Chasing Sunset

By LM Tate

Struggling to make a living as an artist while funding her sister's education, introvert Beth takes on a lodger. She was not prepared for Dominic, her new enigmatic but moody tenant.

Successful and driven, Dominic just needed somewhere to live for a short while. What he didn't expect, and definitely didn't want, was a bohemian, bleeding heart like Beth ruining his plans.

Can Beth and Dominic overcome their contempt for one another? Will opposites attract or are their worlds just too far apart?

• Language: English
• Publisher: LM Tate
• Release date: Mar 7, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463946596

LM Tate

I'm a book addict who lives and breathes romance. I have just released my third book Love Thy Nemesis. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you so much for checking out my page.

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CHASING SUNSET

L. M. TATE

Contents

Title page

Acknowledgement

Copyright

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Acknowledgement

A big thank you to my husband for all his support on this journey, for being my tea buddy and for always pushing me forward. Thank you also to the amazing people who read my first book as this spurred me on to keep creating.

Copyright © 2020 L.M. Tate

All rights reserved.

This is a work of fiction. Characters, places and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.

Chapter 1

The paint brush moved smoothly across the canvas creating an orange sunset over Venice. Though I’d never been, I imagined how the magical city would look. Every brush stroke relieved my stress a little bit more. If only I could create my own world like the ones I brought to life in my paintings. Mazzy Starr wistfully sang Fade Into You on my phone and there was a sense of longing in her voice, of chasing something unreachable, that I could relate to. The song was interrupted by a call and looking at the screen I could see it was my friend Seline.

Hi Seline.

Beth, where have you been? I’ve been trying to call you for days.

Sorry, you know what it’s like when I get into a painting. Is everything okay?

Yes, everything’s fine. I was just worried about you. Now Jenny’s not there I worry you’re on your own all the time with just your paintings for company. She wasn’t far off the truth. My sister Jenny moved out not long ago to attend university in London and it was true that I probably did need to get out more.

I’m fine honestly. I’d been friends with Seline since we both start working at Milton Bank nine years ago.

Have you managed to sell any yet? asked Seline sympathetically.

A couple of smaller ones but I only started selling them a couple of months ago. It takes time.

I know Beth but you need a living and your redundancy money must be running out. I know mine has. It’s lucky I have Joe. We’d both been made redundant the year before after eight years at the bank. The branch was closing and there weren’t enough jobs at other branches to keep even half the staff on. It had forced me to pursue my dream of making money from my art. It just wasn’t very lucrative yet.

Well I don’t have expensive taste like you Seline, so I’m doing okay. What I meant was that I was scrimping and not spending a penny unless it was absolutely necessary.

Yeah but I don’t have a spoilt little sister to cater for. Those tuition fees for her dancing degree must be costing a fortune. It was true but my eighteen-year-old sister Jenny only had me to rely on. Although I was only eighteen myself when our parents were killed in a car accident, Jenny was just nine at the time. Since their deaths I’d had been my sister’s legal guardian.

It’s fine honestly. I have a bit of time until the next instalment is due. I was delighted my sister was doing what she’d always wanted to do but the dance school in London was really expensive. On top of my mortgage payments for my house where I lived in Breckford, it left money very tight but I hoped my larger paintings would start to sell at some point.

Have you thought about taking in a lodger? Seline asked.

What? No. You know I’m not good with strangers.

Yes but think about it. You have a spare room on top of the one Jenny isn’t even using. Why not make some money from it?

I don’t know. It’d be weird having a stranger in my home and what if they turned out to be some sort of sexual predator?

If you’re worried, just rent it out to a woman. There’s an agency you can go through and it vets people first to make sure they’re not dodgy. I’ll send you the web address.

You’ve already been researching this?

Well what else am I supposed to do when I’m not shopping for shoes? Seline joked. She could’ve been a kept woman if she’d wanted and could’ve easily spent all her days shopping but I knew Seline was helping her husband Joe with his business accounts. My friend was extremely clever and irritable when she didn’t have a project to work on. In fact, it sounded as though she was already helping Joe’s company become even more profitable. Just promise me you’ll look into it. You have your own three-bedroom house. I just think you may as well use it and you never know, you might actually enjoy the company.

Okay I’ll look into it. I’m not promising I’ll do it but send me the link. I knew Seline wouldn’t let it go until I at least agreed to consider it.

It makes financial sense and you know it.

Later that week not only had I set up an account with the agency but I had a potential lodger called Dominique interested in renting the room. In fact, I was meeting Dominique for an informal interview that coming Saturday, so I had three days to make sure the room was perfect. It was almost as big as my own bedroom but I wanted it to feel cosy, so I bought brand new bedding, a lamp and a thick comfortable rug in neutral tones. In between painting I’d spent time writing up some house rules on the advice of the agent. It all seemed a bit formal but I’d never had a lodger before, so I had to assume it was a perfectly normal process. I hoped Dominique was friendly and liked the room. My sister Jenny had been in touch the day before to say she needed money for yet another dance outfit for a show that was coming up, so the costs were mounting up. I knew I should’ve reminded her about getting a job but I didn’t have the heart burst her bubble as she sounded excited about the show. If this lodger worked out, it would relieve some of the financial stress, so I was keeping my fingers crossed. Friday night I couldn’t sleep with nervousness but told myself if Dominique didn’t like me or the house there would be other people who wanted a room.

As a big music fan my walls had framed record covers, along with my artwork, dotted around the house. My style was a little bohemian and may not suit someone like Dominique who I’d been informed was a marketing manager and was no doubt really sophisticated. As I waited on Saturday morning to meet the woman who could be the answer to my financial troubles and maybe even a friend if I was lucky, I wondered if maybe I should’ve taken down some of my art and made the house more minimalistic. It was too late now as she was due in the next ten minutes. Giving myself one final look in the mirror, I wasn’t sure what first impression I’d make. I checked my light make-up that surrounded my amber eyes hadn’t smudged and I had no lipstick on my teeth. I wore my favourite flowered teal tea dress with ballet flats. It was turning to spring and was a little warmer, so I’d pinned my long dark hair up loosely to keep it off my neck.

The colours in the sky were vivid at this time of the year. That’s what had inspired my latest collection of paintings which depicted sunsets across the world. Worrying the smell of oil paint from my studio might be off-putting, I spritzed the rooms with vanilla spray and had just put the bottle away when I heard a car pull up. Looking out of the living room window I saw an expensive black Audi parked outside. It must’ve been Dominique and as I’d expected she had expensive taste. I turned to look around at my humble house which I’d poured my love and most of my savings into. While I loved it, I had to admit it was no show home. My thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell.

Forcing my face into a smile to I cover my nervousness, I walked quickly to the door. However, when I opened it my eyes travelled upwards and the person on the other side was not at all who I expected. Staring down at me was an extremely tall and very muscular man in a grey fitted shirt, dark grey jeans and expensive dark boots that were deliberately made to look worn but really probably cost a fortune. Confused, I wondered if Dominique had brought her boyfriend, so I tried to look past his large form to see if my would-be lodger was standing behind him.

Beth I’m assuming? he asked in a deep voice and gave a polite smile.

Erm yes. How can I help you? His slicked back sandy coloured hair just reached the bottom of his ears and his furrowed brow made him look almost wolfish. His intense green eyes made me feel a little self-conscious and I gaped at him without saying anything.

I have an appointment about the room. My name’s Dominic. I thought you were expecting me? He looked down at me and raised his eyebrows expectantly.

My mouth opened, then closed and opened again in confusion. Then it registered he said he name was Dominic. The woman at the agency had definitely said it was Dominique. Flustered and not knowing what to do, I said, Please come in.

He gave me a polite nod and I attempted to move out of the way so his huge body could get past me in the hallway. I closed the door behind me and blew out a breath thinking I was going to kill Seline for talking me into this. Maybe he’d hate the place and wouldn’t want to move in anyway. I could always let him look around and then say afterwards that I’d given the room to someone else. Collecting my thoughts, I followed him into the living room. To say I felt awkward was an understatement. I wasn’t the most social person, possibly even socially awkward and to have an Adonis in my living room surrounded by my weird things freaked me out.

May I sit down? he asked in his deep well-spoken London accent.

Yes, please, I answered in my not-so-eloquent northern twang and he sat down on the couch.

His eyes cast over the paintings on the walls and he commented, You like art. It wasn’t a question but a statement and there didn’t seem to be any distain in his voice. I knew there were too many paintings on the walls. The ones I hadn’t managed to sell had nowhere to go and it seemed a shame to lock them all away in my studio so a lot of them ended up on my wall. I must’ve looked like some sort of strange hoarder.

I like to paint, I said feeling embarrassed and clenching my hands together as I sat down in the chair next to the couch.

They’re yours? he asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

Yeah. Mostly landscapes of places I’ve never been to, I said depreciatively with a nervous laugh. They don’t have to stay up. I just haven’t gotten around to finding them a permanent home yet. I wasn’t sure why I was trying to please him; it wasn’t like I was planning on letting him stay. Not that he’d want to anyway.

I coughed and remembered what I should be doing. Would you like to see the room? I asked.

Yes. That would be good.

I could feel the heat of him at my back as we walked up the stairs and it made me nervous. He didn’t seem like a serial killer but then I imagined serial killers never did seem like murderers while they were luring you into a false sense of security. It was a different sort of nervousness really, more self-consciousness from having an attractive man walking so close behind me. While I personally thought the spare room was very comfortable, I doubted it would be to his taste. Not that it mattered because he wasn’t going to be moving in anyway. Dominic followed me into the room and cast his scrutinising eyes over the solid wooden double bed, plush quilt, beige cover and thick brown checked blanket. There was an oak wooden desk in the room and matching wardrobes. It was more country cottage than city sleek. As an eternal people pleaser, I wanted him to like the room, even if he wasn’t moving in.

Dominic looked down at me, nodded and said, I’ll take it. If you’ll have me.

I was so stunned that he wanted to take the room that I just nodded without thinking. Sure, I’ll have you, I squeaked then flushed in mortification when I realised what I’d said. I mean, sure you can have the room. Inside I was kicking myself for not being able to lie and say I had some other people wanting to view the room.

Great, he said. Shall we go over the paperwork? Dominic stared at me expectantly and I found myself nodding again. His brow furrowed and I realised I needed to say something sensible. I hadn’t meant to agree to let him stay but I couldn’t find it in me to say no.

Yes, of course, I answered, and he followed me downstairs. Although I was trying to take charge, my hands were trembling a little as I dug out the rules of the house. He would no doubt think they were ridiculous and I couldn’t believe I’d taken the advice of the agent in preparing them.

On reading through the list however, Dominic said, Yes that all seems reasonable to me.

Within half an hour we had the forms signed, agreed the rent and he was set to move in the weekend after. It turned out he only needed to rent the room for the next nine months or so while he was on secondment with his marketing firm. He was already a month into the secondment but had found it difficult booking a new hotel room each week, so he decided to rent a room. He told me he’d be spending his weekends back home in London and just needed somewhere during the week to sleep and do work. It actually sounded like the perfect arrangement for me.

Do you need me to arrange any help with your things? I offered.

No, it’s fine. I’ll only be bringing my clothes. My partner, Tara, can always send anything on if I need it. So, he had a girlfriend, well that actually made things easier as I wouldn’t have to be as nervous around him. When Dominic left, I was still in shock. I had a new lodger, who wasn’t a woman but was absolutely gorgeous and who also had a girlfriend.

Chapter 2

Having looked after my sister from the age of eighteen, I’d never lived with a man before so the first week sharing a house with Dominic felt strange. In fairness, my routine hadn’t changed that much as I hardly saw him. He was at the gym and went to work before I even woke up. Generally, he stayed in work until late and when he did get home, he was in his room working. When I got up of a morning, I only knew he’d been home because his dishes were washed, and he’d used the washing machine. I felt bad making an evening meal for just myself, so I offered a couple of times to put some food aside for when he got home but he always declined. The message was clear, he wanted to use the house as somewhere to sleep and work, much like a hotel room. He didn’t want it to be a home. He had a home down south. Everything he brought with him could fit easily into a suitcase. On the few occasions when I passed him on the stairs, he gave a polite greeting but kept it formal. He always wore a smart suit or shirt with trousers and I never saw him in anything casual as he didn’t spend his weekends at the house. It was silly but I couldn’t help but feel a little rejected that he didn’t want to interact with me whatsoever. When those thoughts crossed my mind, I pushed them aside and reminded myself that I was doing this for the extra income. I was his landlord and he paid me money to live there. He didn’t owe me any of his time.

So, how’s Mr Gorgeous, Silent and Moody? asked Selina when she called one morning. Dominic and I were three weeks into our arrangement and had barely spoken a few sentences to each other.

He’s fine. I think.

Still no conversation then? No cuddles on the couch? she joked.

Seline, you know he has a girlfriend and believe me he’d never be interested in me even if he was single. I think I felt less invisible when I lived on my own.

Well think about the money. I hope it’s not all going to go on that sister of yours.

Please leave her alone. She’s been through a lot.

So have you and you’re not spoilt.

I sighed having had this conversation many times before with Seline. I didn’t dare tell her that Jenny had called the night before asking for more travel money for a different show she was taking part in. On top of her tuition fees, she was costing me a fortune and I really hoped she got a job soon.

How about you? How’s life as a pampered housewife going? I asked her, knowing she was far from the stay at home and look pretty wife.

I’ve actually had a great idea for a new sideline for Joe’s business. I’m working out a way to pitch it to him. This could really set us up for our retirement.

You’re twenty-eight. You have years to think about that. The thought also made me nervous because I’d cashed in my pension from the bank and used it along with some of my redundancy money to upgrade the dilapidated bathroom and install central heating in the house.

We’re not getting any younger Beth. Talking of which, if Dominic’s already taken, we need to find you a man.

Wanting to put an end to her idea, I groaned and said, I really have to go. This painting needs to be finished today. The last thing I needed was her trying to find me a boyfriend. After all, it was Seline’s fault that I’d ended up with a strange man living in my house who barely spoke to me. Oh and I think you should definitely speak to Joe about your business idea.

Do you think so? she asked excitedly.

Yeah go for it. If you think it’s worth a shot, I have full faith in you. She was genius and if she thought it was a good idea, it would work. Also, if Seline’s focus was on that, there would be less time for her to think about my love life or lack thereof.

That evening I was in my studio, on the ground floor next to the kitchen. I was painting a sunset over Barcelona while listening to Sharon

Reviews for Chasing Sunset

[Lee Min-jung · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love this book! I've lost count of how many times I read this. I also love the Blindsided. I found them first from Smashwords and look it up here. I hope the author would keep writing more stories like this. I was so glad I found another of her book published here, will surely read it as well. ?