coming face to face with Nicholas Baxter a week before she had expected, had not been a part of her plans; nor was meeting him in his office in fifteen minutes. She wasn’t ready for this.

Her initial discussion with Michael Masters, the General Manager of Baxter Constructions had gone well. They had head-hunted her, after all. This was her dream job and she’d already decided that a teenage infatuation wasn’t going to keep her from it.

Michael’s casual announcement that CEO Nic Baxter had arrived back from Singapore earlier that day had sent her into a spin of emotions she hadn’t expected.

At least a coffee and a chat with Michael had steadied her nerves, but not enough. She knew that as the new head of the Interior Design department, she would be expected to have regular meetings with senior staff... and that included Nic, but just not yet!

Not ready.. not ready. The mantra played over and over in her head.

Beth had been involved in several government projects since her return from the UK over two years ago and despite Baxter Constructions being the foremost private company in the area of environmentally positive construction, she had so far managed to avoid coming across Nic Baxter in a professional or private setting. But this job was a great career leap for her; to be in charge of the Interior Design arm of the company and with the promise of complete creative control. It was what she wanted and Baxter Constructions was the leader in this field. The unfortunate fact that the owner happened to be Nic Baxter was a problem she believed she could handle. She’d been so confident that she was mentally and emotionally prepared for this meeting, but the racing of her pulse told another story.

Michael stood and opened his office door. ‘You look a little tense. I promise he won’t bite, despite his reputation,’ he joked. ‘I’ll give you some time alone and then meet you on the top floor in fifteen minutes.’

oooooo

Beth stared at her reflection in the mirror of the staff bathroom. She felt sick with nerves and her face was drawn and pale. She quickly began digging into her handbag for makeup to improve the pasty pallor of her skin. She had ten minutes left before she was due in Nic Baxter’s office. Her hands shook as she tried to apply her lip-gloss.

‘Maybe the coffee didn’t help after all,’ she mumbled. Her green eyes looked huge in her face and she gave her cheeks a pinch to encourage some color. What surprised her most was her reaction to the news that Nic had arrived back early.

Ten years is enough time to get over a schoolgirl crush. I am over it – I AM.

Stepping back to get a better view of her reflection, Beth began a silent observation. Tall and slender she may be, but still a curvaceous woman; not a skinny eighteen year old. A woman who had seen the world and at twenty-eight was one of the most sought after specialists in the new area of ‘environmental design’. Her hand reached up to smooth her hair, fashioned in a perfect chignon. The severe style was flattering and emphasized her high cheekbones and determined chin. No baby-faced chubbiness there. No, Nic Baxter would not recognize her from the brief glimpse he had of her all those years ago. As for the night they had spent together then, he would never make the connection. In the darkness of the room he thought she had been her sister Jennifer.

She smiled confidently at her reflection and ran her hands over her smart designer suit.

Stop thinking Beth, and BREATHE.

Minutes later Beth entered the outer office to the penthouse suite and was greeted by a hearty voice, ‘Well, you must be Elizabeth Taylor. A more beautiful namesake there’s never been. Your mother’s choice or your fathers? She is my favorite movie star... Elizabeth Taylor that is. They don’t make stars like that anymore. My, you’re a tall one, my dear.’ The introduction was delivered in an Irish brogue, without pause and at shotgun speed.

Beth took the hand that was offered by the rotund woman with the big smile.

‘I’m Dulcey Porter, but everyone around here calls me Mrs P. I’m Mr Baxter’s personal assistant.’ She waved Beth over to a lounge against the wall. ‘Have a seat, my dear. He won’t be long.’

Beth guessed that the woman must be about sixty years of age and looked as though she would be more at home in her kitchen with a hoard of grandchildren at her heels. Her opinion soon changed as she watched with fascination as Mrs P simultaneously worked at her computer, slipped through a mountain of files, answered the phone and carried out a conversation with her, all without missing a beat.

They both turned to the sound of the elevator doors opening. Michael strode through the room with a big smile and headed in Mrs P’s direction. He gathered her up in a big bear hug. ‘Ahh Mrs P, I haven’t seen you all day,’ he laughed.

Dulcey chuckled and swatted his arm. ‘Off with you, Mr Too Charming for His Own Good. I’m trying to present a professional front for our new Department Head and now you’ve gone and made me look silly.’

‘No-one could ever make you look silly Mrs P. We all know this company would collapse in a heap without you.’

Michael turned to Beth. ‘I didn’t ask before Elizabeth, but as we are all on a first name basis here, except for Mrs P of course’. He turned and winked at Dulcey. ‘What name do you prefer? Elizabeth?’

Beth smiled and thought for a moment. ‘Professionally I use Elizabeth, but my family call me Beth.’

‘Then Beth it is,’ answered Michael. ‘We hope we will soon feel like family to you.’

Mrs P smiled at him. They obviously had a great working relationship. Beth had noticed the same camaraderie was evident with all the staff she had met so far. I’m going to enjoy working here.

A soft beep sounded. Mrs P looked up from her keyboard. ‘You can go in now.’

Beth stood, squared her shoulders and pasted a smile on her face. She looked far more confident than she was feeling as she walked through the door Michael held open for her. A wall of glass displaying the magnificence of Sydney Harbor was the first thing she saw. She was mesmerized. Michael made himself comfortable on a leather sofa and indicated that she sit on one of the chairs fronting the large antique desk. Still standing, Beth quickly scanned the empty room and returned her gaze to the startling blue water and sky.

‘It’s hard to drag yourself away, isn’t it?’ a deep voice came from behind her.

She turned quickly, as Nic Baxter entered the office from a bathroom discreetly hidden behind a wall of mahogany paneling. Head bowed, he rubbed his head vigorously with a small hand towel. His hair was damp and darker than she remembered, but she could see the golden strands that ribboned through it. She was taken back to the first time she had seen him. The powerful, wide shoulders and trim waist were still there and he moved with the same smooth grace.

Couldn’t he have lost a bit of hair or developed a paunch, at least, Beth sighed to herself.

‘Please take a seat,’ he said as he moved behind the massive desk. ‘You’ll have to excuse me. I haven’t long arrived from overseas and needed a wakeup call, hence the head wetting.’

His jacket had been discarded over the back of the leather office chair and he had rolled his shirtsleeves to the elbow, exposing tanned, muscular arms, sprinkled with sun-bleached hair. She