by Mandy Baggot
‘To Oliver,’ everyone repeated.
* * *
‘Do you wanna build a snowman?’ Oliver asked later that afternoon.
‘Oh my, Frozen humour? I think that’s been slightly overdone,’ Hayley responded, yawning from her seat on the couch.
‘We can’t move right now. The White House is at a critical stage and it’s only an hour until my dad comes to pick me up,’ Angel exclaimed, her eyes on the building she, Dean and Vernon were constructing.
‘Come on, Hayley, forget Frozen, humour me. You’ve got new gloves, remember?’ Oliver encouraged. ‘Mom?’ He looked to Cynthia.
‘I’m good here, watching Angel create this masterpiece. I might move in when it’s finished,’ she responded.
‘Come on, up, off the sofa,’ Oliver said, grabbing Hayley’s hand and wrestling her off the couch.
‘This is bullying. We haven’t even opened the chocolates yet,’ Hayley moaned, following him out of the room.
He encouraged her along the corridor towards the back of the house.
‘You do know it’s minus five outside? It’s more likely we’re going to be making an ice man not a snowman.’
‘We’re not going outside,’ Oliver said, pausing by the door to the sun room.
‘We’re not?’
‘No.’ He pushed open the door and let Hayley be the first to look into the room. He watched her clap her hands to her mouth as she saw the decorations all around. Everything she had used to adorn the ballroom of the Crystalline Hotel was here in Cynthia’s garden room. The turquoise drapes at the windows, the balloons, butterfly-shaped candles flickering on every surface, sparkly foil butterflies on the tiled floor. She stepped into the room, a glowing haven from the flakes of snow flurrying down around the house through the dark of the night.
Oliver pressed a button on the sound system and the sound of Maroon 5 filtered out of the speakers.
Hayley nodded. ‘You got me Adam Levine. Finally, you got me Adam Levine.’
‘That’s not all I got you,’ he said.
He stood in front of her, his eyes matching hers, as he reached into the pocket of his trousers and pulled out a turquoise blue box.
Hayley gasped. ‘That box is too small for a necklace.’
He nodded.
‘And it’s way too tiny for a bracelet, even.’
Oliver opened it up, his eyes on her, as he revealed the butterfly shaped diamond ring. He heard her intake of breath and he moved then, slipping the ring from the box and holding it, his hand shaking.
‘I know you might think this is too soon but I’m still making every moment count.’ He paused. ‘But for all the right reasons this time.’
‘I don’t know what to say,’ she whispered.
‘Say you’ll stay. We’ll work everything out. Angel’s schooling, you becoming an event planner, a designer, whatever you want. I just can’t have you going back to England, not even for a minute. I love you, Hayley.’ He dropped down to his knee, the ring between his fingers. ‘Will you marry me?’
The question hung in the air and he waited, watching every nuance of her breathing, looking for an answer of any form.
‘I have a condition before I answer,’ she finally said.
‘Anything. Anything at all.’
‘No more wishes. Only honest promises and taking each day as it comes.’
‘Absolutely. Hand on my heart,’ Oliver said, putting his left hand to his chest.
Hayley smiled. ‘Then the answer is yes!’
‘Yes!’ he exclaimed. ‘Yes!’
‘Give me the ring then,’ Hayley encouraged, shooting her left hand forward.
Oliver carefully slid the ring into place and admired the stones dazzling against her skin as he got to his feet.
‘I love you, Lois,’ he said, drawing her into his embrace.
‘I love you too, Superman.’ She sighed. ‘So, where are we going to live because Angel isn’t going to like cosying up in the one-bedroom penthouse? And if my mother is going to come and visit, you know, after she’s scalded me about my diary, which she will do even though we had a heart to heart, she’s definitely going to want an en-suite.’ She drew her head away from him and gasped. ‘We could get a Red Room.’
He grinned. ‘I don’t know about that, but wherever it is, I’m going to make damn sure it has an elevator.’
‘Mr Drummond!’
He let her have the last word and then, as the snowflakes began to settle on the windows, he pressed his mouth to hers.
THE END
Letter from Mandy
I hope you have tears streaming down your face right now, but also a big grin too! I really hope you enjoyed your holiday in New York with Hayley, Oliver, Angel and the rest of the characters. I have a soft spot for Oliver’s tireless PA, Clara!
THANK YOU SO MUCH for buying One Wish in Manhattan!
If you enjoyed the book I would LOVE you to leave me a review on Amazon. Hearing what readers think means everything to us authors. Who was your favourite character? Do you know someone like Hayley or a crazy kid like Angel? Was it a perfect Christmas read? Reviews can spread the word to so many more readers – and a gorgeous billionaire like Oliver Drummond needs to be shared!
And, if you liked this book, perhaps you want to read more! I love connecting with readers on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Pinterest – in fact One Wish in Manhattan has its own Pinterest board full of snow scenes in Central Park, Manhattan skylines and where to go, what to do and obviously what you can eat. Come and join me!
To keep right up-to-date with the latest news on my new releases just sign up here:
Mandy Baggot New Release Email
Here’s to more feel-good fiction and hot heroes!
Mandy xx
@mandybaggot
mandybaggotauthor
www.mandybaggot.com
Also by Mandy Baggot
Truly, Madly, Greekly
Sun, sea and a sexy stranger - a whole lot of fun just got a whole lot more complicated...
Thank you to my wonderful agent, Kate Nash. You always have my back and I’m so glad I have you in my corner!
Thank you also to my great friends, Rachel Lyndhurst, Susie Medwell, Sue Fortin and Linn B Halton. You ladies are always there for me, giving me hugs and kicks up the bum! Here’s to getting together more often and having oodles more laughs and wine!
A big thank you to all my Facebook friends and Twitter followers and my amazing street team, The Bagg Ladies. If it wasn’t for your constant support I wouldn’t be reaching the number of readers I am. Every tweet, mention, share or review is so appreciated!
Finally, a mention has to go to David Spencer (Squid) and Joseph Garrett (Stampy Longnose) – the Minecraft YouTubers who kept my children entertained for a lot of the summer holidays when I was editing the book. ‘Welcome to another Let’s Play video …’ became music to my ears. Thank you!
Published by Bookouture
An imprint of StoryFire Ltd.
23 Sussex Road, Ickenham, UB10 8PN
United Kingdom
www.bookouture.com
Copyright © Mandy Baggot 2015
Mandy Baggot has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work.
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.
ISBN: 978-1-910751-49-7
eBook ISBN: 978-1-910751-48-0
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.
ISBN: 978-1-910751-48-0
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