Spotlight on a ChitLit feature! I know, I don't usually do anything that's not YA, but I couldn't help myself
Forever Fredless by Suzy Turner
SYNOPSIS
Kate Robinson has spent the past two
decades yearning to find her soul mate, the boy she found and then
lost during a family holiday.
Shortly after her twenty-eighth
birthday, however, she inherits a fortune from an old family friend
and becomes something of an overnight celebrity. Can her new-found
fame lead her to him after all this time?
EXCERPT
Thank God for anti-perspirant, I
thought as I sat on the couch and waited for the countdown to begin.
I clutched at my hands until they were white and looked across at the
two people sitting opposite, both completely at ease in front of the
cameras.
Five, four, three, two, one...
'Welcome back to this morning's edition
of Good Morning GB,' announced Ireland Rothschild, the blonde-haired,
blue eyed darling of morning TV.
'I'm here with Fergus O'Reilly and
we've a special guest with us this morning. None other than Britain's
love-struck multi-millionaire, Kate Robinson.
Welcome, Kate,' she said with a
dazzling smile aimed more towards the camera than at me.
As my cheeks began to heat up, I was so
grateful to the make-up artist, who had insisted on caking on the
foundation before the show had started. In fact, I had so much
make-up on that I was hoping once I'd removed it, nobody would
recognise me when I headed to the airport in my now rather stupidly
chosen car. I couldn't exactly blend in driving a pink Mini could I?
'Good morning,' I whispered shyly.
Fergus grinned back at me, tilting his
head as if he was about to speak to a child. 'Now, tell us, Kate
dear, how does it feel to never have to worry about money ever
again?' he asked, his toothpaste advert teeth twinkling beneath the
heat of the studio lights.
'Erm, well, I guess it's... erm, kind
of... erm,' I felt so bloody stupid. Great time for my brain to stop
working. 'I - erm. Great,' I nodded. 'Great, really great.' Idiot.
Ireland glanced across at her
grey-haired colleague and pouted before nodding. 'Tell us how you
knew this man. This,' she glanced down at the iPad on her lap and
continued, 'Samuel?'
I cleared my throat and lifted my head,
feeling like my brain was back in action. 'He was a very good friend
of the family, some years ago,' I answered.
'Just a friend? Why did he leave you
all his money and his property?' asked Fergus.
'He didn't have any family and I guess
you could say that my mother and I were the closest he ever had to a
family.'
'Isn't that lovely?' pouted Ireland.
'You certainly are a lucky woman. But what about your mother? Didn't
she receive any of his inheritance?'
'No,' I said before swallowing hard.
'My mother lives a rather... nomadic lifestyle, in Africa. She
doesn't want any of it. All she asked of me was to donate a sum to
charity which, of course, I have done.'
'She lives in Africa? A nomadic
lifestyle? That sounds intriguing. Perhaps we should interview her
one of these days,' laughed Ireland and Fergus together.
'Have you splashed out on anything
since receiving your inheritance back in June?' they asked, leaning
forward eagerly awaiting my answer.
'Yes I have actually. I bought a car
and a new house.'
'Well good for you, Kate. But now, most
of us are curious about this boy you lost. Tell us about him?'
Oh no. Why did I agree to this?
Taking a deep breath, I knew I had no
choice. Several articles had been printed since the one in Liberty;
everyone wanted to know more and nobody was going to leave me alone
until I told them everything.
'He was just a boy who I had a
connection with when I was much, much younger. It was at Skegness. At
an afternoon disco for kids. I was dancing and I felt someone touch
my back and when I turned around there he was. The most beautiful
boy I'd ever seen,' I said, stopping and smiling as I reminisced. ‘It
was one of the happiest memories of my life.'
Sighing, I continued, 'We just looked
at each other and it was like everything else just disappeared into
the background. We stood staring, for what seemed like ages. I could
barely move. And then, almost as soon as it had begun, my dad
appeared and took me away. I couldn't do anything as we walked to the
car. I looked around for the boy but he was gone. And then, just as
we were driving away, I turned around in my seat and there he was. He
had a daffodil in his hand. I always assumed he'd gone to pick it for
me, but that's just a childish fantasy, I guess. The whole thing is
probably nothing but a childish fantasy, really.'
Ireland was very carefully dabbing at
her eyes with a tissue, pretending to be moved, while Fergus smiled
sadly.
'What a beautiful story, Kate. I don't
believe for one second that this is a childish fantasy. It's romantic
and beautiful,' Ireland said.
'Now, tell us, Kate. Why did you call
him Fred?' asked Fergus.
Smiling, I explained about the Right
Said Fred song, just as the music began in the background.
'What a wonderful tale. Thank you,
Kate, for joining us today. It's been a pleasure having you with us
to share your story,' said Fergus.
'Thank you,' I whispered before the
camera moved back to Ireland as she straightened her skirt and looked
alluring. 'Do you remember this moment in time?'
she asked. 'Are you the elusive Fred?
We'd love to hear from you. You can contact us at...'
Before I could hear anything else, I
was ushered off the couch and back behind the scenes where Jo stood,
waiting patiently for me, with open arms.
PURCHASE LINKS
(more coming soon)
AUTHOR BIO
Suzy Turner has worked as a journalist,
assistant editor, features editor and magazine editor. Early in 2010
however, she began writing full time and has since completed six books for young
adults (the Raven Saga and The Morgan Sisters series) and one chick
lit novel, Forever Fredless.
Although Suzy is a Yorkshire lass at
heart, she left her home town of Rotherham, UK, to move to Portugal
with her family when she was ten. The Algarve continues to be her home, where she
lives with her childhood sweetheart and husband of 15 years, Michael,
and their two neurotic dogs and a cat who thinks
she's a princess.
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