by Lynsey James
She wriggles around in her incubator and my heart swells with love. This really is going to be an awfully big adventure.
Epilogue
Eighteen months later
Dance steps? Check
Butterflies in my tummy? Double check.
Feeling of dread that this could all go wrong? Abso-bloody-lutely.
After all, you only get one first dance at your wedding, don’t you?
‘You’ll be absolutely fine,’ Emma assures me as she adjusts my veil for the umpteenth time. ‘You could do this dance in your sleep, you know you could.’
‘I’ve just got this vision of getting on the dance floor and forgetting all the steps,’ I chuckle. ‘Or tripping and falling on my face.’
‘Well, you’ve already done the hard part,’ she reminds me. ‘You walked down the aisle and said your vows – this is the fun part now! Go out there and enjoy yourself, Mrs Robinson. Hey, you’ve got the same name as that woman in The Graduate!’
I roll my eyes and chuckle. ‘Scott’s been making Mrs Robinson jokes for the last two weeks, don’t you start as well! Thanks for being an amazing maid of honour, by the way. I couldn’t have got through today without you.’
I turn around and hug her. She smiles and brushes some brown corkscrew curls away from her face.
‘You’re more than welcome. Now I’d better go and see my goddaughter eh? Make sure she’s not up to any mischief.’
As she goes off to find Violet, I can’t help but smile. Their relationship is one of the most touching things I’ve ever seen, and I can still remember the day eighteen months ago when I asked her to be Violet’s godmother. The tears streaming down her face, followed by a huge resounding yes. There isn’t anything Emma wouldn’t do for her, and my daughter absolutely adores her.
‘And now, please welcome the new Mr and Mrs Scott Robinson onto the dance floor for their first dance and husband and wife!’ The MC’s voice booms out across the reception hall and I get ready to make my grand entrance. I step out onto the dance floor and see my gorgeous new husband waiting for me. I flash him a smile as I walk up to him, and he puts his arms round my waist.
‘Well hello there, Mrs Robinson,’ he whispers. ‘Don’t you look absolutely beautiful?’
I feel myself blush, and chuckle. ‘Are you ready to do this?’
He nods, and our first dance song strikes up. Kylie and Jason’s Especially for You begins to play and we sway in time to the music. I feel like I’m about to burst with happiness; my wedding day has been everything I could ever dream of.
Just then, I feel someone tug at the hem of my dress.
‘Mummy! I dance!’
‘OK then baby, up you come,’ I say with a smile, lifting my beautiful daughter into my arms. A broad grin sweeps across her face as her arms wrap around my neck. I rock her back and forth and she giggles with joy. Although her birth was pretty traumatic, you’d never know it to look at her. She’s a bright, funny girl who loves Disney films and building things with her blocks.
‘Are you having a good time?’ I ask her as I smooth down her violet flower girl dress. ‘You were so good at throwing the flowers before Mummy walked down the aisle.’
‘Yes!’ She claps her hands and nuzzles into my neck. ‘I good girl!’
Scott strokes her brown hair and kisses the top of her head, before doing the same to me.
‘My girls,’ he says with a broad smile.
Soon, all our favourite people join us on the dance floor. Emma is with Ben; they’re giving things another try after reconnecting at Violet’s naming ceremony. Zara has a lovely new man called Luke, who’s a breath of fresh air after the hell Craig put her through. She winks at me as they begin to dance; I’ve never seen her look so happy. Amanda brings her adorable son Logan to dance; I put Violet down so she can go and join them. The two of them are the best of friends, with Logan arriving just a couple of months after Violet. Amanda and Adam aren’t back together, although they’re friends and great parents to their little boy. She’s told me she’s absolutely fine with being a single mum and, to be honest, she rocks it. Although I see a blush appear on her cheeks when one of Scott’s friends asks her to dance.
‘I wonder if something will happen there?’ Scott says with a grin.
‘Oh I think she’ll put him through his paces!’ I reply, chuckling. ‘He’s in for an interesting journey with her.’
As I look out across the dance floor, there’s one person missing: Natalie. She couldn’t come to the wedding, but not because of her lingering feelings for Scott. She’s in Australia with her new husband Jack, and couldn’t fly because she’s six months pregnant. She and Scott had a long chat after Violet was born, and resolved everything. They’re still best friends and we all Skype regularly.
‘What are you thinking about?’ he asks, pulling me closer to him.
I shake my head. ‘Just about how lucky I am. A few years ago, I’d never have dreamed any of this was possible: an amazing group of friends, a fantastic husband, a daughter I absolutely love … It all just seemed so out of reach, you know?’
He nods. ‘You made it all happen though. You grabbed life by the balls and decided to take on the world. All of this today, it’s because of you. I’m so bloody proud of you.’
As I gaze up at my new husband, I feel a sense of contentment spread through me. I’m no longer Cleo Jones, the girl who was afraid to live. Now, I’m Cleo Robinson, wife, mother, Carb Counters leader, dreamer. I’ve become so many things that I didn’t expect and had numerous adventures that seemed impossible just a few short years ago.
Now, it’s onto the next adventure.
But that’s another story …
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Copyright
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.
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First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2017
Copyright © Lynsey James 2017
Lynsey James asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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E-book Edition © November 2017 ISBN: 9780008236977