Table Of Contents
Other Books by Lola Keeley
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Other Books from Ylva Publishing
About Lola Keeley
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www.ylva-publishing.com
Other Books by Lola Keeley
Slammed
Major Surgery
The Music and the Mirror
Dedication
For Kaite, who makes it easy to keep falling in love with a posh bird, every day
Acknowledgments
First of all to the team at Ylva – Astrid, Daniela, Alex, and the various helpers through the publishing process. You spend a lot of hours making each one of these books real, and it’s a pleasure to be part of your publishing house.
I’ve run out of superlatives for Lee, editrix extraordinaire. This is the part where she’d leave me a comment telling me she knows I can do better and that I’ll find those superlatives if I take a fresh look. Not only did she kick this book into shape, but she’s been improving my writing since she first approached me to make my novels happen.
None of it would get done without the love and support of my dear lady wife, not least because she understands the process and the tricky parts. She has also finally cracked the perfect cup of tea after sixteen years, so that might be the biggest victory of all. We have a very exciting year ahead, personally and creatively, and there’s no one I’d rather share it all with.
My bestie, Lande, continues to be the biggest fan and best supporter, as well as the funniest person I talk to every day. My bezzer, Lisa-Marie, provides risqué titles and podcast chats that make even book promotion fun. So many dear friends have provided comfort and support over drinks or group chats, that it would take another book to list everyone I’m grateful for. But grateful I most sincerely am.
And my parents, Isobel and Raymond, who might not entirely get the genre thing, but they’ll still go to bat for me like they’ve been doing for most of my life. Thank you for the keeping me alive parts, that was probably a lot of hard work!
Last but never least, to every reader who has read, commented, tweeted, reviewed or emailed: THANK YOU. I hope you enjoy this book as you have the previous ones.
Chapter 1
Move to the country, they said. Friendly people, beautiful animals, and rolling green fields as far as the eye can see. That was the promise in the brochures, on the websites, and in the welcoming words of everyone Tess Robinson had unveiled her grand plan to. She’d spent the past two months as a walking, talking advertisement for the excellent life choice of leaving the big city and starting fresh in the bucolic Scottish countryside. It made for the sort of heartwarming, inspirational story where Julia Roberts might play her in the film, or at least she would have done, fifteen years earlier.
Except the countryside wasn’t supposed to be a dirt track with more holes in it than Swiss cheese. It cut through a field that was neither rolling nor green, but distinctly brown, and strewn with the occasional empty lager can or discarded plastic bag. The smell of manure hung on the breeze, and the only resident near the field to provide local charm was a geriatric sheep that kept bumping into the fence.
“You have reached your destination,” the car’s navigation system announced.
Checking her phone, Tess cursed under her breath at the predictable lack of signal. Welcome back to the countryside. As she fumbled in the glove compartment for the road map she hoped was still there, Tess couldn’t help wondering if she had made a huge, life-changing mistake in leaving London. She blew the hair out of her eyes each time it got in her line of sight, which did nothing to improve her bubbling irritation.
As the icing on the cake, the rain started coming down in sheets, reducing the world to a grey, streaky mess that barely extended a few feet beyond her windscreen.
The map didn’t help much at all. Her best bet would be turning around somehow and getting back to the nearest real road. Easier said than done, given the track was narrow as hell, with piled stone walls on either side. The car was practically touching them just sitting there. Turning around, even in a fifteen-point turn, seemed preferable to carrying on down the marshy field and ending up stuck in the mud. Tess decided to get the hell out of there.
She missed her zippy little Mini that she’d used to get around London—not that she’d driven much in the city. That faithful little car had been traded in when she invested in this hulking SUV that was supposed to handle every situation, but there didn’t appear to be a button or a Bluetooth command for undoing bad navigation.
“Waffles, pal, I can’t believe it, but I think I’m lost. And we’re only about thirty miles from where I grew up.” She turned around to where her gorgeous golden Labrador was staring at her from his travel crate, his usual morose expression exaggerated by his temporary confinement. “Don’t worry, as soon as I find the right road, we’re getting out to stretch our legs.”
Knock, knock, knock.
Tess jumped at the sound. Her seatbelt dug into the side of her neck. The fist rapping on the driver’s side window seemed like it was going to come through the glass. Tess saw a looming shape with a dark hood, but the rain was streaking too fast for a clear view. Her heart kickstarted a new frantic beat, but she took a deep breath and forced herself to stay calm. A glance in the rearview confirmed a proper country Land Rover had appeared behind her. She’d been so focused on Waffles, she hadn’t noticed anyone approaching the car.
As she slid her window down, Tess was greeted, not
