Breaking Routine Read online

  First Edition January 2021

  Published by GPC Publishing

  Copyright © 2021 Melissa Tereze

  ISBN: 9798579573285

  Cover Design: May Dawney

  Editor: Charlie Knight

  Find out more at: www.melissaterezeauthor.com

  Follow me on Twitter: @MelissaTereze

  Follow me on Instagram: @melissatereze_author

  All rights reserved. This book is for your personal enjoyment only. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. All characters & happenings in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons (living or dead), locales or events is purely coincidental.

  Also by Melissa Tereze

  Another Love Series

  The Arrangement (Book One)

  The Call (Book Two)

  The Ashforth Series

  Playing For Her Heart (Book One)

  Other Novels

  In Her Arms

  Before You Go

  Forever Yours

  The Heat of Summer

  Forget Me Not

  More Than A Feeling

  Where We Belong: Love Returns

  Naked

  Titles under L.M Croft (Erotica)

  Pieces of Me

  Here’s to a better 2021…

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Epilogue

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  About the Author

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  Also by Melissa Tereze

  Chapter One

  Harper Grey had absolutely no idea what she was doing. It was a Friday afternoon early January, and she could barely see the road through her windscreen for the relentless rain. Her mum had told her the M6 wouldn’t be busy just yet; how wrong she’d been.

  Harper just wanted to make it to her destination. Her new home. She wasn’t supposed to be making this journey alone; Callie, her supposedly loving and committed partner, should have been with her. But no, Callie was preoccupied with the woman from work. The one she’d been sleeping with.

  The radio presenter on Smooth FM introduced the next song, Patrick Swayze’s She’s Like the Wind. Harper barked a laugh; this journey couldn’t be any more agonising. “She was more like a bloody hurricane, Patrick.”

  Rather than wallow, Harper changed the station, bopping her head when Little Mix’s Shout out to My Ex blasted through her speakers. This was definitely more like it.

  Her satnav alerted her that she was due to pull off at the next junction; at least the rain wouldn’t be so bad off the motorway. She never had been fond of surface water while she was driving 70 m.p.h. with lorries either side of her.

  Harper relaxed into her seat, slowing and remaining in the inside lane until she reached her junction. She should be excited—she now owned her first home—but Callie and her infidelity had really put a downer on celebrations. Harper’s belongings were already at the new house, the furniture being delivered at the end of next week. So long as she could get her office set up in the spare room, she could live without a couch for another week. Now, she just had to sort through what she owned and what Callie had brought by two weeks ago.

  Four years together, an engagement, and Callie decided to sleep with the new intern at the office. Apparently, love was “different” these days. That was Callie’s excuse when Harper found the iMessages on their shared iPad.

  Instead of owning her actions, Callie told Harper that their relationship was stale, and getting cosy with someone else was supposed to reignite her feelings for Harper. The total opposite had happened. Harper was glad Callie’s ‘experiment’ hadn’t produced the expected results. She couldn’t abide a cheat, and Callie’s excuse for doing so was piss-poor in Harper’s book. Harper had never so much as looked at another woman, but Callie? Well, she had an entirely different outlook.

  She would never take Callie back, but Harper would sort through her things and hand over what was necessary. She didn’t intend to hold a grudge; it wouldn’t solve anything, and at least this way, she wasn’t tied to Callie. The house was solely in Harper’s name, and now the reason for that made sense.

  She had expected Callie to want her name on the deeds to the house. They’d rented together for 18 months beforehand, so when Harper found the most beautiful home she’d ever seen, it made sense to put their money into something that would one day be theirs. Callie initially jumped at the idea, setting up a viewing just a few days later, and then they made a weekend of it in the town they would hopefully move to. But when they decided to put an offer in several weeks later, Callie started to back out, claiming that work was suddenly kicking her arse. Callie told Harper to buy it if she wanted to, but that she couldn’t commit. In one breath, Callie was fearful of losing her job, but in the next, she was looking at a promotion. None of it had made sense to Harper at the time, but to make life easier and to ensure they didn’t lose out on the house, Harper agreed to be the sole buyer, her parents helping her out with the deposit. She figured they could add Callie to the documents at a later date. How wrong she’d been.

  So, here she was, moving 90 miles away from her hometown, not a soul in sight that she knew. But in time, she would find her place. The beauty of working from home meant she could do that from anywhere. And The Lakes was her destination of choice.

  You’ve got this. A new start.

  Harper cut the engine on her small, gravelled driveway, just a streetlight across the road illuminating the path to her front door. The house still looked quaint, her eyes drawn to the freshly painted white sash windows. It had been the windows alone that convinced her to put in an offer, the idyllic surroundings only furthering her desire to live in this town.

  At the bottom of the hill lay a huge lake. At the top of the hill, a town with coffee houses, gift shops, and a range of restaurants to choose from. That had been what appealed to Callie, but Harper was just happy to live in a place that resembled a postcard from when she was a kid. The Lakes had been the destination when it came to summer holidays over the years, and this year, once the weather picked up, Harper was determined to try her hand at paddleboarding—if she could ever build up the courage.

  Then there was the option to follow the various hiking trails with waterfalls and tracks along the way that she could get lost in. Once she turned away from the screen each day, she wanted nature. She wanted fresh air, snowfall in the winter. And from her bedroom window, she could see exactly that. Snow covered hills and mountains, misty mornings as it rose from the lake. Yes, she would likely end up with frostbite given the fact that she wasn’t prepared for the elements here, but she would learn…and she would love it.

  She exited her car and grabbed her holdall from the boot. This was her final trip here with everything she owned, but since the darkness had already blanketed the town, she would wait until morning to collect the rest from her car. Right now, she wanted a hot shower and a restful sleep. Something she hadn’t had in a few weeks.
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  Whenever she lay her head on her pillow, Callie came to her mind. During the day, it wasn’t so bad, but once Harper had time to think, her mind started to wander. Where had she gone wrong? Had she not been a good enough girlfriend and, ultimately, fiancée? Did she not love Callie fully and with everything that she was? Harper knew she had, she would have given up the world for Callie, but something had gotten mixed up along the way.

  Callie had strayed, breaking Harper’s heart in the process.

  And now, she was starting over.

  Harper could stand around thinking about what should have been, or she could get herself inside and light the open wood burning fire. Callie wasn’t here, she never would be, so thinking about their relationship was wasted. Harper just wanted to move forward and concentrate on herself.

  She took her keys from the inside pocket of her coat, grinning with excitement as she slid it into the lock. She made a mental note to have an outside light installed; it was a little too dark on her property for Harper’s liking. As she glanced over her shoulder, she realised she had nothing to worry about around here. There wasn’t another person in sight.

  Harper pushed her shoulder against the door. The lock would need a few squirts of WD40 at some point over the weekend; she didn’t want to force it every time she came home from walking in the hills. But with an old place like this, something original, she expected it to need some extra TLC over the winter months. But the summer would surely make up for it.

  As she stepped through the door and pressed the light switch in the hall, Harper frowned. Why didn’t she have any electricity? She moved further into the living room, the carpet squelching beneath her Vans. Her heart stumbled for a moment. This couldn’t be happening.

  She took her phone from her pocket, using the torch feature to get a look at what she could. She’d apparently had a leak of some kind, one that had spewed all over the place. She pressed a hand to the carpet on the stairs; thankfully that was dry, so her belongings hadn’t been damaged. But downstairs was ruined, and she had no idea why.

  “I can’t see a bastard thing in here!” Harper didn’t want to, but she really could cry right then. What was she supposed to do with no electricity? She certainly had no intentions of tackling the fuse box herself. Not when there had been a substantial leak. She may be stupid in some aspects of her life, but she knew better than to mess with electricity around water.

  She had to think. She couldn’t stay here tonight, but she also couldn’t sleep in her car. Frostbite would be the least of her concerns if someone found her the following morning, dead and frozen in her driver’s seat. Dramatic, yes, but Harper really could do without all this tonight.

  She pulled up the internet on her phone, sighing when she realised she had no service. The Wi-Fi wasn’t going live until tomorrow, but with no electricity, that wouldn’t matter.

  Harper secured the house and lifted her hold-all from the driveway. There were several B&Bs up the hill, one just a block away. Her only hope this evening was that one of them had space for her. She decided to try the one she’d stayed at twice during trips here with Callie, a gay friendly one they’d found on the Cumbria Pride website. She hadn’t thought to specifically seek out somewhere that accepted them, but it was a small town, and neither Harper nor Callie knew whether they would be welcome at a little family run bed and breakfast. But at this B&B, they had been welcomed and really looked after.

  Harper trudged up the hill, the ice-cold wind cutting through the skin on her face as she ascended the steep incline. If she hadn’t felt so tired from her journey, she would have gone further and headed into the town, but she really didn’t have the energy. When she left the motorway, she’d sat in traffic for over forty minutes. And then the rain had been relentless again, leaving her with no option but to drive significantly slower than she would have liked.

  This was just a mess.

  Relieved when she reached the bed and breakfast she’d stayed at just a few weeks ago, Harper pressed the doorbell, hoping and praying they could fit her in. She remembered the couple who owned it, quiet but very helpful. Jude and…Cait, she thought.

  Nothing.

  No answer.

  As Harper turned to walk back down the small stone path, the outside light flickered on, and Cait’s face came into view behind the old wooden door with a huge glass panel sitting in the middle of it.

  “Can I help you?” A woman with a soft tone landed in front of her, dark bouncy curls falling into place below the shoulder. They’d met twice before; Cait likely wouldn’t remember, but Harper did. She recalled how captivating her eyes had been, inviting and mellow.

  Harper shivered, hiking her hold-all further up onto her shoulder. “H-hi. I was wondering if you have a spare room for the night?”

  “Oh.” Cait paused, stepping out onto the path and looking around. “Where have you come from?”

  “Just the next block. I was supposed to be moving into Park Lodge today.”

  “You’re the new owner?”

  Harper offered a lopsided smile. “Unfortunately, yes.” She shivered again, causing Cait to take her by the elbow and guide her into the warmth of the B&B. “Oh, wow. That heat feels so nice.”

  “I only have a single room suite available tonight.”

  “That’s fine. I’ll take it. How much?”

  “Don’t worry about that right now. Go through into the lounge and warm yourself up.” Cait’s dark eyes softened as she took Harper’s hold-all from her shoulder. “Go on. I’ll bring you a hot drink. Tea or coffee?”

  “Coffee, please.” Harper rubbed her hands together, the tips of her fingers icy cold. She really needed to acclimatise to this place, but tonight, she just needed a thick duvet and some rubbish TV. She would probably fall asleep within ten minutes of climbing into bed anyway.

  Cait returned a few minutes later, holding a tray with a cafetière and two cups. A porcelain milk jug sat beside them with a jar of brown sugar cubes.

  “I know I’m really pushing my luck here, but do you by any chance know an electrician and a plumber?”

  “What for?” Cait asked, setting the tray down between them as they took seats on opposite couches.

  “When I got to my house tonight, I found I have no electricity. And there’s been a leak.”

  “Oh, no. That’s awful.” Cait offered a sympathetic smile, pouring two coffees. Harper focused on Cait’s delicate hands, her manicured nails. Simplistic, that’s how Cait appeared. And friendly. “I have a handyman on my books, if that’s any use to you. He’s qualified for both your problems. I can give him a call in the morning.”

  “That would really be a massive help. I’d really appreciate it.” Harper knew she was asking a lot, but she didn’t know where else to turn.

  “I’ll call him, and we’ll get you sorted out. Don’t worry.”

  “You’re Cait, right?”

  “I…am.” She frowned, her brown eyes rich and soft, just like chocolate.

  “Sorry. I’ve stayed here twice in the last few months. I was here with my girlfriend in room five for the weekend about a month ago.”

  “I knew I recognised you. I was wracking my brains in the kitchen trying to figure out how.”

  She recognised me? Harper punched that thought from her mind. Cait had a husband.

  “We were here while we finalised the details on the house.”

  “She’s not with you tonight?”

  Harper sighed. “No. We broke up. But it’s fine, I’m still doing this. That house is far too beautiful to give up.”

  “Park Lodge is something else. We considered buying it and opening another B&B, but it deserved a real chance at a happy ending. I didn’t want to go in there and destroy the interior with walls and en suites.”

  “Well, thank you. I’m glad you didn’t.” Harper smiled, taking a cup of coffee from the tray. “And thanks for fitting me in. I considered sleeping in my car, but the weather is awful.”

  “I won’t have you slee
ping in a car. Not when I have a perfectly good room upstairs for you. With breakfast in the morning.”

  Harper blushed when Cait smiled in her direction. She had no idea why. “Oh, don’t worry about me. I just need a place to crash for the night.”

  “Your house will need to dry out. I’ll book you in for a couple of weeks, and if anything changes, you just let me know. And since you’ve been here before, I’ll discount your stay.”

  “That’s really kind of you.”

  “You’re about to become our neighbour. And around here, we help one another out.”

  “Well, thanks.”

  “Come on. I’ll show you to your room, and you can get settled in. The rest can wait for another day.”

  Warmth spread through Harper as she followed Cait up the stairs. The B&B was cosy, homely, but she really wished she were settling into her own place this evening. But Cait was right, staying here was the best option. “Oh, I’m Harper, by the way.”

  Cait beamed as she stopped halfway up the stairs and turned around. “It’s really nice to meet you, Harper.”

  Chapter Two

  Cait pulled her woolly hat from her head, stepping through the door of the B&B with a wad of newspapers under her arm. Guests didn’t always pick them up, the internet seemed to be preferred these days, but she liked to have the option available. Jude would read them if nobody else did.