The Fiction Enthusiast: Character Guest Post: Danni Lewis from Weak At The Knees

Please welcome Danni Lewis from Jo Kessel's Weak At The Knees!

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Thou shall not commit adultery. It’s one of the Ten Commandments – the only one which I have specifically vowed, both to me as well as to my best friend Amber, I would never, ever break. And when I made that promise, I truly believed it. Why shouldn’t I? There are enough single men in the world. Why look for trouble by falling for someone who is married? It’s not fair on the person they’re married to and it can certainly never end in happiness. Can it?

I know all this and yet I find myself, against my best judgment, strangely drawn to a married man. His name’s Olivier and whilst I might have used the word ‘strangely’, I don’t really mean it. There’s nothing strange about my attraction for Olivier. It’s very real, very powerful and very confusing. I don’t think I’ve ever done anything bad in my life. I avoid knowingly stepping on ants. I hate wasps with a vengeance and yet I struggle to kill them even if they’re attacking me. Harming anyone or anything is not something that comes naturally to me. And yet here I am, contemplating doing just that. I’m contemplating what it would feel like to be kissed by Olivier, to be held by him and caressed by him. Just looking at him makes me want him, makes me feel weak at the knees.

Contemplation is hardly a crime, but the thought process is a dangerous one, because the more I think about it the more real it gets and I must never let this become my reality. It’s a horrible thing to do and I don’t want to be that type of person.

And yet, what if Olivier is my soul mate? What if he’s married the wrong person? What if I’m the right person and we were always destined to be together? Perhaps ‘thou shall not commit adultery’ is too black and white when in reality it’s an area full of fifty shades of grey – or in my case, fifty shades of white. Olivier is a ski instructor and as I look out my window snow is tumbling from the sky in thick, urgent flurries, pretty fat flakes landing heavily on the outside ledge before melting away.

Adultery is an ugly world and people are quick to judge. I’m aware that if I were to actually become involved with Olivier, that others would swiftly cast an opinion, condemning my behaviour. Particularly here in this tiny, insular French mountain village full of gossipy women and prying eyes. I’m not saying that they’re wrong. I too would have done the same a few months ago. But that was before I met someone who made me feel this way.

Of course, I don’t even know for sure if Olivier feels the same way. Perhaps he doesn’t. Perhaps this is all a product of my imagination and my longing for him will never be put to the test because he’s married and has no intention of ever being unfaithful. But what if he does feel exactly the same way? What if he sees me as his soul mate too? What if it’s just bad timing? What then – are we really not meant to be together?

Life isn’t always straightforward. Life isn’t always about the saccharine fairytale. Sometimes real life is gritty and messy. It’s taken me twenty-six years to realise that and to realise that perhaps in the past I have been too judgmental. People make mistakes. People marry the wrong people.

The insides of my head are a confused mess. They twist everything around to suit the way I feel. No, adultery is bad, very, very bad. STOP! Stop considering it and leave Olivier alone. Steer well clear of him so that temptation doesn’t cross your path.

Yes, yes, that is exactly what I’ll do. I’ll steer clear of him.

That very decision has me opening the window and sticking out my hand into the chill, wet atmosphere, marveling as the snowflakes land on the flat of my palm instead of the outside wooden ledge. But when two flakes collide dramatically in the air and trickle down onto my hand merged as one, my thought process starts to wobble.

How can something so wrong feel so right?

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Thank you for stopping by Danni!

About the book:

“We got so busy living life that we forgot to live our dreams.”

Danni Lewis has been playing it safe for twenty-six years, but her sheltered existence is making her feel old ahead of time. When a sudden death plunges her into a spiral of grief, she throws caution to the wind and runs away toFrance in search of a new beginning.

The moment ski instructor Olivier du Pape enters her shattered world she falls hard, in more ways than one.

Their mutual desire is as powerful and seductive as the mountains around them. His dark gypsy looks and piercing blue eyes are irresistible.

Only she must resist, because he has a wife - and she’d made a pact to never get involved with a married man.

But how do you choose between keeping your word and being true to your soul?

Weak at the Knees is Jo’s debut novel in the new adult, contemporary romance genre – a story of love and loss set between London and the heart of the French Alps.