Till There Was You
Read Till There Was You Online
Authors: Lilliana Anderson,Wade Anderson
Tags: #alpha male, #Australian romance, #Damaged hero, #second chance romance, #love against the odds
Copyright 2016, Lilliana Anderson
All rights reserved
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means without the prior written permission of the author of this book.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead is purely coincidental. Any actual places, products or events mentioned are used in a purely fictitious manner. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various places/products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission and is by no way sponsored by the trademark owners.
Design by Ember Designs
Lilliana
Anderson
The Confidante Trilogy
Confidante: The Brothel
Confidante: The Escort
Confidante: The Madame
Beautiful Series
Too Close
A Beautiful Struggle
Phoenix
A Beautiful Forever
Commitment
A Beautiful Melody
A Beautiful Rock
Devotion
A Beautiful Star
A Beautiful Taste
Entwined Series
Our Hearts Entwined
Our Lives Entwined
Drawn Series
Drawn
Drawn 2 – Obsession
Drawn 2 – Redemption
Drawn to Fight
Zac & Evie
Hugo & Meg
Standalones
47 Things
In the Wind
With Wade Anderson
Till There Was You
For information on upcoming releases visit
By Lilliana Anderson
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T
HIS BOOK HAS been years in the making. When I started writing fulltime, Wade and I would go for walks and talk about book ideas etc. It was during these walks that he told me about an idea he had. It was about an Aussie guy who took off to Canada after a traumatic event. From that moment on we called it ‘Canada Guy’ whenever we spoke about the story—which was a lot.
Initially, he wanted to me to write it. But it wasn’t clear in my mind like it was in his, so after a lot of cajoling, Wade sat down and began working on a draft. I remember seeing him at our kitchen table tapping away on that first day and saying to him, “What are you working on?” He grunted something about ‘Canada Guy’ and continued typing, before pausing and saying, “I had to get it out of my head somehow. You weren’t going to write it.” In response, I laughed and told him that’s because it was
his
book.
And I still call this
his
book, because the whole idea and premise of the story came from him. I simply went over it, fleshed it out and cleaned it up until it was ready to release into the world—kind of like he gave me a box of jigsaw pieces and once I put it all together, it became a beautiful clear picture. (Although, he calls it
my
book, because of all the rewriting that comes after that first draft. lol!).
In the end, we worked together, talked a huge amount about story structure and character development, while bouncing ideas back and forth—without killing each other—until it became
our book.
On behalf of Wade and myself, we hope you enjoy
Till There Was You...
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H
aunted by his past, Lincoln Ryan abandoned his life in Australia. Retreating halfway around the world to the town of Newsham, he found a place as remote and cold as his heart had become. It suited him perfectly—for a while.
When a fateful event forces him to help out local bar owner, Lily Colbert, Linc finds his life of solitude flooded with the light and hope of one stubborn woman. Slowly his walls begin to crumble as he lets the enigmatic Lily in. But when Linc and Lily dance perilously close to the ‘L’ word, his secrets re-emerge, rocking him to the core as he tries once again to outrun his past.
Unfortunately, the past always seems to follow people around, and for Linc, hiding may not be an option anymore. Not when he has Lily. Not when he might finally have a future...
Till There Was You is the debut novel by Wade Anderson, co-written with his wife, Lilliana Anderson (author of Drawn and 47 Things).
Wounded
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“S
top!”
Looking at the groaning bodies on the floor around him, he turned toward her voice, pressing his lips together as his chest heaved.
Coming here was a mistake.
A cheap shot from an unknown assailant connected with his jaw, causing a burst of pain as his lip split against his tooth. The taste of copper filled his mouth. He didn’t get the chance to react before a shock landed low on his back.
“
Argh
.” Zapping agony raced up his spine, the pain momentarily blinding him and messing with his balance. He stumbled and tried to regain his footing.
Then came the blow to his head...
It was a good tactic against a man his size. It was what he would’ve done had he found himself out-sized and outmatched—pick your moment, do something to slow your opponent down, then do whatever it took to knock them out. Which was exactly what happened, and why he was now sinking deep into the darkness—a darkness he feared and loathed in equal measures. They were always waiting for him there, their innocent eyes reminding him of all he lost.
A
s Linc’s mind fled toward the light, he became aware of the ache in his back and the stinging pain in his lip. “What the hell?” he murmured as the room slowly came into focus and the memory of how he got there resurfaced. A small growl of anger rumbled through his chest.
“Welcome back to the land of the living, sleeping beauty.” A smug voice informed him he was not alone. “We thought you’d be out of it for longer than this. I did hit you pretty hard.”
Slowly, he rolled over to see who the voice belonged to. The first thing that came into view was a solid looking set of bars; the second, a man standing on the other side of those bars wearing a police uniform with the name ‘Colbert’ on his nametag. He stood twirling a set of keys around his finger in a lazy fashion.
Jackass.
Linc narrowed his eyes in contempt. “Screw you, princess. Come at me from the front next time and we’ll see who gets knocked the fuck out.”
The cop smirked. “Australian, huh? Heard the loner in the Plowman place had an accent.”
“My nationality has nothing to do with the fact that I’d beat your arse in a fair fight. Blindsiding a guy is dirty—even for a cop.”
“Think I’ll pass on that invitation. Saw what you did to the four guys at the bar—who, by the way, say you started it by sucker punching two of their friends.”
“
Bullshit.
Those fucking cowards started it after they ignored the waitress’ protests and grabbed her arse. I just stopped them.”
As that bit of information surfaced, the smug smile slipped from Colbert’s face. If Linc hadn’t been watching, he never would have seen it, because it quickly erased when a pounding on the front doors grabbed everyone’s attention.
A younger cop emerged and moved toward the doors. He peered outside, squinting to see through the stormy night before turning back, his brow furrowed, lips pressed into a thin line.
“Um, it’s your sister. She looks seriously pissed.”
Against his better judgment, Colbert released a resigned sigh and motioned for her to be let in.
When the door opened, it seemed as though two storms raged into the room, one born of Mother Nature and freezing cold; the other of human flesh, a torrent of blonde hair, and female indignation. When she stopped in front of her brother, there was something about the raging hot look on her face and her white knuckled fists balled at her sides that had Linc recalling times past. He had to look away and squash those memories into the back of his mind where they belonged.
The key twirling stopped abruptly as Colbert’s hands went up and he took a few steps backwards in the face of his sister’s wrath.
“Whoa there, Lil, take it easy. Look, no real harm done.” He pointed to the cell where Linc had taken temporary residence. Despite himself and the uncomfortable split lip, Linc smiled at the mountie’s obvious fear of his hot-headed sibling.
“Let him out,” she yelled. “Those assholes started it. And if he hadn’t punched them in the face, I was about to.”
The other officer let out a chuckle, obviously finding her amusing. She spun around in white-hot fury and focused her luminescent green eyes on him. “You don’t think I could?” she demanded, holding up her fist like she was about to hit the guy in the nose.
“No, I...ah...” he stuttered, shrinking back from her. Feeling his lip would split further if he smiled any broader, Linc thought it best to hide his amusement behind his hand and turn away until he had a straight face.
“Let him out, Matt.
Now.
”
“Can’t. Won’t.”
Her tone matched the temperature of the storm outside. “And why not?”
Brave or foolish, the young cop answered, “It’s policy, Lily. Once in for drunk and-or disorderly, it’s an overnight stay, for better or worse.”
“Don’t worry, sis. I’ll make sure no charges are pressed, and he can go first thing in the morning—after a good night’s sleep and when he doesn’t look like he wants to punch my face in. Besides, it will give us a chance to learn a bit about our reclusive friend here.”
Lily looked between Linc and her brother. “I’ll be back first thing in the morning to make sure he gets out of here.” Her tone left no doubt about her displeasure.
“Yeah, sure, do whatever you want. You usually do anyway,” Colbert said to her back as she stalked outside, deliberately leaving the door open as she vanished into the swirling white embrace of the storm from which she had appeared.
The younger cop rushed to shut the door as soft but stinging wisps of pure white snow bit at his exposed hands and face. After a brief struggle, he managed to close and lock the door, letting warmth seep back into the room.
“Well, I’ll take the first shift. You go home and get some sleep,” Colbert ordered.
“Sure thing, Sarge,” the younger cop mumbled as he moved toward the back of the station, rubbing his hands over numb ears.