Penny’s your average voluptuous girl next door. Still a virgin, she’s settled for dull accountant Laurence. However, Penny is about to have her Shades of Grey moment. Saved from an accident by enigmatic stranger Nicholas, she yields to temptation and agrees to his daring proposal. Can Nicholas prove to her in the space of the few short weeks before her wedding, that she’s made a mistake?
Penny’s preconceived notions of sex are challenged, as she now submits to desire and unwittingly falls truly in love with a man who loves her purely for herself.
But is it too late? Can she sever the ties that bind her to Laurence and is she strong enough to become bound by ties a million times more intriguing? In essence, is Penny brave enough to be the woman she knows she is inside as a game of hearts becomes self-fulfilment on a scale she never imagined possible?
Nicholas enjoys feeding our game with titbits and he knows I’ll wonder about their purposes.
One day, he bought me a journal. When he handed it to me at the station, there was a gleam in his eye as he told me the journal was destined for something special and was going to be part of our journey.
‘Penny, listen to me carefully,’ he said, as I took the pretty, wrapped parcel and, like a kid, ripped off the paper and ribbons.
‘I don’t want to you to fill this with nonsense. Every time I give you one of my little surprises, I want you to write about it. I want you to explain to me what it means to you and what message you think I’m sending.’ Whenever he adopted that commanding tone, I knew I had to listen carefully.
I’d run my fingers over the cover and Nicholas had grinned at me. The journal was flashy pink, not at all the colour I’d have chosen. I wondered why he’d gone for such a vibrant shade. But, you see, that’s how he likes to confuse me. One moment he can be tacky, the next sophisticated. What did the journal tell me? Well, it said to me, “Penny, you must embrace that girlie part of you you never embraced before; the frivolous, fun Penny.” How clever of you, Nicholas. You see how you make me go deeper and question the Penny I prefer to keep hidden. I have to face the fact you know me better than I know myself.
Constance Munday is the romance writing name for well known erotic author Alcamia Payne. As Constance Munday she writes a variety of historical and contemporary romances that like to focus on ordinary, feisty heroines in unusual and challenging situations. She is currently working on her third romance novel; the second in a chick lit/hot romance series for publication in 2014.
