HUMP DAY HUNK: Marnie St Clair

 

Hump Day Hunk with Marnie St Clair

Introducing Josh Farrell from No Place Like You

Look, to be honest, Josh wasn’t love at first sight for me. It took me a good long while to get to know him, and even longer to like him. But in that slow, steady way he has, he got to me in the end.

The truth is, I didn’t understand him. He’s a tortured hero, but an unlikely one.

After all, he’s the golden boy of his small country town. You know the type—popular, good-looking, good at school, good at sports, well-mannered and well-liked. He was school captain, of course.

Nowadays, he’s still living in Yarrow. Josh wouldn’t live anywhere else for the world. After a stint at university earning a farm business degree, his innate sense of responsibility saw him return to dedicate his life to keeping his town and the surrounding farms prospering.

So what’s wrong with the guy? I mean, he sounds perfect, right? He kept it well-hidden from me for a long time. Not surprising, since he kept it hidden from himself too. All I knew was that he was angry. Bone-deep, soul-deep angry. And it was all directed at my heroine, Lily. (If you want to learn more about Lily and how I picture her, click here)

Prior to the events in No Place Like You, the last time Josh saw Lily he was sixteen (she was fourteen). Since Lily lived in Sydney, they only saw each other once a year, for the summer holidays, but they were the best of friends. And as they grew older, something more.

But then, one terrible afternoon changed everything for Josh. And it changed him. He blames the Schofields, and since Lily is the only Schofield left… It’s all on her. Lily turning up again is his worst nightmare, but ultimately, his only real chance of finding peace.

Poor Josh and Lily—if they want to earn their Happy Ever After, they’re in for a rough ride.

Despite that, the one thing that was clear right from the beginning was how much Josh loves Lily. Always did, always will, no matter how he tries to fight it.

 

The following excerpt is the moment Josh gets his first inkling as to exactly how much Lily is still part of him.

He looked down at her hand, white against his tanned skin, shocked.

She took a deep breath in and out, and he realised he’d been holding his. He let it go and lifted his gaze to hers.

‘I know you must still be—’ she started.

‘I’m not discussing this with you.’ Not here, not now, not ever. Nothing she could say would change the past, and if she was looking for forgiveness, she wouldn’t find it in him.

‘I just want to—’

‘No.’

‘Josh!’ Protesting the shutdown.

Would she not let this go? He went to remove her hand from where it still rested on his arm. She shifted, and without him exactly knowing how it had happened, her hand was twined around his, resting against his chest. His heart. He looked down again, still uncomprehending.

What did she do to him?

 

 

No Place Like You
Marnie St Clair

She went from having everything to having nothing—except what she really needed.

Heiress Lily Schofield never had to think about money, until suddenly she no longer has any. Left destitute by her father’s shady dealings, Lily has only one place to go: Mirabook, her mother’s country estate and the place she spent every childhood summer running wild with the station manager’s son, Josh. Until that last time, ten years ago, when everything went horribly wrong.

Strong, reliable and definitely country, Josh Farrell may have worshipped and adored his summer friend, but that was before he found out what she and her family were really like. Mirabook has stood empty for a decade, and Josh has been waiting a long time for the chance to turn the tables and make Mirabook his own.

But now Lily is back in town, looking to make the move permanent, and all Josh can see is the truckload of unfinished business she brought with her…

Escape Publishing

 

 

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