by Jade Beer
Helen pauses. I sense her head shift so she’s looking at me but I can’t look back at her. Not yet.
‘Even if there never was a Will.’ She says it so softly, tightening her grip on me as she does so.
I swear, my heart stops beating while I wait for her to continue. She must feel how my body has stiffened under her hold because she starts to rub her hand up and down my arm, like she’s trying to loosen me up.
‘I think I’ve known for a while that your father was never coming to pay for the dress, Jenny. I was just hoping you would tell me yourself. I wanted to give you that chance.’
‘And I blew it.’
‘No, darling. You haven’t blown anything. Perhaps it was just more obvious to me than you realised. No pics of Will on your phone, you stumbling over the wedding date, then the phone call that your sister answered. I thought I’d let the cat out of the bag but there was never any secret to reveal, was there?’ She’s manoeuvred herself in front of me now so there is no avoiding her gaze.
‘No.’ All around me people are cheering and whooping but the thought that Helen might be disappointed in me is stopping me sharing in the collective joy.
‘Tonight is not the night for explanations.’ She’s holding my face in her hands now, smoothing my hair back behind my ears. ‘But I want you to know you are not alone. I can see you need someone and I would love it if you would consider letting that be me? I am here for you, if you’d like me to be. I will love you like you are my own daughter, Jenny. Honestly, I think I already do. Everything else will follow, when it’s ready. One day, some day, you will find true happiness, because you deserve it.’
And for the first time since I innocently pulled that Breton dress over my shoulders that awful morning, I think everything might just work out OK.
‘One day, some day. Yes, you’re right, Helen.’
We both gaze upwards, allowing our heads to move together. No more words are needed, on this, the night I discover the true meaning of love.
* * *
If you loved all the romance, drama and tears of Promise Me, you'll be absolutely gripped by The Almost Wife. Helen knows how to make any woman look beautiful on her wedding day… what she doesn’t know is how to fix her own broken heart.
* * *
Available to order now!
The Almost Wife
Get it here!
* * *
‘Made me sob my heart out… heartbreaking.’ The Writing Garnet
* * *
Helen knows exactly how many stitches to hem a gown, the best type of silk for summer and how to make any woman look beautiful… but she doesn’t know how to fix her own broken heart.
* * *
Helen Whittaker’s beloved husband died three years ago. She misses him every moment of every day. The only thing that eases her pain is her job at the White Gallery – a gorgeous boutique tucked away in her tumbledown, wisteria-covered cottage in the English countryside.
* * *
Helen doesn’t know how to ask for help – not even from her own daughter, who feels so distant since it happened. Helen doesn’t even know she needs saving… but this summer everything is going to change…
* * *
Sometimes life’s unexpected twists can change everything in a moment. Sometimes heartbreak is the only way you can begin to heal. And sometimes second chances can be found in the most unlikely of places.
* * *
An unforgettable and emotional book-club read about family, love and life’s unexpected second chances. If you love Jojo Moyes, Nancy Thayer and Mary Alice Monroe, you will adore this unputdownable page-turner.
Jade’s Email Sign Up
Want to keep up to date with Jade’s latest releases?
Sign up here!
* * *
We promise to never share your email with anyone else, and we’ll only contact you when there’s a new book out.
Also by Jade Beer
The Almost Wife
Promise Me
A Letter from Jade
I want to say a huge thank you for choosing to read Promise Me. If you enjoyed it and want to keep up-to-date with my latest releases, just sign up at the following link. Your email address will never be shared with anyone else and you can unsubscribe at any time:
Sign up here!
If you’ve ever posted a picture on social media that makes your life look a little bit more together than it is, this book could be for you. If you’ve told the odd little white lie to gloss over something, make a niggling problem disappear or expedite your way out of trouble, this book could also be for you. If you’re planning a wedding, are already married or have somehow found yourself in a bridal boutique, helping a friend into a wedding gown, and stood there questioning what it’s all about, this is also a book for you. It’s also a book for me, since I have done all of these things, some many times over.
The reaction to my debut novel, The Almost Wife, was so heart-soaringly positive, you all connected with the women in my story so well, how could I not bring a couple of them back for more? So, Helen and her daughter Betsy have returned in Promise Me, but this time they’re joined by a whole new cast of characters that I hope will make you laugh and cry just as hard. Their experiences are, in part at least, the culmination of seven years editing Condé Nast Brides, witnessing all the emotions that a woman goes through. Not just on her journey to the aisle but in her professional life, her private relationships and when it comes to working out what kind of woman she is, how much she likes that woman and the sacrifices she’s prepared to make to get where she wants to be.
I hope you enjoy reading this story of love, passion and friendship as much as I loved writing it. And if you did, please get in touch, let me know what you think, write a review if you like. I would be thrilled to hear from you on Instagram on Twitter or via my website. Everyone knows someone who is planning a wedding and as well as being a bittersweet emotional read, this book is also chock-full of inspiration for the big day – so spread the word!
* * *
Thank you,
Jade Beer
Acknowledgements
To Anne Hamilton and Erin Kelly, for the thoughtful and ruthless copy editing. Your experience, humour and clever advice has made this story so much better than it was. To my Bookouture editor Kathryn Taussig, aka the bad language police, for climbing back inside the mind of my reader and knowing exactly what she will like. To my agent Alice Saunders for helping me birth this book at the same time as her own tiny human and never missing a beat. How do you stay so sane?
To Caroline Long, friend of old, mother and midwife extraordinaire. While I’m obsessing over model castings, shoot dates and whose dress to put on the next cover of Brides, you are pulling new babies into the world. You, and everyone in the maternity department at St Michael’s Hospital in Bristol, were so generous with your time and knowledge. Never stop caring – I know you couldn’t.
To women everywhere. Those who are throwing a crap sandwich into a kid’s packed-lunch box at midnight or tapping away at the laptop into the early hours because when were there ever enough hours in the day? For all the missed deadlines, broken promises, late arrivals, early exits and inventive stretching of the truth that somehow keeps it all chugging forwards. For all the mums and daughters trying to understand each other, to love one another and value each other in the time you have left. To my own wonderful mum. How easy you are to love. I think about you every day, thankful that I got one of the very best.
To Laila and Clara, my school-age bosses. Thank you for reminding me every day what is important. Laila, our girls’ nights in are the ones I look forward to most. Clara, our dawn tea-parties will still make me smile when I’m a little old lady. My time with you both is golden. When you are old enough to read this book, I hope you will spot the bits that you both inspired. You fill my life with love and I never want to let you go.
Published by Bookouture in 2018
* * *
An imp
rint of StoryFire Ltd.
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
* * *
www.bookouture.com
* * *
Copyright © Jade Beer, 2018
* * *
Jade Beer has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work.
* * *
Epigraph by Burchill, Julie. From "Music to the ears." The Guardian, 10 May 2003.
* * *
eBook ISBN: 978-1-78681-745-7
* * *
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
* * *
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.