‘I suppose it’s that collective responsibility thing,’ sighed Angela. Robert had said the same sensible, placating things. ‘You can’t always walk by on the other side and leave it to someone else.’ She was thinking, too, of Conor’s responsibility to Kate. He wasn’t abandoning her to fend for herself, like a domestic cat dumped in the wild. She could cope with the fact that he still cared about his ex-wife. It made him a better man to be all hers.
‘I know you shouldn’t always walk by, lovey. But you can’t go on punishing yourself for past mistakes either.’ Sadie smiled sadly. ‘I speak from experience.’
They exchanged a look that bonded them in pure, unsullied mutual understanding. This moment may never come again, thought Angela, holding her mother’s hands on the sunny balcony. Its rarity value makes it so special. I’ll go back to being difficult, unpredictable Angela, and she’ll go back to ‘advising’ me and driving me up the wall.
Sure enough, seconds later, the spell was broken by the slam of the apartment door and Shane yelling, ‘Hi honeys, we’re home.’
Sadie roused herself. ‘I want to go and buy my own postcards.’ She rose stiffly and looked down at Angela. ‘I think you’ll find someone’s male ego needs reassuring. I’ll rope in you-know-who for another expedition to the shops.’
‘He won’t like it,’ smiled Angela. ‘Shane’s not daft.’
But he went out again with surprising compliance, promised all manner of bribes by Sadie.
‘She’s playing a blinder,’ announced Conor, joining Angela on the balcony and stretching his arms. ‘How much longer with the old quill and parchment?’
Angela looked down at the untouched cards. ‘Nearly cracked it.’
He sat down abruptly on the chair vacated by Sadie.
‘You’re very strong and silent this morning, Angela. I hope you’re not reneging on your feelings less than twenty-four hours after declaring them. Is it this?’ He swept a brawny arm across the panoramic view from the balcony. ‘You’re afraid this setting might have duped you into a romantic outburst that won’t stand the test of rainy Mondays back in Wilmesbury?’
‘No, Conor, I’m not!’ she said firmly, and surprised him by springing out of her chair and onto his lap. ‘I have no second thoughts about anything.’
‘So what did Sadie hang around to have words about?’
‘Mysterious mother-daughter stuff.’ She tapped his nose for nosiness.
‘Yeah, so I gathered, but anything I should know about? She’s just shoved off with Shane to give us a chance to have another heart-to-heart. Forewarned is forearmed and all that.’
‘Suffice it to say that my little confab with Ma has no bearing on what I told you in the restaurant. It’s not all that hush-hush either, and I’ll tell you when I’ve finished smoothing your ruffled feathers.’ She landed a quick kiss on his nose. ‘But you’ll have to get used to me being strong and silent some mornings. I’m just not the world’s best morning person. Think you can live with it?’
His face softening with relief, he tightened his arms around her. ‘I suppose I could give it a try. Give us a kiss first to see if it’s worth it.’
His mouth swooped down on hers without warning, his sun-thickened stubble tickling her. Grinning, she kissed him back with hope, fervour and anticipation.
‘Shall we get married?’ he asked eventually, almost lazily. ‘I assume you realise I’d bought the new house for us, the odd family as opposed to the odd couple. You, me, the child from hell and the mother who roamed the earth with the dinosaurs, giving out to them 24-7 until they all volunteered for extinction. What do you think?’
‘I think you’re a cheeky bugger, having a go at my ma,’ replied Angela. ‘Kiss me again for a bit, help me make up my mind.’
He obliged her. He was spreading the vista of a shared future before her. For now, she was content to lay her head on his broad shoulder and contemplate the vision that shimmered and danced, close enough to touch, in the morning unfolding around them.
Also by Gabrielle Mullarkey
Coming in Spring 2015
A Tale of Two Sisters
Keep up to date with Gabrielle by reading her blog at www.gabriellemullarkey.co.uk
Do You Take This Man? by Sophie King
From the bestselling author of The School Run
Katie is getting married to Alec ... or is she?
Have you ever wondered ‘what if …’ you had made a different decision in life? Would another choice have taken you down a totally different path? Would life have been better or worse?
In Do You Take This Man? we follow Katie’s two lives and find out what happens to her if she says ‘I do’ and what happens if she stands up her groom.
In many ways, Katie’s two separate realities couldn’t be further apart. But we also see how there are some people and situations you can’t avoid, and that perhaps some things are meant to happen whatever choices you make in life.
In the tradition of the classic film Sliding Doors, Do You Take This Man? will keep you gripped and guessing to the end!
Praise for Sophie King:
‘I always look forward to reading the next Sophie King book.’ Katie Fforde
‘I love curling up with a Sophie King book.’ Trisha Ashley
Available as an ebook on Amazon and Kobo from December 8th 2014.
The Property of a Gentleman by Catherine Gaskin
The Property of a Gentleman … a poignant and thrilling tale of intrigue, mystery and romance, set in the dramatic landscape of England’s Lake District. From the internationally bestselling author Catherine Gaskin.
Shortly after her mother’s death in a Swiss plane crash, Jo Roswell is sent from the London auction house where she works to the remote and mysterious Thirlbeck – stately home of the Earl of Askew. Jo’s task is to evaluate the house’s contents for a sale, but she soon finds herself drawn into the complex lives of Thirlbeck’s past and present inhabitants, each with their own secrets and desires.
Robert Birkett, the Earl of Askew, has returned to Thirlbeck after many years abroad. A decorated war hero, he has also spent time in prison after a fatal car accident for which he was blamed. Carlota, the Spanish Condesa, is the Earl’s sophisticated yet possessive companion.
Meanwhile, Nat Birkett, a distant cousin of the earl, is the reluctant heir to Thirlbeck. A local farmer, his passion is for the land rather than titles and possessions. Following his wife’s mysterious demise at Thirlbeck, he is also the single father of two young boys.
George Tolson is Thirlbeck’s brooding keeper, who jealously guards the property from unwelcome strangers. By Tolson’s side is Jessica, his intelligent but fragile granddaughter, who must be protected from herself.
During her stay, Jo is absorbed by the tragic story of The Spanish Lady, whose young life was cut short at Thirlbeck many centuries before. She also encounters La Española, the brilliant diamond which, according to legend, brings disaster to all who try to possess it. And she is shocked to learn of her own mother’s connection to Thirlbeck.
Jo will struggle with difficult discoveries as she unlocks the puzzles which link Thirlbeck’s past and present residents.
Now available as an ebook on Amazon.
Learn more about Catherine Gaskin and her other novels at www.catherinegaskin.com
Lily’s Daughter by Diana Raymond
A poignant coming of age story set in 1930s England, told with warmth and wit.
‘Diana Raymond is an observant, sensitive writer whose characters come alive.’ The Daily Telegraph
Seventeen year old Jessica Mayne suddenly finds herself alone and unable to pay her rent, when a chance discovery leads to help from unexpected quarters. A new life beckons, while Jessica learns about past family secrets, and falls in love for the first time, all under the shadow of the advancing war in Europe.
Being Lily’s daughter has never been easy. Jessica has long had to cope with her mother’s fragile mental state, and a hand to mouth existence. When she finally m
akes the decision to have her mother committed, Jessica must face an uncertain future alone.
But there is the promise of a different kind of life when Lily arrives at Huntersmeade, the home of her estranged Aunt Imogen. It is here that she meets her dashing cousin, Guy, and Deirdre, the wealthy young woman he is expected to marry. Meanwhile, Imogen’s house-guest Aaron, a Polish Jew, has a deeper understanding than the English youngsters of how the world they know will soon change forever.
For Jessica, there will be difficult lessons to learn about her family’s secrets, and how falling in love for the first time can be a bitter-sweet experience with far-reaching consequences.
Diana Raymond was the author of 24 novels, theatre criticism and poems. She was married to the celebrated novelist Ernest Raymond. Her most popular novel Lily’s Daughter is now reprinted in an ebook edition for the first time.
Now available as an ebook on Amazon.
Find out more about all of our great fiction at www.greatstorieswithheart.com
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