STOLEN TIME
by
Chloé Duval
Genre: Fiction, Sweet Romance
Pub
Date: 6/13/17
In a rural French village, a letter is
delivered decades late, inspiring a young woman to try to reunite two
star-crossed lovers . . .
Middle school teacher by day, romance
writer by night, and group knitter on Tuesday evenings, Flavie
Richalet leads a fairly uneventful life—until she receives a long
delayed letter meant for a total stranger. Postmarked 1971, the
yellowed envelope, addressed to an Amélie Lacombe, holds a fervent
message of love and a marriage proposal, signed only with the initial
E. Given her own fractured family history, Flavie is dreamily
determined to learn what became of the couple . . .
Flavie’s inquiries lead her to a
French seaside inn—and to E. himself, a true romantic who never
forgot the girl who got away so many years ago. But his protective
nephew, B&B owner Romaric, isn’t sure that trying to find
Amélie after all these years is good for his uncle. At odds with the
tall, dark, and impossibly passionate Romaric, Flavie must show him,
and perhaps herself, that true love is timeless—and always worth
waiting for . . .
Prologue
Karouac, Brittany
September 4, 1975
It was the most important day of her life.
She’d been waiting and preparing for this day
for weeks, and she
should have been deliriously happy. She should
have been lighthearted
and smiling.
But instead, she felt strange and
uncomfortable. As though she was
forgetting something important. As though she
was about to make a
mistake.
It’s just apprehension, she told herself. The usual jitters all women
feel before they commit for life.
But did all women think of their first love on
their wedding day?
Amélie closed her eyes, and Erwan’s beautiful
face appeared in
her mind. She pictured his irresistible smile,
his gray-blue gaze, his
unruly hair, always too wild to lie flat. She
felt his rough hands on
her skin, his lips on hers, as though it were
only yesterday that they
had lain together on the beach.
She shook her head, willing herself to dismiss
the memory. It was
foolish to think of him, especially right
before her wedding. It had
been so long ago . . . four years, almost to
the day. He’d obviously
forgotten her, moved on with his life. He’d
never written to her,
never phoned her, never gotten in touch with
her. She’d waited
weeks, months even, for him to reach out to
her, before she’d accepted
the truth. It had only been a summer fling. So
she’d grieved,
but then looked to the future. She’d thrown
herself into her studies in
fashion-design school to forget. Forget all
about him.
And now she was finally happy. She’d finished
school and gotten
the job of her dreams with a small fashion
company that appreciated
her style and her slightly extravagant ideas.
It was almost more than
she’d ever expected. Moreover, she was about
to marry a wonderful
man, one who loved her more than anyone and
whom she loved very
much. She knew they’d have a great life
together.
So why? Why was she thinking of the past, of a
painful, bestforgotten
period of her life, on the day she was going
to marry Paul,
for better or for worse?
She took a deep breath, trying to calm her
heart, her nerves, her
mind. She patted her veil, smoothed a few
nonexistent creases in her
satin and lace wedding dress. She’d designed
it herself, and it was
stunning, even if she said so herself. It was
the dress of her dreams.
Again, Erwan appeared in her mind’s eye.
“For God’s sake!” she swore, cutting herself
off immediately.
Someone knocked on the door and her mother
peered in. “Are
you ready, sweetheart?” Viviane Lacombe asked,
beaming.
Amélie cast a last glance into the mirror,
took a deep breath, and
nodded. “I am.”
It was no longer time to wonder about the
past.
So, she left her home, the home where she grew
up, and, lifting
the hem of her dress in one hand, her father
at her side, her mother in
front of her, beaming much more than her
daughter was, Amélie
slowly walked the short distance to the
beautiful church of Karouac,
where her parents had been married. Paul was
waiting for her there.
Her family was waiting for her. The minister,
and all their friends,
were gathered here today to celebrate her
wedding to the love of her
life. She couldn’t wait to go in and marry
Paul, the man who had always
been there for her. Who loved her more than
anything else. She
couldn’t wait to start her life. The life she
had chosen for herself.
Yet before she walked into the church, she
couldn’t help stopping
to gaze around, searching for a face, a smile.
She shook her head and
cursed the damn memories trying to spoil the
happiest day of her life.
She turned back and smiled at her father, took
hold of his proffered
arm, and waited for her cue.
Hidden in the shade of a porch, unseen, Erwan
watched as the
love of his life walked into the church on her
father’s arm to marry
another man.
He’d been too late, and he’d lost her once
again—forever.
2 • Chloé Duval
He tamped down the urge to enter the church
and beg Amélie, on
his knees if need be, to come with him,
repeating what he’d written
in that unanswered letter four years ago, and
walked away, his heart
breaking, leaving Karouac behind him.
Once again, and forever.
Stolen Time •
As a little girl, Chloé Duval dreamed
of knights slaying terrifying dragons and damsels in distress. Today,
she’s still seeking, in her stories, to find again the sweetness
and the enchantment of the fairy tales she absorbed as a child. A
Frenchwoman by birth, Canadian by adoption, and Québecoise in her
heart, Chloé lives in Montreal with her prince charming and dozens
of characters jostling around inside her head.
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