A Gift to Remember

by Melissa Hill

  ‘Hooray!’ The cheers that came from my daughter’s mouth almost raised the roof.

  I playfully rolled my eyes and she laughed, dragging Lizzy out of the room.

  Darcy snuck up behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist. ‘It’ll be fun. Maybe we can stop off at Will’s and pick up Bailey too.’

  ‘Something yummy, you said – maybe Serendipity?’ I suggested, thinking that one of their famed frozen hot chocolates sounded good. ‘Though I suppose we should probably phone and make a reservation,’ I added, going automatically into work-mode.

  ‘Nah, don’t bother. I know a better place – less touristy. And I was thinking doughnuts.’ Darcy ran a brush through her long, silken black hair and began the process of getting ready.

  ‘Doughnuts? Sounds intriguing,’ I said, reaching for her and pulling her close.

  ‘Mini-doughnuts. Trust me, you’ll love this place.’

  I leaned down to kiss her, realising I must be the luckiest guy in the world, to have literally been knocked off my feet by Darcy Archer.

  I smiled. ‘As you wish.’

  Acknowledgements

  Lots of love and thanks to Kevin and Carrie and my family and friends for their continued support.

  Big thank you to my wonderful agent, Sheila Crowley and all at Curtis Brown – I don’t know what I would do without you.

  To my amazing editor, Maxine Hitchcock, who makes every story infinitely better for having worked her magic on it – especially this one – thank you.

  Many thanks to the brilliant S&S team in the UK, and the Hesses in Ireland for looking after me so well.

  Huge gratitude to the fantastic booksellers all over the world who continuously give my books such amazing support, and to my international publishers for offering me the opportunity to combine my favourite things: books and travel.

  As always, special thanks to readers everywhere who buy and read the books. I’m so very grateful and I love hearing from you. Please do get in touch via my website www.melissahill.info or Facebook and Twitter.

  I very much hope you enjoy this one.

  Melissa Hill answers your Twitter and Facebook questions:

  Heather @heyather: Do your books require a lot of careful planning and writing because of the big twists?

  I don’t like to plot too much from the outset, as I think this would take all the fun out of the writing process, but have written so many books now that readers are pretty wise to my red herrings and are always trying to second-guess me. This means I end up having to double and triple bluff to try and lead them astray, which requires considerable mental gymnastics!

  Victoria @VictoriaH4rt: Which character is your all-time fictional crush?

  I have a crush of sorts on Hannibal Lecter, from Thomas Harris’s ‘The Silence of the Lambs’, which might sound weird, but I don’t think there has ever been a more vivid or enjoyable rendering of a psychopath, and the character is easily the most compelling I’ve ever encountered in fiction.

  Lynn Laidler, via Facebook: What book did you enjoy writing the most, where you felt you could go on and on with it, but had to stop?

  I love writing them all, and hope I bring every story to its natural conclusion, but possibly the one I enjoyed the most was The Last to Know. Without giving anything away, this one was definitely the most fun to construct, and I was trying to hold back from the big reveal as long as I could.

  Kelly @x_kels_x: What gives you the ideas for your books?

  I think all writers are naturally attuned to ideas, and they really can come from anywhere – snatches of conversation, newspaper headlines – or in the case of one of my books, appear right in front of my eyes. I was in the elevator at the Tiffany & Co store in New York and two men got on at different floors (one from the diamond floor). Even though both were carrying identical blue bags I knew the difference in the value of the contents could run to tens of thousands. Right there the idea for Something from Tiffany’s, where two Tiffany’s bags containing very different items get mixed up, was born.

  Karen @keane_karen: Would you ever consider doing sequels to some of your books?

  Not especially because I hope that by the end of every book, my characters’ stories are fully explored – if not resolved – and they go on to live their lives (in hopefully less dramatic ways!) after we last see them. From a writing point of view I’m always excited to begin a brand new story with different characters rather than tread old ground.

  One More Page @onemorepage: If you could time-travel to any time or place, when and where would you go?

  Back to the Roaring Twenties in New York. It sounds like a fabulously fun time where all women seemed ultra-glamorous and feminine in flapper dresses and cloche hats.

  She Love to Read @_shelovestoread: Of all the books you've written, which one are you the most proud of?

  I guess that’s akin to asking a parent which of their children they’re most proud of, but if I absolutely had to choose it would be Something from Tiffany’s. This story was very special to me right from the start as the writing of it coincided with a significant time for me personally. Going by the feedback it seems to be a favourite amongst readers, and it’s been the most successful of my books so far in lots of different countries, as well as being optioned for a movie by Hollywood.

  Hannah-Louise Wba Jones, via Facebook: If you could meet any of your own characters you've created, which one would it be and why?

  Seth from Please Forgive Me. For me, he’s the most attractive and macho of all my male heroes and when I was writing him, I kept picturing Matthew McConaughey (possibly because he too is macho, attractive and Texan). So perhaps for this reason alone …

  I Heart..Chick Lit @iHeartChickLit: What's your favourite font when you write your books on your laptop?

  I just tend to use the default font on my word processor, Times New Roman. Anything else would possibly be too distracting and I like to think it’s the words, not the font that brings the story alive!

  Chat more with Melissa Hill on Facebook at www.facebook.com/melissahillbooks and follow her on Twitter @melissahillbks

  Keep reading for an exclusive glimpse into Darcy Archer’s bookish New York City life…

  Darcy’s favourite quotes to live by…

  ‘She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain’

  Louisa May Alcott

  ‘You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think’

  A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh

  ‘She had an immense curiosity about life, and was constantly staring and wondering’

  Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady

  ‘Her heart was a secret garden and the walls were very high’

  William Goldman, The Princess Bride

  ‘It may be normal, darling: but I’d rather be natural’

  Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany’s

  ‘Life’s under no obligation to give us what we expect’

  Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind

  ‘Once she knows how to read there’s only one thing you can teach her to believe in and that is herself’

  Virginia Woolf, Monday or Tuesday

  ‘There is no friend as loyal as a book’

  Ernest Hemingway

  Books particularly dear to Darcy’s heart…

  Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen – Darcy’s all-time favourite novel and the origin of her namesake, Mr Darcy. Darcy doesn’t feel comfortable without a copy near her, and ‘over the years [she] found herself returning again and again to Austen’s famous tale, finding comfort in the story and, she supposed, viewing it as a kind of tangible connection to her late mother.’

  Little Women, Louisa May Alcott – Curl up by the fire and lose yourself in the triumphs and tragedies of Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, as they strive to find where they belong in post-Civil War America. Who is your favourite March sister?

  The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald – With its glamour, romance and tragedy, this c
lassic novel has got it all.

  It is also the inspiration for Darcy’s dream of starting a literary tour of New York, taking in a former speakeasy frequented by Fitzgerald…As well as the various Greek Revival houses made famous by Henry James…which were home to eighteenth century New York high society and where Edith Wharton once lived.

  The Chronicles of Narnia series, C.S. Lewis – The seven books following the adventures of the Pevensie children in a magical hidden land are pure escapism, ideal for when the real world is too much to handle.

  The Famous Five series, Enid Blyton – Darcy’s childhood pet, a white Cocker Spaniel, was named Timmy after the canine star in the Famous Five books.

  Darcy’s favourite New York haunts

  The Upper West Side – home to Darcy’s beloved bookshop, Chaucer’s

  Hudson River Park – ‘a riverside oasis amongst the hustle and bustle of the city…’

  The Meatpacking District – this trendy area provides a ‘nifty shortcut’ on Darcy’s way to work

  The much-cycled route to Chaucer’s

  ‘right and straight up on Sixth Avenue towards Central Park,’ past ‘the fountain between Forty-Ninth and Fiftieth Street,’ past the ‘Love sculpture further along on the corner of Fifty-Fifth’

  The Plaza – with its timeless glamour and literary connections, this is the perfect place to toast a special occasion with a fabulous cocktail. ‘It was as if modern life had retreated, and for Darcy it was almost like going back in time, straight into the pages of an Edith Wharton novel.’

  Elizabeth Arden salon – favourite of both Darcy’s Aunt Katherine and Tabitha Kensington; ideal for escaping the hustle and bustle of the city

  Koch Theater at the Lincoln Center

  Thanks to Aidan, Darcy spends a magical night here, watching the New York City Ballet

  Central Park – the beating heart of the city, where Darcy enjoys her walks with Bailey