One Last First Date
Page 26
“What’s worth a shot?” Cassie slunk up to us with Will in tow.
Immediately, I looked down at my feet, muttering, “Nothing. It’s nothing.”
Cassie and I had been friends for years. I loved her, and I trusted her with my life. But the whole “Will-and-Cassie” thing was too raw, and tonight was meant to be about me accepting them. The last thing I wanted was for them to know I had sworn off love. It was . . . humiliating.
“Oh, okay,” Cassie replied, wounded. “I guess I don’t need to know.”
I bit my lip, my chest tight.
Bailey pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked the time. “Wow, I have to go. I’ve got to be up early in the morning. My café waits for no woman.”
Seeing my chance to escape from an awkward situation, I said, “I’ll come with you.”
“Sure.” Bailey flashed me her beautiful smile, and I couldn’t help but smile back at her. She may have come up with a totally harebrained idea I wasn’t going to touch with a ten-foot pole, but she had my back.
After collecting my things, saying goodbye to Marissa, and sharing an awkward hug with the couple of the moment, Bailey and I headed back up the beach toward her car.
So, that was that. I’d given up on love. No more men, no more dating. Just me, alone.
*
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Acknowledgments
You know the expression “it takes a village”? Well, it certainly does take a village to get a novel ready to be released, like a duckling into the world, so I have a few people to thank. First up, thank you to my new, fabulous editor, Chrissy Wolfe at The Every Free Chance Reader. Being a New Zealander, I thought it would be enough to watch re-runs of Friends to write in American English for the first time. It wasn’t. Thank you for your great work pulling this story together, Chrissy, and catching all those subconscious Kiwi-isms of mine.
Thanks to the talented Sue Traynor, who designed my beautiful book cover. I think she did a wonderful job, and suffered sweetly through all my tweaks and changes.
Thanks to my small but dedicated team of fantastic beta readers, who always do a great job of providing feedback on my first drafts: Julie Crengle, Leanne Mackay, and Nicky Willis. Ladies, you rock and the next book will be on its way to you shortly!
Thank you to the incredibly supportive writers’ groups I belong to, specifically Chick Lit Chat HQ and the Hawke’s Bay chapter of the Romance Writers of New Zealand. Your support is invaluable in this wild world of writing.
I would also like to thank my friends and family who support me in my sometimes (nearly always) crazy quest to be an author. You put up with hearing all about things you never thought you’d hear about from me, you listen to my rants, and you support me when I need it most. Thank you. I couldn’t do this without you, especially Blair and Jack, my two favorite guys in the world.
And finally, thanks to my readers. Without you, I couldn’t do this. And I love to do this, so please keep reading.
About the Author
I am an award-nominated author of fun, feel-good romantic comedies. I live and love in beautiful New Zealand with my family, two scruffy dogs, and a cat who thinks he's a scruffy dog, too. He's not: he's a cat. My books include the Wellywood Romantic Comedy Series: Wedding Bubbles, Styling Wellywood, Miss Perfect Meets Her Match, and Falling for Grace, and the Cozy Cottage Café Series: One Last First Date, Two Last First Dates, and Three Last First Dates plus a couple of standalone titles, One Way Ticket and I'm Scheming of a White Christmas. All my books are available from Amazon.
Want to find out about when my next book is coming out, competitions, advanced copies, and great deals on books? Sign up to my newsletter!