by: Michelle Montebello
Series: Belle Hamilton
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: October 6, 2017
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Belle Hamilton is a romantic at heart. She's engaged to the love of her life and dreams of marriage, children and a happily ever after. Belle’s world is close to perfect until one afternoon she makes a decision she can't take back.
In the blink of an eye, Belle’s life spirals out of control. She loses everything that is dear to her and is forced to flee to the other side of the world where she meets Andrea, a local bartender from Rome, and develops an unexpected connection with him.
Can they break through the complications of past hurts and a long-distance relationship to make it work or will one terrifying night in Paris end it before it had a chance to begin?
Ben seemed uncomfortable with the idea. ‘I can’t get into it at the moment. I have someone over.’
Both their eyes strayed to the front door as a gentle breeze swirled orange leaves around the porch.
‘You have to talk to me sometime, Ben,’ Belle said.
‘What do you want me to say, Belle?’
‘Maybe you could start with why you did it.’
‘We’re not the same people we were in high school. We were kids back then. And now we’ve changed, we’ve grown apart. Everything’s different.’
‘So you cheat on me?’ She was hurt and it showed on her face.
‘I’m not proud of what I did but I didn’t know how to tell you I’d met someone else. There’s something about Olivia that I find fascinating. She’s not the type of girl who likes to stay home all the time.’
‘I thought you liked to stay home.’
‘It’s okay occasionally. But staying in and staring at the same four walls, eating homemade food, well, it just gets a bit much after a while. Olivia and I have eaten at five different restaurants this week alone. And it’s incredible the number of people she knows.’
‘You’ve been taking her out?’ Belle couldn’t believe it.
He looked sheepish. ‘I like her, Belle. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but I do. She’s done a lot with her life. And her father’s in state politics. He’s promised me a seat on the backbench. He says in government benefits alone I can earn up to double what I’m earning at Richardson & Fields.’
‘You’re a criminal barrister, Ben. It’s what you’ve always wanted to be. You worked so hard to get that job at Richardson & Fields, and you earn a fortune already. Why would you want to earn more?’
‘Because I can always better myself. See, this is what I’m talking about. Olivia’s supportive of my ambitions. I don’t get why you can’t be.’
Belle bit down on her lip. Was he right? Had she been silently mocking him all this time? Had she cast his ambitions aside because she thought them pretentious and silly? She could start to feel the bond that had once attached her so firmly to Ben disintegrate in the breeze, like the fine, silvery threads of a broken web. She was losing him.
‘We want different things now,’ he went on. ‘You want to get married, have children and settle down. I want to go out, meet new people and make money. And I want a woman who will do that with me.’
‘If you had just told me, I would have—’
‘You would have what? Come out with me? Met new people? You hate doing that stuff. Let’s be honest. You have Riley and me in your life. And you’re perfectly happy that way.’
Someone called out from the house, a woman’s voice, startling them both.
‘Ben! How do you use this godawful coffee machine?’ the voice shrieked. ‘It’s like a hundred years old!’
‘I have to go.’ Ben climbed to his feet and threw Belle an apologetic look.
‘So that’s it? What about us? What about the wedding?’
Ben threw his hands into the air. ‘There is no us anymore, Belle. It’s over. It has been for a long time.’
‘Ben, don’t do this.’
He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. ‘She’s moving in.’
Belle blinked.
‘Next weekend, Olivia’s moving in.’
‘But you said the terrace was too small. You said all my things wouldn’t fit.’
‘I know what I said. I guess it didn’t feel right with you. It does with Olivia.’
He walked back along the path, up the steps and with one hand on the door handle, he turned to face her. ‘Just go home, Belle.’ He opened the door and disappeared inside.
Belle watched the door close as her heart shattered into a million tiny pieces, right there on the street.
Both their eyes strayed to the front door as a gentle breeze swirled orange leaves around the porch.
‘You have to talk to me sometime, Ben,’ Belle said.
‘What do you want me to say, Belle?’
‘Maybe you could start with why you did it.’
‘We’re not the same people we were in high school. We were kids back then. And now we’ve changed, we’ve grown apart. Everything’s different.’
‘So you cheat on me?’ She was hurt and it showed on her face.
‘I’m not proud of what I did but I didn’t know how to tell you I’d met someone else. There’s something about Olivia that I find fascinating. She’s not the type of girl who likes to stay home all the time.’
‘I thought you liked to stay home.’
‘It’s okay occasionally. But staying in and staring at the same four walls, eating homemade food, well, it just gets a bit much after a while. Olivia and I have eaten at five different restaurants this week alone. And it’s incredible the number of people she knows.’
‘You’ve been taking her out?’ Belle couldn’t believe it.
He looked sheepish. ‘I like her, Belle. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but I do. She’s done a lot with her life. And her father’s in state politics. He’s promised me a seat on the backbench. He says in government benefits alone I can earn up to double what I’m earning at Richardson & Fields.’
‘You’re a criminal barrister, Ben. It’s what you’ve always wanted to be. You worked so hard to get that job at Richardson & Fields, and you earn a fortune already. Why would you want to earn more?’
‘Because I can always better myself. See, this is what I’m talking about. Olivia’s supportive of my ambitions. I don’t get why you can’t be.’
Belle bit down on her lip. Was he right? Had she been silently mocking him all this time? Had she cast his ambitions aside because she thought them pretentious and silly? She could start to feel the bond that had once attached her so firmly to Ben disintegrate in the breeze, like the fine, silvery threads of a broken web. She was losing him.
‘We want different things now,’ he went on. ‘You want to get married, have children and settle down. I want to go out, meet new people and make money. And I want a woman who will do that with me.’
‘If you had just told me, I would have—’
‘You would have what? Come out with me? Met new people? You hate doing that stuff. Let’s be honest. You have Riley and me in your life. And you’re perfectly happy that way.’
Someone called out from the house, a woman’s voice, startling them both.
‘Ben! How do you use this godawful coffee machine?’ the voice shrieked. ‘It’s like a hundred years old!’
‘I have to go.’ Ben climbed to his feet and threw Belle an apologetic look.
‘So that’s it? What about us? What about the wedding?’
Ben threw his hands into the air. ‘There is no us anymore, Belle. It’s over. It has been for a long time.’
‘Ben, don’t do this.’
He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. ‘She’s moving in.’
Belle blinked.
‘Next weekend, Olivia’s moving in.’
‘But you said the terrace was too small. You said all my things wouldn’t fit.’
‘I know what I said. I guess it didn’t feel right with you. It does with Olivia.’
He walked back along the path, up the steps and with one hand on the door handle, he turned to face her. ‘Just go home, Belle.’ He opened the door and disappeared inside.
Belle watched the door close as her heart shattered into a million tiny pieces, right there on the street.
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She has worked full-time in the corporate sector since 1998. It wasn't until she completed a writing course with James Patterson that she was inspired to write and publish her first novel, Interwoven, in 2017.
In addition to her writing, she also has a passion for travel and loves to combine her two favourite things - creative writing and travelling - to create vibrant worlds for her characters to explore.
When this busy mum is not working, chasing little ones or searching under beds for monsters, she can be found reading, writing or plotting her next story.
Places to find Michelle Montebello:
You can follow the Interwoven Blog Tour here.
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I was really enjoying following this tour, thank you for all the great blog posts and excerpts!
ReplyDeleteThanks Nikolina! So glad you enjoyed it :)
DeleteThanks for stopping by Nikolina.
DeleteThank you for hosting today!!
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you to everyone who has followed me along the way. Hope you enjoyed the excerpts. Good luck in the giveaway :)
Michelle xxx
You're welcome. Thank you for stopping by and replying to everyone.
DeleteCongrats on the tour and thank you for the excerpt and giveaway.
ReplyDeleteHi James. Thanks for stopping by today.
DeleteNice to see you again, James! Glad you are enjoying the excerpts :)
DeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome.
Deletecongrats on the tour and thanks for the chance to win :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Lisa.
DeleteThanks so much, Lisa!!! :)
DeleteI love your cover and excerpt.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and checking out Interwoven.
DeleteThanks Bridgett! That's great to hear :)
DeleteI've really enjoyed following the tour for Interwoven and learning more about it. Thanks for sharing all of the great posts along the way.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Victoria.
DeleteThanks Victoria! You really have been there from day 1. Thanks so much for your support along the way :)
DeleteI have enjoyed the tour. The book sounds great.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to hear that Rita! Thanks for posting :)
DeleteThank you to Read Our Writes for the intro to Michelle and her work. Good job...both of you. (jozywails@gmail.com)
ReplyDeleteThanks Misty for stopping by!! Loved your post! :) :)
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