Wednesday, 6 November 2013

Wednesday, November 06, 2013 -

Amanda and the Policeman

by Lucy Appleby
Published: Sep 24, 2013
Words: 28,903
Category: general
Orientation: M/F
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OPENING EXTRACT
Amanda and the Policeman

Ryan pulled up in front of the offices of Bradley's Building Supplies. Thanks to his grandfather's direction and accounting skills, the company had grown considerably over the past 40 years and had established shops in eight major cities. Business was booming. As a family member, Ryan got 30% discount on anything he wanted, which was handy given that he had recently transferred his job from London and had just bought a property in the village - it was actually the old police station, redundant since a nice new modern one had been built further up the road. The old place had charm and character. He was very happy with it, though it needed some work including roof repairs, a new bathroom, and replacement fencing for the garden. He also planned to knock down the existing garage (it had been unused for so many years that there was an ash tree growing up through the roof!) and build a new one. Being a practical sort of guy, he wanted to do as much of the work as he possibly could, just for the hell of it. And why not, seeing as how there was no woman in his life to occupy his free time.

Women. After a bad experience with Sylvia, whom he discovered had been sleeping with not one but four of his colleagues, he decided to move out of London and return north, back to his Yorkshire roots. Here he would happily forget Sylvia Shagalot (the name he had coined for her, post separation) and his former friends and colleagues who had proved by their actions not to be friends in any sense of the word. Here he would make a new start and avoid looking at anything wearing a skirt. Women were off the menu.

Or so he thought, until he caught sight of Amanda Moore. She was a slender but shapely woman in her mid twenties, with a mane of tousled blonde hair that tumbled in glorious waves down her back. She had clear blue eyes the colour of a cloudless sky on a summer day. The first time he had looked into those eyes, he knew he was hooked. She had given him a warm and friendly smile, not in the least contrived, her lips curving prettily.

"Hi Ryan," she said, rising from her desk in the reception area. "You must be Bertram's grandson. I don't need an introduction - you look so much like him!"

"Without the wrinkles and the turkey neck, I hope." He smiled back. He couldn't help it. She had an infectious charm.

"There's not a wrinkle in sight, as far as I can see," she giggled. "Bertram is expecting you but he's still in a meeting. So can I get you some coffee while you wait?"

"Sure. That would be great."

"How do you take it?"

"Dark and strong and not too sweet."

"Hey - I like my men that way too!" She laughed briefly and then clasped her hand over her mouth.