The Day We Meet Again by Miranda Dickinson

The Day We Meet Again by Miranda Dickinson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Phoebe and Sam meet by chance at St Pancras station. Heading in opposite directions, both seeking their own adventures, meeting the love of their lives wasn’t part of the plan. So they make a promise: to meet again in the same place in twelve months' time if they still want to be together.

But is life ever as simple as that?

Wow, where do I start, first of all I cannot believe this is Miranda's tenth book! Where has the time gone?

I love a good chick lit and this one really lived up to my expectations. Phoebe and Sam meet at a train station after their trains have been delayed. They don't know each other and they are going in completely opposite directions but there is instant attraction. They meet and the connection they make is so strong that they decide they want to meet up at the same place next year. Will they meet again in a years time and will they still feel the same way?

This is a beautiful book, one that I would say even if romance isn't your thing you would enjoy. Reading this book it bought up so many questions as you were going through it, would they meet someone else? Would they feel the same if they met up in a year? Can they go the distance?

I personally think this would make a fantastic film. I don't want to say much more about the book as I don't want to spoil it for you. All you need to know if that you have to read this book! Just make sure you clear your schedule so you can really allow yourself to be immersed in it.

This is another brilliant novel by Miranda and I can't wait for her next.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Butterfly in Frost by Sylvia Day blog tour

Teagan Ransom has finally settled in a place she can call home, spending time with new friends sheadores, focusing on a fulfilling job, whilst reconciling the past and laying the groundwork for the future.

That is until Garrett Frost moves in next door. He’s obstinate and too bold, a raging and disruptive force of nature. Teagan recognizes the ghosts that haunt him, the torment driving him. Garrett would be risky in any form, but wounded, he’s far more dangerous. Tegan fears he could pull apart everything she has worked so hard to build, but Garret’s too determined…and too tempting.

Emotional and heartrending, Butterfly in Frost marks a brilliant return by global sensation Sylvia Day, the No.1 international multimillion bestselling author of the Crossfire saga.

Extract:

Despite the lengthy walk and a leisurely lunch, I’m still out of sorts as I stroll down the driveway to my house. I’ve been trying to compose myself all morning, and I’m irritated that I can’t. After all this time, I realize I haven’t come as far as I believed. As I skirt the detached garage and head up the walkway to my front door, I can’t help but glance over at the sleek black Range Rover parked at a haphazard angle in the neighboring driveway.

The hard lump of ice inside me still hurts. I’m angry. I’d had each day planned out going forward. A new city, new friends, new routines. Half a year’s worth of therapy and reconditioning, for what? My neighbors move, and I feel as if I’ve been deceived. As if the new life I’ve built came with a guarantee that nothing would change. With conscious determination, I exhale and try to push out my anxiety with it. I pull my keys from my pocket as I approach my front door and slide one into the dead bolt. When the lock opens, I use the same key in the original midcentury doorknob that sits in the dead center of the door. Once inside, I relock them both, toss my keys on the end table, and disarm the alarm before the grace period runs out and the earsplitting siren goes off. Going through each step in the same established order settles me some. But it’s being back in my home, alone, that provides the greatest relief. I gaze longingly at the couch, so exhausted I just want to curl into the cushions and sleep forever. I know what it means to feel this tired; I know what’s coming. That doesn’t mean I can stop it. Instead, I look ahead to the wall of windows overlooking the Sound. The left side of the butterfly roof wings up and over the double-sided fireplace and dining room, with clerestory windows following the graceful rise so nothing blocks the majestic view.

Just beyond the verdant hump of Maury and Vashon Islands, the sprawling Olympic Mountains lie west and run south. Some days, fog conceals the range so thoroughly, it disappears. But on cloudless days like today, I can see the snowcapped peaks stretching down the coast.

I soak it in, letting the familiarity calm me. I stand in the center of my living room long enough to watch another massive cargo ship lumber by on the way to Tacoma. Sunlight glitters off the gently moving water, and crab-trap buoys bob to the rhythm. It’s quiet here, so very different from the frenetic pace and noise of New York. I could hardly hear myself think there, with life beating at me from all sides, a very busy medical practice, and an ever-present camera crew. Here, I can be alone with my thoughts, with no one to judge me or pity me or expect me to “get over it.”

The Postcard by Zoe Folbigg

The Postcard by Zoe Folbigg
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A year after the kiss that brought them together in a snowy train-station doorway, Maya and James are embarking on another journey – this time around the world.

The trip starts promisingly, with an opulent and romantic Indian wedding. But as their travels continue, Maya fears that 'love at first sight' might not survive trains, planes and tuk tuks, especially when she realises that what she really wants is a baby, and James doesn't feel the same. 

Can Maya and James navigate their different hopes and dreams to stay together? Or is love at first sight just a myth after all...

Romantic chic lit based on a true story and the second book in this series. I’d not read the first book but it didn’t affect the enjoyment of this second one.

Having taken the plunge and left their jobs for a year, this couple embark on an adventure around the world in the hopes that it will bring them closer together. With Maya’s hopes of romantic sunsets, tropical islands and maybe a proposal thrown in for good measure both her and James find the reality of backpacking can be stressful and tests their relationship to the limit.

Lovely atmospheric descriptions of countries add to the enjoyment as this novel ticks along. Not a pacy read and a bit slow to start with but it’s not a thriller so that’s fine. Nicely written with good central characters and plausible secondary ones. Not quite up there with the Sophie Kinsella’s and for me more humour would have given this the lift I felt it needed, however it was a decent holiday read and worth the time invested. A good 3 stars.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

What happens now? - Sophia Money - Coutts

What Happens Now? by Sophia Money-Coutts
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After eight years together, Lil Bailey thought she’d already found ‘the one’ – that is, until he dumped her for a blonde twenty-something colleague. So she does what any self-respecting singleton would do: swipes right, puts on her best bra and finds herself on a first date with a handsome mountaineer called Max. What’s the worst that can happen?

Well it’s pretty bad actually. First Max ghosts her and then, after weeing on a stick (but mostly her hands), a few weeks later Lil discovers she’s pregnant. She’s single, thirty-one and living in a thimble-sized flat in London, it’s hardly the happily-ever-after she was looking for.

Lil’s ready to do the baby-thing on her own – it can’t be that hard, right? But she should probably tell Max, if she can track him down. Surely he’s not that Max, the highly eligible, headline-grabbing son of Lord and Lady Rushbrooke, currently trekking up a mountain in South Asia? Oh, maybe he wasn’t ignoring Lil after all…  

This is a real fun, entertaining read, one which was a bit of fresh air for me as I haven't read a book like this for a while. At the moment I have limited time to sit down and read a book for hours, so I need a book that will hold my attention and make me want to go back to read more of it. This book certainly did that.

Lil is going through a tough time, she has just come out of a relationship with a guy, who she thought was the one, they have been together for 8 years and she was ready for her relationship to go to the next level. However she has not got her happy ever after and is forced into the dating scene. Using an app she agrees to meet up with Max, things are good on the date and that night they get even better. In the morning when Lil wakes she finds Max has gone and although she thinks its a bit rubbish him running out on her like that begins to move on, that is until she finds herself pregnant.

I really enjoyed this book, it whizzed by and I really wanted to know what was going to happen to Lil and Max. I recommend this to anyone who wants a fun, light hearted read. Personally I can't wait to read more by Sophia.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

The Retreat - Sherri Smith blog tour

The Retreat: A Novel of Suspense by Sherri Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Katie Manning was a beloved child star until her mid-teens when her manager attacked and permanently scarred her face, effectively ending her career and sending her on a path of all-too-familiar post-Hollywood self-destruction.

Now twenty-seven, Katie wants a better answer to those clickbait "Where Are They Now?" articles that float around online. An answer she hopes to find when her brother's too-good-to-be-true fiancée invites her to a wellness retreat upstate. Together with Katie's two best friends - one struggling with crippling debt and family obligations, one running away from a failed job and relationship - Katie will try to find the inner peace promised at the tranquil retreat. But finding oneself just might drudge up more memories than Katie is prepared to deal with.

Each woman has come to the retreat for different reasons. Each has her secrets to hide. And at the end of this weekend, only one will be left standing.

Another book centered around a wellness retreat which seem to be a popular choice for writers at the moment. A psychological thriller that brings together 4 women Katie, Carmen, Ellie and Ariel who attend a weekend getaway each hoping to gain something uplifting from the experience.

Naturally things don’t go particularly well and at the end of the novel only one of the group come out alive. Well paced with characters although not entirely likeable do make this work.

Not as good at Nine Perfect strangers by Liane Morriarty but worth 4 stars

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.



Excerpt: 



Excerpt 4. Carmen

She’d started donating her eggs in her second term at NYU when she realized that her financial-aid package, even with a scholarship, fell short of covering all of her tuition.

She had tried working as a bartender, but the late nights caused her grades to slip, and her partial scholarship was threatened. She was in danger of not being able to finish out the year. She would have had to drop out, left with nothing but crippling debt to show for it (which eventually happened anyway).

Enter Darla Gibbins from ReproGen. She’d solicited Carmen in the student commons, stepping out in front of her as if she were selling hand lotion in a mall. Darla looked like either a madam or a television evangelist. Chubby and virtually chinless, her fake thick lashes wagged from her eyelids like butterflies stuck in glittery grease. “What’s a little discomfort for a couple of weeks if it puts up to $10,000 in your pocket? Easy money.”

Ten thousand turned out to be seven thousand. But the egg donation was easy, and she could study in the waiting room. She was hooked.

Now Carmen was on her fourth donation because clearly she came from especially fecund stock, and the money was just cover- ing the little extras like clothes and replacing the busted picture window because they couldn’t go another winter with cardboard as their only protection. Her thirteen-year-old brother, the shithead, had gone on a Banksy-inspired vandalism spree and now Carmen was stuck paying off his fines to keep him out of juvie. Then to top it off, the hot water tank just went.

She told herself it was her last donation, but even she didn’t be- lieve it. She felt hooked. It wasn’t the easiest way to make money, but out of all the ways to make money, it wasn’t the worst either.

Carmen felt she was nine years old and back in the free swim- ming class offered to low-income families. The instructor had called the kids who’d passed to stand on the side and left the failures in the pool, half treading water, half drowning, looking up at them, chlorinated water burning up their noses and eyes. Carmen did everything right to escape that pool, but there she was anyway. Pov- erty was like a serial killer at the end of a horror movie; just when she thought she’d gotten away, it popped up stronger, yielding an electric bill like a machete.



She still skimmed the release of liability waiver and signed it anyway. She planned on backing out at the last minute to avoid Katie’s inevitable wheedling that would last the entire weekend. Carmen’s contract specifically stated she not partake in any drugs or alcohol, yet she couldn’t deny her interest was piqued. She’d love to drink some magical tea, morph into her spirit animal or whatever, and gallop around in some rainbow-drenched, unicorn-laden alter- nate universe for an hour or eight. Her life was hard. It’d be nice to sink into oblivion for a while. It was what she’d always liked about Katie; she brought out Carmen’s risk-taking side. She slayed her type A. Got her to loosen up, drink too much, have fun, take off her glasses, let her hair fall loose like the schoolmarm in some old- school rock video who suddenly gave in to all her seething impulses. Katie was her bad influence. Someone she could blame for doing what she really wanted to do.

The Tapestry Bag by Isabella Muir Audio Review

The Tapestry Bag: A gripping mystery, full of twists and turns: Volume 1 by Isabella Muir
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A young woman, Zara, goes missing, one year to the day that her boyfriend, Joel, was killed in a hit and run. Is Zara in danger? Is she still alive? What really happened to Joel and who is to blame?

In the quiet seaside town of Tamarisk Bay, the police appear to be doing little to find Zara. Her friend Janie decides to make it her mission to track her down. It’s the ‘swinging sixties’ and Janie fears that Zara may be mixed up with drugs, alcohol, or worse. As Janie explores the strange circumstances of Zara’s disappearance, she starts to question the truth about Joel’s death.

Janie runs the mobile library and has a passion for crime fiction, especially Agatha Christie. Can Poirot help Janie solve the mystery of Zara’s disappearance?

As she looks for clues she comes across some unsavoury characters who each have a reason for wanting Joel dead. Can Janie untangle the web of lies and find out the truth?

When I listened to this on audible I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I don't particularly like books set in the past, however I was pleasantly surprised with this.

I thought the story progressed quickly and I really got into it. It was bought to life by the narrator, I was a little unsure about her at first but after listening for a while I thought she was the perfect choice.

This is a story about a mystery, Zara goes missing and her friend is determined to get to the bottom of what happened to her, even when it seems like everyone else has given up on her. This has a very Agatha Christie vibe to it, one that will keep you wanting to listen to the end.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys mysteries/thrillers. I listened to this really quickly and it helped housework and other boring things go by a lot quicker!

I would like to thank audible for sending me this in exchange for an honest review.

Sleep by C.L. Taylor

Sleep by C.L. Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

All Anna wants is to be able to sleep. But crushing insomnia, terrifying night terrors and memories of that terrible night are making it impossible. If only she didn’t feel so guilty…

To escape her past, Anna takes a job at a hotel on the remote Scottish island of Rum, but when seven guests join her, what started as a retreat from the world turns into a deadly nightmare.

Each of the guests have a secret, but one of them is lying – about who they are and why they're on the island. There's a murderer staying in the Bay View hotel. And they've set their sights on Anna.

Seven strangers. Seven secrets. One deadly lie.

Someone’s going to sleep and never wake up…

To begin with, after reading the blurb I thought this would be in the style of Agatha Christi and 'and then there were none'. I was actually very wrong, although I was kind of looking forward to one of those style stories!

I found this was a very easy, quick read, I managed to work a full week and still find time and the want to pick up the book after work, this is something I don't do often!

Anna the lead character has been in an accident and decides she needs a fresh start. After applying for a job on the island of Rum in Scotland she packs her bags and makes the journey up there. This island is really remote, there isn't a doctor, he comes over every couple of weeks and if the community need anything they have to travel to the mainland for this.

Anna's job is in the only hotel on the island and when the guests turn up she begins to realise things are what they seem. Throughout sleep we begin to learn a little about each of the characters and the plot really draws you in.

Personally I was a little disappointed with the ending, I felt it could have been better and I had already worked out who the killer was, saying that it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the novel.

This is one I recommend you read. I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

My Sister’s Lies by S.D. Robertson with extract

My Sister’s Lies by S.D. Robertson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


For a decade, Hannah’s life has been pretty close to perfect – she has a great job, she’s married to Mark, and her child-free existence means she’s free as a bird. The only sadness in her life is a fall-out with her sister Diane, who hasn’t spoken to her in over ten years. But now Diane is on her doorstep – and this time, she’s got her teenage daughter Mia in tow.

When Diane asks if Mia can stay with Hannah and Mark for a few days, Hannah is glad of the chance to get to know her niece. But as the days turn into weeks and Diane doesn’t return, Hannah begins to worry. Why hasn’t her sister been in touch?

Diane is carrying a devastating secret that will destroy Hannah’s carefully constructed life. But how much is she willing to reveal – and when will she pick her moment?

No fireworks with this one, it was a reasonable read but lacked suspense which made it rather slower than I would have liked.

The ending was quite predictable in fact I had guessed early on what had happened and tied in pretty quickly who had committed suicide.

No a fan of the transcripts but they did give additional background so I suppose they were relevant although there was so much explanation on feelings in almost every page that the reader would have got the point without the transcripts anyway. I confess I skim read these anyway as they were not revealing anything new.

Didn't really excite me; an adequate read but really rather ordinary so can only give this one a 3 star rating.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

The Mum who got her life back

When her 18-year-old twins leave for university, single mum Nadia’s life changes in ways she never expected: her Glasgow flat feels suddenly huge, laundry doesn’t take up half her week, and she no longer has to buy ‘the Big Milk’. After almost two decades of putting everyone else first, Nadia is finally taking care of herself. And with a budding romance with new boyfriend Jack, She’s never felt more alive.

That is, until her son Alfie drops out of university, and Nadia finds her empty nest is empty no more. With a heartbroken teenager to contend with, Nadia has to ask herself: is it ever possible for a mother to get her own life back? And can Jack and Nadia’s relationship survive having a sulky teenager around?

A gloriously funny and uplifting new book perfect for fans of Gill Sims and Jill Mansell.


Extract:


Celibacy has its advantages. It really does!

I’m not even saying that in a bitter tone, with my teeth gritted. I can happily wander about with hairy bison legs beneath my jeans, if I want to. I can orgasm perfectly well by myself, and have plenty of friends to knock around with. Corinne and Gus are two of my closest; we’ve all known each other since our art college days in Dundee, and these days we share a studio pretty close to the city centre. As my children grew up, and I managed to establish myself properly, I reached the point where I could finally afford to work outside of the flat. It feels like a luxury sometimes, as now Alfie and Molly have left I can hardly complain about the lack of space at home. But I love working here. Our studio is the top floor of a tatty old warehouse, currently decked out with decorations and a sparkling white tree, as Christmas is approaching.

‘So your present to yourself is to get online,’ remarks Gus, as he makes coffee for the three of us.

‘I’m not joining a dating site,’ I say firmly.

‘Why not just give it a go?’ He glances over from the huge canvas he’s working on.

‘I’ve told you, Gus. It’s just not my thing.’

I turn back to the preliminary sketches that are littered all over my desk. I’m illustrating a series of study guides covering English, maths and history, and possibly more subjects, if the client is happy with the results. As I start to sketch, I’m aware of Gus and Corinne exchanging a look; both of them reckon I have been single for far too long.

It’s a year and a half since I last slept with someone, and that person happened to be Ryan Tibbles, who was also at art college with us, although I hadn’t known him very well when we were students. I’d just experienced a little frisson whenever I glimpsed him mooching around, with his mop of black, shaggy hair and languid expression, a smouldering roll-up permanently clamped between his sexy lips.



After we’d graduated, everyone had scattered all over the country in pursuit of work or to further their studies. I returned to Glasgow, to do admin for a small design company, hoping it would lead to greater things. Ryan, who’d been the star of his year, whizzed off to do a post-grad at St Martins in London. I heard nothing from him for all those years until he turned up out of the blue at a party at Corinne’s.

Wren by Katrina Lehman (illus. Sophie Beer)

Wren by Katrina Lehman (illus. Sophie Beer)
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Sometimes we find what we’re looking for in the most unexpected places.

Wren just wants a bit of peace and quiet. What he gets is the noisiest baby sister you could ever imagine! But when Wren runs away to the country, he discovers that maybe peace and quiet isn’t all he needs …

To begin with I thought this was a book about autism and to help children understand what they are going through, however the further I got into the book I changed my mind on this.

This is about a little boy called Wren, he is part of a big family and likes peace and quiet. One day when he thinks the noise level can't get any worse, his mum and dad have a new baby girl and he gets to the point where he just can't stand it.

I think this is a good book for children with large families or new siblings. It may also be good for children who struggle with noise.

There are nice illustrations in the book, which you can get lost in for a while between pages. 

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.



#wren #scribblekidsbooks

After the Eclipse by Francesca Dorricott with giveaway

After the Eclipse by Fran Dorricott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A stunning psychological thriller about loss, sisterhood, and the evil that men do, for readers of Ruth Ware and S.K. Tremeyne

Two solar eclipses. Two missing girls.

Sixteen years ago a little girl was abducted during the darkness of a solar eclipse while her older sister Cassie was supposed to be watching her. She was never seen again. When a local girl goes missing just before the next big eclipse, Cassie - who has returned to her home town to care for her ailing grandmother - suspects the disappearance is connected to her sister: that whoever took Olive is still out there. But she needs to find a way to prove it, and time is running out.




What a great debut novel, full of twists and turns, a real page turner.

16 years after the disappearance of her sister, Cassie returns to Bishops' Green where it all happened to take care of her gran who has dementia and to escape her life in London. Haunted both by her sister Olive and her own guilt Cassie (a journalist) finds herself enmeshed in trying to uncover a similar disappearance in this sleepy backwater town. In doing so she embarks on a journey of self discovery and finally gets closer to the truth of the disappearance of Olive.

The plot is tightly woven and pulls you into this mystery like a magnet. There are so many secrets and lies that it was impossible to guess who the perpetrator was. Just as I thought I had it sussed another curve ball appeared to blow that theory out of the water.

Good likeable relatable characters, plenty of suspense and momentum kept this read at a fast pace - I devoured this in just under a day. The 'who dunnit' does not come out until the very end; a very accomplished debut that results in a very enjoyable read. I look forward to Fran's next novel - 5 stars and highly recommended.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.



Right, for the exciting part, I have a copy to offer for a giveaway, very kindly offered by the publisher. This giveaway is open for people living in the UK/USA and Canada. 

All you have to do is comment below why you should be picked and I will draw a winner from random.

 Good Luck! 

With or without you by Shari Low

Have you ever made a life-changing decision and then wondered if you made the right one...?

When Liv and Nate walked up the aisle, Liv knew she was marrying the one, her soul mate and her best friend.
Six years later, it feels like routine and friendship is all they have left in common. What happened to the fun, the excitement, the lust, the love?

In the closing moments of 1999, Liv and Nate decide to go their separate ways, but at the last minute, Liv wavers. Should she stay or should she go?

Over the next twenty years we follow the parallel stories to discover if Liv's life, heart and future have been better with Nate... Or without him?

Extract:

Ah, so she had full facts. She was, in truth, surprisingly alert and sharp for

someone who had brain surgery three days ago. ‘Yep, I did that too,’ I said, returning

her smile.

‘That’s amazing.’

‘You wouldn’t be saying that if you’d seen me. Did they

mention that I did it in

my extra large knick

-

knacks because I couldn’t climb over in my fishtail frock?’

Her chuckle interrupted the conversation between the two elderly dears in the next

beds, who were now listening intently... as was a new arrival to the

scene.

‘Well, there’s a mental picture that may stay with me for the rest of the day.’

A man’s voice. My face

-

flush was instant, and deepened when I turned to see a

doctor, standing directly behind me. I’ve always maintained that real

-

life doctors

don’t lo

ok like the strapping hunks on medical dramas, and generally that’s true.

Richard didn’t have the chiselled jawline or the piercing blue eyes that would make

patients and staff melt at his surgical shoes, but he did have slightly unkempt black

wavy hair th

at curled over the stethoscope that was slung around his neck, somewhat

tired, potentially intoxicating green eyes, and a cheeky grin.

If this guy was in

Grey’s Anatomy

, he’d be the tall, medium

-

attractive one who

played the heart

-

throb’s sidekick, but who

always got the girl because he had a

twinkling eye, a great smile and the kind of charm that could take a patient’s mind off

most non

-

life

-

threatening ailments.

His comment was perfectly delivered, more amused than leery, bringing much

hilarity to everyon

e in earshot, and much mortification to me.

‘Richard Campbell, neurosurgeon,’ he said.

‘Liv Jamieson,’ I replied. ‘Palliative care. Late for work and about to dash off,’ I

added, before turning back to Francine. ‘I’m so glad you’re okay

–

and that I got to

meet you.’

Her infectious smile was back. ‘You too.’

Over the next few weeks, Francine made it back to full health and was discharged.

Meanwhile, the good doctor and I would bump into each other with slightly

suspicious regularity, until Chloe confessed t

hat she was trying to set me up with him

because I ‘needed a happy distraction to stop me moping about Nate’. She was right.

After Francine had been taken to hospital in the early hours of New Year’s Day, I’d

told him I definitely wanted to go through with

the split. It was the right thing to do.

We’d agreed not to call each other for the first couple of weeks and we’d both stuck

to that. So far. The seventy

-

five per cent certainty about my decision had dropped to

sixty per cent, and if it went below fifty

I was calling him.

Richard called me before that happened, at the beginning of May, when I was five

months into life as a singleton. In a stunning pivot of hypocrisy about the whole

doctor/nurse relationship disapproval, I’d accepted his suggestion of a d

ate. It had

taken a while, but I’d eventually relaxed and realised that the best thing to get over the

end of a relationship was the distraction of a cute doctor with a cheeky sense of

humour. I loved that he was a charmer and took nothing, except his work

, seriously. I

loved that it was easy and it hadn’t strayed into deep and demanding. Most of all I

loved that he was the complete opposite of Nate in every way.

Our shifts clashed, so we didn’t see each other more than twice a week, but it was

enough. It w

as uncomplicated. Fun. And not to be crude about it, but the sex...

‘Chloe, he talks the whole way through,’ I blurted, in the kitchen after the first

time he spent the night.

‘In that case, I’m so glad I was working. I’d have had to play a bit of Vengaboys

at

full blast to block the sound. Did it freak you out?’ she went on.

‘A bit.’ Okay, so here’s the thing. I could add up the total of my sexual partners on

one hand. Two of them were short

-

term things when I was a teenager. Another was an

unfortunate one

-

n

ight stand, thanks to vodka overload during Freshers Week. I spent

the next four years at uni avoiding some guy called Jeremy who’d been intimate with

my anatomy.

Then there was Nate, for eight years.

All in all, I wasn’t exactly widely experienced in such

things.

‘But did you like it?’

‘More than a bit,’ I replied, as she roared with laughter.

‘Who’d have known you had an inner slapper?’ she’d teased, before she headed

off, clutching a cream cheese bagel.

That seemed like so long ago now. Five months, thre

e days to be exact. Not that I

was counting. Okay, I was, but only to take my mind off the fact that nerves were

twisting my stomach into a knot the size of a melon.