by Laura Wood
“Did it?” I ask, dazed.
“Yes,” he says. “And you also told me that if you had known it was me then you definitely wouldn’t have kissed me in the first place.” Robert doesn’t look like he enjoys remembering that bit of the conversation.
“Ah,” I say. “I can see how that could look bad.”
“How generous of you to admit,” Robert says.
“But in my defence,” I protest, “I did think you were going to apologize for the kiss and tell me that it was a mistake, so I just got in first.”
“I see,” Robert says indulgently. “Very sensible.”
“I thought so at the time,” I huff, needled.
“Mmm.” Robert continues. “And then, you know, Caitlin was always going on about you and Charlie, and when she announced her engagement you seemed so upset … so you see, until about ten minutes ago I had no idea that you were pining for me.”
“I wasn’t pining for you,” I exclaim, trying to recover some sense of dignity.
“Well, I was pining for you,” Robert says.
“Were you?” I ask. “Really?”
“Yes.” He nods. “And for much longer than you were pining for me, I think. I was planning to come here and throw myself at your feet and just hope for the best.”
“So, you thought I liked Charlie… Is that why you didn’t tell me when you and Laurie called off the engagement?” I ask, and he nods again.
“That, and another reason,” he says. “And you didn’t correct me on the pining front that time,” he points out.
“No.” I smile. “I didn’t.” There is a pause. “I’m sorry about Laurie,” I say. “I mean, I’m not really sorry, obviously.” I smile up at him. “But I hope it was OK. For both of you.”
“I told you she was kind,” he says, his eyes holding something teasing in them. “And this one I really can’t ever repay her for. You see, she knew that I’d fallen in love with someone else.”
And then he kisses me again, and again, and this time we are on the floor, and this opens up all sorts of interesting possibilities that we are both keen to explore. And as Robert kisses me I feel beautiful and desirable and burning up with love for this handsome, funny, maddening man.
“Oh, Robert!” I say, at one point, breaking away from him. “I’m moving to London.”
“Are you, darling?” he murmurs.
“Yes, in a couple of days,” I say, screwing up my nose. “I have a job and a place to live, and I’m excited about it.”
“I’m glad,” he says, propping himself up on one arm.
“Are you?”
“Of course.” He grins. “It’s wonderful. And I don’t know if you know this, but I actually live in London.”
I bite back a smile, tracing the dip at the base of his throat with my finger. “Rrrrreally?” I drawl, lifting one eyebrow in what I hope is a perfect impression of him.
He laughs, catching my hand against his chest and lowering his mouth to mine, kissing me so sweetly that my whole body tingles. “Really,” he breathes.
“Oh!” I exclaim, suddenly remembering. “What was the other reason that you didn’t tell me straight away when you called off the engagement?”
Robert lies back then, and a frown appears on his face. This time it is my turn to smooth it away.
“Ah,” he says. “That.”
“Yes,” I say, poking him in the chest. “That. Come on, out with it.”
“Well, the other thing about the engagement ending is that a lot of things in my life are changing,” he says quietly. “I’ve worked hard to make the best of it, but there’s nothing like the money needed to continue as we were. We’re selling this place, of course, but that’s just the start. I’m afraid I might not be quite the … um … prize I once was.”
I look down at him for a moment, and then burst out laughing. I can’t believe any of this is real. The giggles leave me clutching my stomach, gasping for air. “Did you really just refer to yourself as a prize?” I snort.
Robert looks a bit miffed. “Well, yes, but I—”
I dissolve into laughter again, and finally he joins me. “You are such a brat,” he says, reaching up and tickling me so that I laugh harder, crashing into his chest. I lie there for a second, perfectly happy. How quickly everything has changed. Nothing is as I thought it was.
“Of course it is a hard pill to swallow that I’ll be giving up the diamond-encrusted motorcar.” I sigh.
I feel him smiling against my hair. “Yes, I can see that it would be.”
“I’ll have to make do, I suppose,” I say, lifting myself up on to my elbow and looking down at him. “When we get to London maybe I can treat you to a nice supper.” I run my finger along his jawline, marvelling at his perfect face, a perfect face that I can touch and kiss as much as I like.
“That,” Robert says, his eyes warm and full of laughter, “sounds like heaven. And as luck would have it, I’m headed that way myself. I’ll give you a lift.”
“But not right now,” I say, smiling down at him teasingly.
He pulls me towards him. “No,” he mutters against my mouth. “Not right now.”
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book is absolutely the book of my heart and it would not exist without the help and support of a huge team of wonderful people.
First of all, thank you to my agent and kindred spirit, Louise Lamont, who listened to my first vague, rambling description of this book and immediately knew what it was. I am so lucky to get to hang out/work with you, and every element of this book is better because of your involvement.
Thank you to the whole team at Scholastic. I have been so overwhelmed by your dedication and enthusiasm, and by how well you have loved this book and looked after me through this whole process. I have had the greatest editorial team imaginable who are really responsible for everything good here. Gen Herr, whose belief in this book meant everything to me; Jenny Glencross, whose talent made things shine; and Sophie Cashell, who cheered me on at every opportunity. Thank you all so much. Working on this project with you has been one of the most joyful creative experiences of my life and I have loved it.
A huge thank you to Jamie Gregory and Yehrin Tong for creating the most beautiful cover I have ever seen. When you love something so much it is difficult to imagine anyone being able to capture that feeling for you, but you guys did that for me and I am so grateful. Thank you to the brilliant Róisín O’Shea and to Olivia Horrox for being so lovely and for taking the book on its own tour of Cornwall when I couldn’t. Thank you to Pete Matthews, Jessica White and Emma Jobling, and to all of the amazing people at Scholastic who reached out just to say that they loved the book… I can’t tell you how much that meant to me.
Thank you to the brilliant bloggers who cheered me on when I was feeling nervous at the Bloggers’ Book Feast and who have been so sweet and generous in their support ever since. Special thanks to Chelley Toy and Amy McCaw who gave me so much joy on Twitter at a nerve-racking time.
Thank you to my friends and family for all their love and support. It’s hard to write a brief paragraph on how much you all mean to me, but I hope that you know. Special thanks to my nan and paps who let me steal from their lives and who gave me Cornwall. Thank you always to my mum and dad, whose love and pride borders on the embarrassing – you are my favourite people and I love you so much. And, of course, thank you to Paul. Without you there would be no books. I love you and I like you.
Laura Wood is the winner of the Montegrappa Scholastic Prize for New Children’s Writing. She recently completed a PhD at the University of Warwick studying the figure of the reader in nineteenth century literature. She is the author of four novels in the Poppy Pym series for children aged 9-12. A Sky Painted Gold is her debut YA novel.
Laura loves Georgette Heyer novels, Cornwall, Fred Astaire films, travelling to far flung places, recipe books, Jilly Cooper, gin, trashy television shows about witches/hospitals/cakes, poetry, cosy woollen jumpers, Edith Nesbit, crisp au
tumn leaves, Jack Gilbert, new stationery, sensation fiction, salted caramel, feminism, Rufus Sewell’s cheek-bones, dogs, and drinking lashings of ginger beer.
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First published in the UK by Scholastic Ltd, 2018
This electronic edition published by Scholastic Ltd, 2018
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eISBN 978 1407 18652 8
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