The classroom door opened. Late, Dennis Hobson thought, as he looked over the rim of his glasses, curious to see who it was. The girl who came in was a child he had never seen before though. The new girl, it must be her. What was her name again? Amanda Stanton? No, Esmeralda Stanton, but spelled differently, in two parts, Es Meralda. Who would give their child a name like that? All this going through his head in the two s...

ALEX   It turned out to be a mild concussion. The next day Alex stayed in bed with the curtains closed and the lights out. Louise came by several times to bring him food. She sat in a chair next to the bed, and when he was awake, they made small talk. No deep conversations yet, which was fine with Alex. Nevertheless, the small talk and her relaxed attitude had a good effect on him. The night of his fall, after the doctor...

ALEX   In the following weeks, the only good news was that Rob was almost never there. Apparently, he had meetings from New York to Hong Kong. Ever since he had heard Louise’s lovemaking, Alex had felt miserable. Well, miserable and terribly horny too. That was the problem. Some time ago he had seen a documentary about the Romans and their crossing of the Rubicon river. Nowadays, the commentator had explained, crossing th...

LOUISE   Louise too was thinking about the new dynamics around the house. She wasn’t as worried as Alex, but yes, some things had happened during the second week and it couldn’t hurt to carefully examine them. First, there was the other night of course. She didn’t know how much he had heard exactly, but seeing Alex’s face the next morning she suspected that it was quite a lot. He had had trouble looking her in the eye eve...

ALEX   A knock on the door told him she was here. This time he had been expecting her. She was dressed in lycra shorts, running shoes and a tight, blue top. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, her face looked natural and fresh. Even this early in the morning she looked terribly attractive. He followed her on the path that led into the forest where he’d been the day before. Now he had to run, though. At first, it was oka...

ALEX   The next day he needed to take a painting to some rich people in Saint Tropez. Louise wanted to come along, but she and Rob had a lunch appointment in Cannes first. Alex was supposed to pick her up in the restaurant at one o’clock. Because he was early he parked the van and explored Cannes on foot. He bought a can of Coke and some chocolate and walked to the beach. Cannes had less character than the old town of Nic...

ALEX   Alex’s first impression of Rob was not good at all. After they had shaken hands it took Alex about five minutes to see through the man and realize he was nothing but a smooth talker and a bragger, someone who was terribly full of himself. What on earth did Louise see in this guy, he wondered.  They chatted over coffee for about twenty minutes, but when Alex got back to his apartment he could only come to the conclu...

LOUISE   That night in bed Louise was reading the latest Peter Robinson thriller, but found it hard to concentrate on it. Her thoughts kept wandering and went from the next exhibition in her art gallery to Rob, who was coming home tomorrow and then to Alex, who had almost been here a week now. Marge, Alex’s mother had called her tonight to ask how things were going. ‘Alex only texts us to say that everything is cool and c...

Alex is beginning to feel at home in the south of France. He's got his dope, his own apartment, great weather and an easy job that generates some money. All is well except for the fact that Louise's personality and voluptuous body continue to confuse him.   ALEX   In the following week, Alex began to feel more and more at home. He explored his surroundings, biked to Grasse and even drove the minivan, which Louise had boug...

In the second chapter young Alex is moving to the south of France. He only has a vague, childhood memory of Louise, his former neighbor, and is surprised to see that she is not only very pretty, but also quite cool for an adult. One small problem though: why does he have trouble keeping his eyes off her curvy body?    ALEX ‘He’s a problem case, Marge,’ he heard his father say, just as he was about to roll a joint. ‘He’s t...

Around the time that agents Moore and Pires were following the Russians in Oxford Street, Kate Davenport was just a few blocks away in a lunchroom in Bond Street. She had been shopping all morning and almost arrived late for her appointment with Jasmine, her Canadian friend who was already seated at a table in the back. The two women hadn’t seen each other in ages, so the first half hour of the conversation was spent on c...

This is the first chapter of Awakening, the first book in the Secret Desires in France series. The three books have around 140 pages each, so this is just the beginning.   LOUISE   Carrying a straw bag over her shoulder Louise walked from her car to the marina of Sainte Maxime. In the distance, across the bay, Saint Tropez was basking in the warm sunlight. Francis and Monique, friends from Cannes, had invited her to spend...