Excerpt from The Lady of the Pier – The Ebb
by Effrosyni Moschoudi
Outside
the tearoom, Meg said goodbye quickly to rush back to her post, leaving Laura
behind to have a look around. Feeling the most carefree she’d felt in a long
time, the young girl sauntered to the eastern landing stage in order to enjoy
the sea view.
She sat
on a bench and watched the world go by for a while. Generous views of the Hove
and the open sea that stretched towards an indigo horizon made it a pleasure to
be there, even though it was late afternoon. The remaining sunlight was fading
fast. She stood up and walked to the railing, dreamily watching the sea horses
breaking on the shore. The breeze had picked up in the past few minutes, and
she was almost shivering now in her dress and woollen cardigan. She looked up
to see clouds travelling to the west, growing darker and darker by the second
as the feeble sunlight continued to be engulfed by the growing darkness.
“Excuse
me,” she heard a voice from behind her. She turned around to face a young man
around her age. He didn’t look older than twenty-two, twenty-four at most. He
had short dark hair and sparkling blue eyes. He wore a rather shabby-looking
jacket, dark trousers, and a pair of worn out shoes that had seen better days.
His choice of clothes would have been totally unworthy of notice had it not
been for a thick, rusty-brown scarf that was tied snugly around his neck.
He
stood smiling at her rather awkwardly, his thin lips twitching and all the
while, his eyes seemed to speak to her through their amazing sparkle.
She
felt drawn to them as if they were sending out signals she was meant to
interpret. He was nervous; she was sure of that. It was evident in the way he
had dug both his hands in his pockets, looking a bit lost for words. And yet,
the look in his eyes seemed quite confident.
“Yes?”
she asked, mystified by his body language.
“Hello
Miss, sorry to disturb,” he finally said, rather unsurely.
“Yes?” she asked again after another awkward pause.
“Um, I
was wondering if you could do me a favour…” His voice trailed off as he
scratched his head.
Laura
gave him an encouraging nod. “How can I help you?”
He
still looked hesitant as he stood before her, shifting his weight from foot to
foot but then, he finally spoke. “Well, I was wondering if you could pretend
that we’re friends.”
Laura
knitted her brows. “I don’t understand.”
“Could
you offer me a handshake please? Or smile and give me a hug or something?” The
half-smile he flashed her then, could also be perceived as a rather cheeky
smirk.
“What?”
she protested. “What on earth for?”
“You
see that chap behind me, sitting on the bench?” He motioned with a slight
movement of his head, shifting his eyes to one side. “No! Please don’t stare!
He mustn’t suspect anything!” he pleaded, his blue eyes huge.
“Why
not? Who is he?” she asked even more intrigued now, as she darted her eyes
surreptitiously to the young man on the bench once more. He wasn’t even
looking, and she wondered what the fuss was all about. Silently, she thought
the whole thing was rather amusing, but she wasn’t going to show that to the
dashing lad before her. Instead, she fixed him with a stern stare that demanded
an instant explanation.
“Look,
I’m sorry, all right? It’s just that I made a bet with him that I could prove
that we’re friends. He sort of said you’re too beautiful for the likes of me,
and I wanted to prove him wrong; that’s all!”
“So you
told him a lie about me and now you want me to help you confirm it?” she asked,
trying to sound stern despite aching to dissolve into laughter by then.
“In
essence, yes!” he answered, giving her a smile that this time, could definitely
pass for a cheeky smirk.
“But
how does this benefit me?” she retorted with a naughty look in her eyes.
He
cocked his eye at her, startled. “Excuse me?”
“What
is there for me to gain from helping you out?”
“I’ll
buy you a drink if you like!” he offered immediately, and she wondered if that
had been his goal from the start.
“No
thanks!” she answered sternly.
Instead
of speaking again, the boy regarded her silently in response with sorrowful
eyes. It was a sad look of such intensity that the thought that crossed her
mind then was that he was doing it on purpose. In the end, she gave in anyway.
He surely was heaven. She had to admit it. And he seemed harmless enough.
She
took a step towards him and offered her hand to him. He took it gratefully and
to his surprise, totally unprompted, she reached up then and left a kiss on his
cheek.
“Thanks!
It’s more than I hoped for,” he whispered.
Laura
chucked. “Now what?”
Without
moving his head, the boy darted his eyes sideways in a comical way and spoke
behind his teeth. “Is he still there?”
Laura
tittered, but when she cast a glance at the bench behind him again, the smile
on her face froze instantly. The lad was no longer alone there. A young girl,
barely older than sixteen, was sitting next to him now. They seemed lost in conversation
together, totally oblivious to what was going on around them.
“You
never spoke to that young man, did you? There is no bet, is there?” she put to
him when realisation hit her. With her green eyes squinting at him, she placed
a hand on her hip defensively, waiting, demanding the truth.
The boy
smirked and gave a wink. “My dad always said, ‘never lie to a beautiful girl,
unless you’re after her heart.’ So I took my dad’s advice. Is that so bad?” he
asked mischievously, tilting his head, amused by the stunned expression on her
face.
“Oh I
see! So you were pretending to be nervous all this time. What an act! And for
what?” she asked when she finally found her voice again.
He
shrugged his shoulders. “I got a kiss on the cheek, didn’t I?”
“And?”
“You make
it sound so trivial.”
“It is,
isn't it?”
"Oh, I beg to differ Miss... Miss.... Sorry, I didn't quite catch your name."
“Huh!
As if I’m going to tell you that! I’m not falling for another one of your
tricks!” Laura turned around and started to walk away, but the spring in her
step revealed that she was light-hearted.
“You’re
wrong though.” His voice trailed behind her, and she turned to face him again.
“Wrong
about what?” she demanded, her chin jutted out, her emerald eyes twinkling at
him, her red hair flowing in the breeze, rendering him speechless for a few
moments.
“That
the kiss you gave me was trivial. A kiss from a pretty girl like you will keep
me warm after you go, all through the night,” he said with a grin and a hand
over his heart.
“Why
don’t you get under a blanket to be sure,” she teased him and turned away.
The
echo of his laughter hung in the air between them as she strode off along the
deck, her hand over her luscious, red lips, stifling her giggle.
Blurb:
LOVE WILL GO ON FOREVER, SEEKING A
SECOND CHANCE.
BRIGHTON,
1937 Dreaming of wealth and happiness, Laura Mayfield arrives in Brighton to pursue a new life. She falls for Christian Searle, a happy-go-lucky stagehand at the West Pier theater, but when she’s offered a chance to perform there, her love for him is put to the test. Charles Willard, a wealthy aristocrat, is fascinated by her and pursues her relentlessly. Will Laura choose love…or money?
CORFU, 1987
On a long holiday with her grandparents, Sofia Aspioti meets Danny Markson, a charming flirt who makes her laugh. Although she tries to keep him at arm’s length, worried that village gossip will get back to her strict family, she falls desperately in love. That’s when strange dreams about Brighton’s West Pier and a woman dressed in black begin to haunt her. Who is this grieving woman? And how is her lament related to Sofia’s feelings for Danny?
Praise for The Lady of the Pier - The Ebb
"Ms. Moschoudi is proving
to be a skilled storyteller who takes her readers on a wonderful ride."
~David M. Wind, author of Queen of Knights
"An inner glow, an inherent purity emanates from the pages to create a sense of completeness, like a dream you don't want to wake up from."
~MM Jaye, author of the Aegean Lovers series
"Effrosyni Moschoudi is a delightful and very talented author with a fascinating imagination."
~Lilian Roberts, author of The Immortal Rapture series
~David M. Wind, author of Queen of Knights
"An inner glow, an inherent purity emanates from the pages to create a sense of completeness, like a dream you don't want to wake up from."
~MM Jaye, author of the Aegean Lovers series
"Effrosyni Moschoudi is a delightful and very talented author with a fascinating imagination."
~Lilian Roberts, author of The Immortal Rapture series
"It's a delightful trip
and I strongly urge you to take it."
~Bob Rector, Author and
Director of Letters From the Front
About the Author:
Effrosyni Moschoudi was born and raised in Athens, Greece. As a child, she often sat alone in her granny's garden scribbling rhymes about flowers, butterflies and ants. Through adolescence, she wrote dark poetry that suited her melancholic, romantic nature. She's passionate about books and movies and simply couldn't live without them. She lives in a quaint seaside town near Athens with her husband Andy and a naughty cat called Felix.
**Visit her website to download FREE excerpts, to watch book trailers and to hear the latest news about her works in progress:
http://www.effrosyniwrites.com
**Sign up to her newsletter to be notified first about her new releases and book promotions ($0.00-$0.99):
http://effrosyniwrites.com/newsletter/
**Like her on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/authoreffrosyni
**Follow her on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/frostiemoss
**Find her on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7362780.Effrosyni_Moschoudi
What others say about Effrosyni's books:
"Effrosyni layers her words on the page like music"
~Jackie Weger, National Best-selling Author
"I enjoyed immensely this breath of fresh air in the time travel fantasy genre."
~Angel Sefer, author of the Greek Isles Series
Effrosyni's books are available in kindle and print format.
No comments:
Post a Comment