Scent of a Rose (ePub)

Scent of a Rose is a story of love, lust, trust and deceit, and features an eclectic cast of eccentrics who sometimes help and sometimes obstruct Samantha and Sebastian's journey to love and happiness.

Samantha has left the grip of her overbearing mother and the family home - an oppressive council house in Bankside, and now lives with her Aunt and Uncle at the stately Corley Hall. Here they all work hard looking after Corley's esteemed guests. Samantha loves gardening and floristry, just like her lovely Nan Maureen did who passed away a year ago. Samantha still misses her dreadfully and unfortunately her long term boyfriend, Gary is no help to her in her grief, he is too busy to see her, every time she tries to arrange to see him he lets her down.

Sebastian arrives at London Heathrow, tired, jetlagged and wondering how he can get his personal life back on track. He knows he's made mistakes, he isn't happy and worst of all: he isn't composing. He hides out at Corley Hall and meets the demure and quiet Samantha, it isn't long before he finds he has feelings for her, only his usual methods of seduction fail. Samantha isn't a woman who can be swayed by glitzy parties and expensive jewellery. Every gossip rag has photos of Sebastian with an array of attractive women plastered over their front pages. Next, at a Charity Ball Sebastian has taken Samantha to, Perdita sashays in showing off a huge diamond ring, claiming she and Sebastian are engaged.

Heartbroken Samantha flees back to Bankside where her Dad's affair is revealed and her entire family are out in the street fighting. Gary turns up hoping to convince Samantha to take him back. Into this craziness comes Sebastian to try and explain his complicated life. Samantha is mortified by the whole thing and she rejects Sebastian and runs away back to Corley.

Ironically, it's Lucinda, Sebastian's cool ex-wife who arrives at Corley and speaks to Samantha, convinces her that he isn't what the media portray him to be. Lucinda's visit gives Sebastian the opportunity to improve his relationship with Samantha and he takes her to his private, beachfront Dorset cottage. Here he reveals to her his secrets including his fake public persona: he too grew up on a dodgy council estate – he hides his past from the world.

Perdita isn't done with Sebastian yet, she has one last desperate attempt to ruin his life.

Can Samantha forgive Sebastian's deceit? Can she see through Perdita's lies?

And is she really prepared to face the public scrutiny that being a rock star's wife will entail?

The question, she decides, is simple: is she in? Or is she out?