The Magic of Love
The Album Book 3 - Carol’s Story
Contemporary, Fantasy Romance
By
Kathy Bosman
Blurb:
Carol is frantic as her ordered life has been flung into chaos. Pauline passed The Album onto her but it’s disappeared. She’s the one who’s looked forward to the magic the most; now she can't even use it. To top it off, she realises her boyfriend, Cliff, has disappeared with The Album. The sense of betrayal leaves her reeling.
She hires private investigator, Darryn, to help her find her missing treasure. Shocked at her inexplicable attraction to the man after coming out of a serious relationship, she’s reluctant to fly with him to Canada in search of the stolen artefact, but her need to find The Album burns strong.
In Canada, they soon discover that not only has Cliff stolen The Album, but also magic antiques belonging to other people from South Africa. They soon recover the artefact but, much to Carol’s disappointment, the magic is broken. Carol needs answers and is also burning to help the other antique owners - even if it means leaving her successful career and working with Darryn who has his own issues from his past.
How can Carol still have feelings for a man who keeps on breaking her heart? And will she fix the magic? Once again, The Album's magic works in mysterious ways.
Excerpt
Darryn drove in his car behind Miss Barronse’s. He ran through the checklist in his mind of possible clues he could find in her home from the man’s belongings, but he kept seeing Carol’s face. She had the softest-looking hair he’d even seen—sleek and deliciously curling in by her delicate, pointy chin. The curls would bob against her jawline with a tease. Talk about tease, those green eyes flickering with tension and panic and then stiffening with resolve told him she was usually a strong, determined woman but had been flung into a crisis. Her expressions urged a response out of him. A scary one. He wasn’t supposed to get emotionally involved with his clients, but something had stirred inside him when he saw her looking lost and vulnerable—a desire to hold her, protect her, find this bugger who’d taken her ‘magic’ album.
Hmm, an interesting case, to say the least. He’d never been asked to search for a magic antique which could tell couples if they would have a good future together. Strangely enough, something told him she spoke the truth. Normally, he’d consider her off her rocker a little, but no, Carol had a way about her. She had her head screwed on straight. Being a CA of a top firm in the town led him to believe she wasn’t a stupid woman.
Carol had a great house in Meerensee, a road away from the sea, well-secured and impeccably maintained. She lived up to his expectations. He drove into the driveway and parked behind her close-to-new or could-be-brand-new, top of the range Kia Cerato.
A sudden thought occurred to him—the woman had masks, lots of them. Pain had stripped away some of them and given him a glimpse into her true soul. But several remained as a tower rising up to the sky—impenetrable, firm, and strong. He had a feeling her height only accentuated the feeling she gave off—big, strong, and not to be messed with. Yet, he’d seen the soft womanly core. Did anyone else get to see that side of her? He wanted to pull back the layers and discover it more.
Heck, I’m losing concentration here.
He stepped out the car and followed her in through the front door.
“Come through,” she said as she walked down a passage and entered a room on her left, her heels clipping against the tiled floor.
The room was spacious and airy, with good window size, allowing light to fill up the space. Scattered on a second desk were papers, haphazard and in messy piles, a bit like his home office. He suppressed a smile as he had a feeling it annoyed her immensely. Especially by the way books and files were organised on shelves above the desks in height order, perfectly in line, and neat as a pin. Like her hairdo, her make-up, and her attire.
“May I take a look?” He gestured to the pile.
She nodded.
“Go ahead. I’d throw them in the trash if they didn’t hold potential clues.” Bitterness streamed from her tone. “May I offer you a hot drink?”
“Coffee, milk, no sugar would be great. Thanks.”
“Pleasure.” She clip-clopped away, like a mountain goat on its hooves.
A whiff of her perfume stayed behind to taunt him.
Kathy lives in South Africa, where the summers are hot, the winters cool and bugs thrive. She writes romance in many forms, most of the time with women who feel deeply, men who care strongly and characters who learn lessons along the way. Every so often, she sprinkles a little magic in her stories. When she’s not writing, she makes sure her kids work hard as they do school at home, tries not to get too distracted by dust bunnies and cooks up a storm to keep the tummies full. When she’s not hectically busy, she loves reading romance and fantasy novels, watching movies, and dabbling in different crafty things, depending on her mood.
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