by Patricia Mar
Sara stopped. “Come on, please, I’ve had enough of this, can we go Christmas shopping now? It’s cold, I’m hungry, and my legs are aching.”
Virginia chuckled. “In a minute.” She let go of Sara’s arm and stepped back.
Sara stared at her dumbfounded. “What are you doing?”
Virginia blew her a kiss and at that moment loud music began to blare out. Michael Bublé’s It’s a Beautiful Day.
Suddenly she was surrounded by a dozen people who, with improvised dance steps, were twirling around to the music. Sara’s hands flew up to her mouth, and she beamed with joy, especially when she recognized Teo and Samuele, the two guys who a few months before had roped her and Daniel into taking part in another flash mob.
It could only mean one thing: Daniel was around somewhere. She turned around and the dancers parted and Daniel walked into the circle where Sara was standing.
He looked magnificent in a black bomber jacket, ripped jeans and windswept, dishevelled hair. His cheerful face was clean shaven and wearing that playful expression that she could no longer live without.
As the music continued to play, Daniel went down on his knees before her.
Her smile froze on her lips while her excitement began to turn into expectation. Her mind was still processing data when Daniel took a small, purple, velvet box out of his pocket.
Her mouth was dry, her heart pumping at a dizzying rate, and her lungs were completely empty of air.
Ask me, ask me…
Gazing into her eyes, which were too moist for it to have been just the wind, Daniel opened the box, revealing a delicate, bright diamond, set in a modern platinum frame.
Sara felt her legs turn to jelly as he knelt down in front of her, while all around them the impromptu troupe continued to dance, making the mood festive and upbeat.
“Sara De Michele – stubborn, sweet, sensual, lovely Sara De Michele, will you marry me?” His voice was audibly trembling with emotion. Daniel Gant had never asked a girl to marry him before. She was his exception.
She wrapped her hands round his.
“Yes, I’ll marry you. Of course I’ll marry you.” A huge smile lit up her face, and tears began to streak down her cheeks. She couldn’t keep them in any longer. It really was a beautiful day, just like the song said.
They didn’t even realise that everything around them had gone quiet. It was as though they were in a bubble where time had stopped – where only they existed, only their joy and the promise of a future to share together and to protect at all costs.
Daniel slipped the ring on her finger. It looked wonderful.
“Is this really happening? Don’t wake me up.”
“I won’t, because we’ll keep dreaming together.”
They put their hands on each other’s faces and kissed, their lips and tears sealing their new pact.
The whole thing had begun with a missed bus, a missed job interview, a panic attack and a first date so weird that science would probably be studying it for years to come. A cocktail of events so strange that they almost seemed to be coming from the pen of an author who believed in true love. While the wind blew away a few dry leaves in a Rome which was preparing to celebrate another Christmas, the gang around them cheered, witnesses to this unforgettable declaration of love.
Daniel and Sarah were more united than ever, ready to face the rest of their lives together.
Forever.
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About Patricia Mar
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Thanks
There are so many things I could and would like to say, so many people I could and should thank, but I find myself almost speechless, and so moved that I’m not sure I’ll be able to express myself properly. When I started writing Stuck on You about two years ago, I felt the need for some laughs and fun after all that fantasy and drama – the need to realise my cherished dream of writing a Hollywood style romantic comedy. Something like You’ve Got Mail, which is also my favourite movie of all time. I wanted to create characters that would make the reader smile, dream and live a fairy tale in a time like today where there are less and less fairy tales to believe in. Thus were born Daniel and Sara and their grand, romantic love. I had so much confidence in them and in the purity of the feelings they carried in their hearts that I decided to self-publish – and what came next was amazing. And now Stuck on You has arrived at the next stage of its life.
All those who know me will find in Stuck on You a lot of me and of my passions, my desires and the things that I love. I decided to dedicate it to my Sara, my wonderful little ranocchietta, in the hope that one day she will find a love like this and live her own fairy tale.
First of all thanks to my husband Roberto and my daughter Sara for being my family, my nest, my refuge and my life. Without you by my side I wouldn’t be here – I wouldn’t be anything at all.
Thanks to my parents for always believing in me. You lot allowed me to grow by teaching me to use my head, giving me my space and showing me what is beautiful in life. You are my example, and I love you.
Thanks to Alessandra Penna who patiently put up with me and helped me in the new adventure; thanks to Martina Donati and Gabriele Anniballi for your support, and a special thanks to Raffaele Avanzini for the huge opportunity he offered me. I hope I don’t disappoint any of you.
Thanks to Francesca Ballanti, Lara Forte, Amabile Giusti, Bianca Marconero, Elena Mattiussi, Germana Riccitelli, Angela C. Ryan, Corinne Savarese and Elena Serboli. You’ve been at my side through all of this, reading my books and believing in what I had to say. You are fantastic and I adore you.
A huge thank you to dear Federica Cappelli, Franci Karou Cat, Susi Marcone and Lidia Ottelli, you’re great!
A special thanks to Daniela Volonté, who helped me enter this new world with enthusiasm and joie de vivre.
An enormous thanks to all the bloggers who have reviewed me and accompanied me through these three years of self-publishing, and who have supported me with touching enthusiasm. Without your precious help and your unconditional esteem I wouldn’t be here. I will always be grateful to you.
And finally, thank you, reader, who chose to read me and who has experienced the love between Daniel and Sara – who has lived and breathed it just like me. Thanks for being with us, and I hope to see you again soon.
About Patricia Mar
PATRICIA MAR was born in Ravenna. Her great passions have always been writing and reading. She never leaves home without a book in her handbag. Stuck On You, originally self-published, has been a bestseller in Italy.
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Addictive Fiction
First published in Italy in 2015 by Newton Compton
First published in the UK in 2016 by Aria, an imprint of Head of Zeus Ltd
Copyright © Patricia Mar, 2015
Translation © Richard McKenna, 2016
The moral right of Patricia Mar to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents A
ct of 1988.
The moral right of Richard McKenna to be identified as the translator of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN (E) 9781784978945
Aria
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