by Helena Fairfax
The Antique Love is the story of Kurt Bold, a man from Wyoming. The day Kurt steps into an antique shop run by a young English girl, Penny Rosas, his life changes for ever.I wanted to meet Kurt at the start of his journey, to find out what kind of guy he is. So we arrange to meet one lunchtime....
The window of an antique shop in my village in the north of England |
I've come to this pub today to meet Kurt Bold, the hero of my novel The Antique Love. When a gentleman stands up in the window front, and beckons me over, he's everything I'd imagined *. Tall, broad-shouldered, with the sun falling through the window onto his dark blonde head, Kurt seems every inch the rugged cowboy...apart from one thing. He's holding a copy of The Financial Times. A newspaper more suited to an accountant than a country cowboy. Hmmm. A mystery.
Kurt holds out a hand, and envelops mine in his, before helping me into my seat. What a delightfully courteous man, I think.
"How are you, Kurt?" I ask, looking into his sun-creased features. "Are you enjoying living in London? It must be so different from your home in Wyoming."
"Sometimes I get a little homesick," he concedes. "I miss the wide open spaces. Guess I don't like to feel boxed in."
I glance around the crowded pub. Every female in the place, from the barmaid to the trendy office workers, has her eyes on Kurt, and is wiping away drool. Kurt doesn't appear to notice. He takes a sip of his bourbon.
I'm guessing Kurt is a man of action rather than words. I take a sip of my ginger beer. Silence falls.
"So," I say brightly. "What do you think of the women in London? Any romances in the air?"
Kurt's grey eyes darken like a stormy sky. "I'm not one for all that romance, and stuff," he says.
A chill descends, and I wonder if I've said something wrong. I look away. Something draws my eyes to the rain-soaked street outside. A young girl is standing in the window of the antique shop across the way, arranging a display of porcelain dolls. She's a pretty girl, but she looks a little tired. She appears to have something troubling her.
I switch my gaze to Kurt. "Have you ever been in Penny's Antique Shop?" I ask him. I indicate the shop opposite, and Kurt's expression brightens.
"Looks a real interesting place," he says.
I give him a small smile. "Why don't you finish your drink, and call in? Take a look around. You might just find something to interest you in there."
Kurt nods, looking at the girl in the window. "Yeah," he agrees slowly. "I might, at that."
He finishes his bourbon with one last swallow, and stands, holding out his hand. "It's been real good talking to you, Ms Fairfax," he says.
I put my hand in his. "Likewise," I say with a grin. "Although I think I did all the talking."
Kurt looks a little sheepish. We shake hands, and he makes his way through the crowded pub, back to the street. I watch as he crosses over the road to the antique shop. He pushes the door wide, stands on the doorstep for a couple of seconds, and then he's gone from my sight...
...and into the first page of The Antique Love!
* literally - since I invented him :)
I hope you've enjoyed meeting Kurt. If you'd like to find out more about The Antique Love, here is the blurb:
One rainy day in London, Wyoming man Kurt Bold walks into an antique shop off the King's Road and straight into the dreams of its owner, Penny Rosas. Lively, spirited and imaginative, Penny takes this handsome stranger for a romantic cowboy straight from the pages of a book. Kurt certainly looks every inch the hero...but he soon brings Penny's dreams to earth with a thump. Kurt's job is in the City, in the logical world of finance—and as far as Kurt is concerned, romance is just for dreamers. Events in his childhood have shown him just how destructive love can be. Now he’s looking for a wife, right enough, but what he wants is a marriage based on logic and rational decisions. Kurt treats Penny like he would his kid sister, but when he hires her to help refurbish his beautiful Victorian house near Richmond Park, it’s not long before he starts to realise it’s not just his home she’s breathing life into. The logical heart he has guarded so carefully all these years is opening up to new emotions, in a most disturbing way…
The Antique Love is available as an ebook from the Muse Bookstore, from Amazon, and from all major e-tailers.
You can find Helena Fairfax on Facebook, Goodreads and on Twitter @helenafairfax. If you've enjoyed this post, please call in at www.helenafairfax.com, where Helena shares more stories and photos.
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