Some romances take us on a rollercoaster ride of emotions, some challenge every preconception of a functional relationship we might have ever had, and then there are some fairy tale love stories that feed the romantics in us, show us how it could be, should be, would be if our minds weren’t always chasing that elusive cathartic experience to make our own realities appear rosier. Raine Miller is known for her romantic streak, for the almost dreamlike element of the timeless love stories that she weaves for us, where when two people fall in love, they fall forever, they fight for each other, they become each other’s truths, and they never ever let go of one another. This book was like a page from a favourite daydream I might have had as a little girl and even days after finishing it, I am still in a daze of emotions every time I think of a certain gentleman soldier and his beloved Cherry Girl.
“I’ve loved you since I can remember. There was never a time when I didn’t.”
Elaina fell in love with her brother’s best friend when she was just an awkward little girl, desperate to grab the attention of the first boy she ever liked. Seven years her senior and always acting like a protective older brother, Neil was the embodiment of a knight in shining armour for young Elaina, forever looking out for her and his every attentive gesture feeding the childhood crush she secretly nursed towards him. When the boy she loved left to join the Army, Elaina’s life changed in every way after that. A family tragedy ripped her innocence before its time, making her the type of troubled teenager whose every rebellious act concealed the deep grief she was incapable of dealing with. And then one summer Neil came home on leave from the Army and he saw Elaina for the very first time in his life as the woman she had become, rather than the child he always protected from harm.
“Waiting and waiting forever. For you. Waiting for you to grow up. Waiting for you to see me as something more than just a friend of Ian’s. Waiting for the right time to tell you how I feel about you… I don’t want to wait anymore… Please don’t make me wait for you any longer.”
A lifetime of secret affections quickly turns into a whirlwind romance, Elaina and Neil’s bond finally changing into the kind of passionate love they were always destined to share. Their love is gentle but all-consuming, their hearts having learnt a long time ago how to adore one another. And then it all slips away from them and the young lovers find themselves once more navigating through life without each other, longing for what they have lost, but not daring to hope to find it all again. Five long years pass and when they suddenly walk into each other’s lives again, time and distance have only made that longing even deeper.
A story of second chances at love when the blinding power of misunderstandings and pride has kept two people apart for far too long. There is something so comforting and inspiring about a love that never dies, and Ms Raine has given us another reason to believe in it. The perfect marriage of angst and sweet romance, this story has made my heart sing and race all at the same time. Every element of the storyline is laced with purpose, nothing is coincidental and everything is done just right. I devoured the pages, the hungry romantic in me greedy for more and more as the story progressed, and I was given all I could have hoped for. A perfect spin-off story to a beloved series, this “grand torte” of romance should be on everyone’s menu.
“… you don’t get to choose who you fall in love with. They chose you. For me that person was a beautiful girl with cherry-coloured hair and dark blue eyes, and she alone held the sole key to my heart.”
Excerpt
Then Neil smiled at me. His entire beautiful face lighting up from his eyes to his chin. My guy looked really happy. My guy. I have a guy. Neil. Neil McManus is my man now.
Christmas and my birthday had come to me early this year, and both at the same time apparently.
Then I watched him get up from the bed and head into his bathroom. I heard the shower turn on and then the opening and closing of cupboards. He returned a few moments later with a big towel to wrap around me, and said he’d left me a shirt and some shorts I could wear after my shower if I liked. He told me he would be in the kitchen setting up the coffeemaker for the morning, and then he left the bedroom and closed the door.
I stayed in Neil’s bed for another moment and did my best to take everything in. I was definitely a mess on the outside, but inside where my heart still thwacked out a beat, I was absolutely floating around cloud nine.
He loved me. Neil really loved me, but damn if I’d allow him to kiss me again before I got clean and comfortable. I felt utterly gross and hideous and still had trouble processing all that had just happened with us in the span of a very few hours.
I left his bed and headed into the bathroom. The shower was already hot and steaming up the small space. As promised he’d set out his toothbrush and paste for me to use, and even some silky boxers and a soft black T-shirt with The Jimi Hendrix Experience in white letters across the front.
I knew Neil was a Hendrix fan and I’d even seen him wearing this very shirt on occasion, and yet the fact he’d picked it out for me in particular, touched me. I reached for it and buried my face in its softness, inhaling deeply. Neil’s scent has always been heavenly to me and I’d been addicted to it for years. Hard to describe, but absolutely lush on my sensibilities. Like fresh air and forest spice and pure water all combined into the perfect blend of male fragrance.
And I’d been restricted from indulging in it for most of my life. But not anymore.
I shut the bathroom door, stripped out of my bra and knickers, and got clean in my boyfriend’s shower. I so loved the words contained in that thought.
I’m sure I wore a ridiculous grin on my face the whole time I scrubbed. Once I was done in his shower and working out my teeth with his own personal toothbrush, I still kept grinning into the mirror like an idiot, glad the door was shut and Neil couldn’t see how much of a lovesick fool I was being right now. Pointless indeed. He would know it the moment I stepped out anyway. He probably already did know it.
I left the bathroom dressed in his T-shirt and silky boxer shorts. Better than naked in a towel or my puked-spotted clothes and really sexy to have my skin against things that had been against his previously.
His shirt came down to the top of my thighs and I’d already decided I was keeping the thing. Yeah, Neil’s beloved Hendrix shirt would forever belong to me. I had absolutely no qualms about my thievery either. I didn’t want to have to be without the scent of him once his leave was over. I wouldn’t have him for long before he had to go back to being owned by the British Army in Afghanistan. That meant his shirt wasn’t getting washed anytime soon. If ever.
My inner ramblings distracted me to the point I wasn’t thinking about what might be waiting for me when I came out. But the sight that greeted me upon my return to the bedroom in nothing but Neil’s shorts and shirt, was not even close to what I expected. Stopping dead in my tracks, I’m sure my eyes were bugging out of my skull. The towel I’d been using to dry my hair slid from my grip and onto the floor with a soft thud.
Neil was in his bed, and he was definitely waiting for me.
Holy Hell, he was a beautiful man. Sitting up against the headboard, he was leaning back, his wide bare chest exposed for my eyes to drink in. The cuts and angles of his hard muscles and golden skin in contrast to the white sheets nearly made me whimper aloud. I wanted to touch him so badly and knew there was a very good chance I would be getting my wish soon.
I could see that his nipples were hard, his gaze trained upon me deep with liquidity, mysterious and sensual with a bit of an edge. I could only imagine what he was thinking about right now. Sweaty, crazy, naked shagging I’m sure. I definitely was.
My nipples were hard too, and I felt an involuntary shiver roll down my spine at the thought of Neil putting his hands on them.
I’d seen his body before. I knew what Neil looked like without his shirt on, and I knew very well about the washboard abs, and how they tapered into a V at his hips that made my insides a quivering mess whenever I was lucky enough to get a decent look at him. Which happened only on occasion, unfortunately.
Neil was blessed with an earthly form that easily put him into mythical god territory, but I’d never been in a position to allow myself to think of him in that way. Those times I’d seen him had been when he was working out with Ian or roughing ’round with boys at football or having a swim.
This situation right now was completely different. Neil was like this for me and for me alone. He was offering himself to me—his body for my eyes to see, for my hands to touch, and for my lips to kiss.
“You’ve dropped your towel,” he said softly, splaying a hand out over the sheet, making his forearm muscle flex.
“I know.” I struggled to breathe through the pounding inside my chest and reached down for the towel.
“Leave it.”
Neil’s voice was harder, different—a command really. I froze in step, flipping my eyes up so I could see his face and understand what he meant.
His long muscled arms were stretched out toward me. “Come here, beautiful,” he said softly. “Don’t think about anything that scares you right now. It’s only me…and you.”
I nodded at him but no words would come from my mouth. All I could do was take in the experience of the moment and try to hear what he was saying to me.
“I want to hold you, and be close, and know that nobody is going to come between us or try to take you away from me. I want you all to myself for once.” He tilted his head a little. “Do you understand?”
“I do,” I managed.
Neil kept his arms out, his eyes glittering at me in a way I’d never experienced from him before. He was demanding from me sure, but that’s not what gave me pause. The feelings rushing through me were thrilling, but also very frightening at the same time. My emotions paralyzed me because I really understood, right then and there in that moment, the enormity of what I was doing. Giving myself over to another person. Giving myself to Neil.
It made me extremely vulnerable now didn’t it?
I felt the warning kiss of fear brush over my heart as clearly as a cold breeze that makes you rub your own arms in an effort to ward off a shivering chill.
I didn’t know how I’d survive if I lost him now. If he stopped loving me I wouldn’t be able to bear it. Or if I lost him to the war, which was a terrifying risk all on its own, and one he took every day he remained in active military service. I’d never make it out intact. Losing Neil would destroy me after this night.
“Don’t think about the bad things, Elaina. Let all that go and come to me. My beautiful Cherry Girl…come over here and let me love you.”
I went.
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Neil & Elaina (a spin-off of The Blackstone Affair series) - Recommended Reading Order
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