‘I’m excited about the launch and nervous about you meeting Rob.’
Matt wrapped one arm around her shoulder and squeezed. ‘I’m sure I’m going to love him.’ He raised one eyebrow. ‘Maybe a little too much... ’
Piper rolled her eyes. ‘You know Holly’s coming too?’
‘Yep. I’m planning to hide in one of the lifeboats.’
‘Matt!’
‘Nah, it’s fine. We’ve talked. We’re cool.’
‘Holly’s never been cool with anything in her life.’
‘Sleeping with me changes a person.’
‘I can only imagine.’
Matt hooked his chin over Piper’s shoulder and squeezed her again. ‘Have I told you how fucking proud I am?’
‘Once or twice, yeah.’ But she was beaming.
Piper tipped her head back and looked at her reflection in the gold mirrored ceiling. She looked happy
‘Don’t look up!’ Matt said. ‘You’ll see my bald spot.’
‘You haven’t got a bald spot, for god’s sake.’
‘Not yet,’ Matt said. ‘But I could have.’
Her phone buzzed with a text from Rob telling her he was downstairs. She told him to come up to the first floor and turned towards the lifts, that were just behind them in the foyer. Her stomach fluttered with nerves as she watched the lift disappear, knowing that when it came back up, Rob would be in it.
‘Oh my god,’ Matt said. ‘Look at you!’
‘Shut up,’ Piper said.
‘You are so smitten.’
The lift stopped and the doors opened to reveal Rob in black jeans and a long-sleeved black sweater, sunglasses pushed up on his head.
‘Oh my god,’ Matt said. ‘Look at him!’
Ignoring Matt, Piper walked over to the lifts and straight into Rob’s arms.
‘Hi,’ he said into her hair.
‘I’ve missed you.’ She turned her head to kiss his neck, breathing in the scent of his skin.
‘Me too,’ Rob said. ‘Are you excited or nervous?’
Piper laughed. ‘Both. And Matt just asked me the same thing.’
‘I’m going to assume Matt’s the guy staring at us at the bottom of the stairs?’
Piper laughed and kissed Rob quickly, before taking his hand and leading him over to Matt.
‘So,’ Rob said, holding his hand out to Matt. ‘At last we meet.’
Matt let out a bark of laughter and shook Rob’s hand.
‘This one’s a keeper,’ he told Piper.
‘Jesus Christ,’ Piper said. ‘Can you go and get drinks and stop showing me up?’
Matt kissed her cheek, took everyone’s drink orders and headed over to the bar. Piper introduced Rob to Juliette and John.
‘Is that Holly?’ Rob asked Piper.
Piper turned to see her sister coming out of the lift. She was wearing a tea dress and ballerina flats and looked happier and more relaxed than Piper had seen her for years. Possibly ever.
‘She looks good,’ Matt said.
‘Don’t even think about it.’
Holly reached the three of them and Rob immediately pulled her into a hug.
‘You look exactly the same,’ he said.
‘You don’t.’ Holly looked up at him. He was at least a foot taller than her. ‘Bloody hell.’
‘Fit as fuck, isn’t he?’ Matt said.
‘Piper’s warned me about you,’ Rob told him, smiling.
‘Me too,’ Holly said. ‘But too late.’
‘Oh my god.’ Matt took a swig of his gin. ‘Where’s that lifeboat?’
They were interrupted by Anthony, the head of the label, clearing his throat on the stairs.
The chatter stopped and everyone looked up at him.
‘First of all I want to thank everyone for coming. All of us at Infinite Plays are extremely excited to introduce you to our new signing. We’re sure you’re going to love them as much as we do.’ He glanced over his shoulder up the stairs. ‘They would be pissed at me trying to speak on their behalf, so I’ll let them introduce themselves. This is Bitter/Sweet.’
The girls walked down the wide staircase, the light from the enormous chandelier reflecting off their glittery dresses. All three looked confident and poised and like they’d been doing this for years, not that it was their first public appearance and they’d only bought the dresses that morning in Topshop, Oxford Circus after they’d decided what they’d planned to wear wasn’t vibrant enough.
‘They look amazing,’ Matt whispered into Piper’s ear. ‘I’m into it.’
The girls gave a short, excited speech – talking over the top of each other and spontaneously bursting into an acapella version of the song that the label was thinking of making their first single, and then everyone moved into the bar and out onto the deck.
‘This is fantastic,’ Rob said, curling his arms around Piper’s waist, as they looked out over the river to Canary Wharf and the O2. ‘I’m so proud of you.’
‘I’m proud of myself actually,’ Piper said.
‘You should be.’
Matt and Holly joined them at the railing and Holly held out her glass. ‘I think we should make a toast.’
Piper held up her glass.
‘To Piper,’ Holly said. ‘Her new job. And her new-ish man.’
Piper laughed, looking up at Rob.
‘And to your new life too,’ Piper said. ‘In our old home town.’
They clinked their glasses and watched the girls speed off down the Thames, shrieking with laughter and waving bottles of champagne.
Piper half wished she could have gone with them. But she was also completely happy exactly where she was.
Chapter Forty
‘I brought you something,’ Rob said, lifting a medium-sized cardboard box out of a B&Q carrier bag. The box was for a lampshade.
‘It’s not a lampshade,’ Rob said. ‘This was the only box it fit in.’
‘Can I open it now?’ Piper asked, carrying it over to her small dining table.
‘Course.’
‘Oh wait, do you want a tea or something first?’
‘No, I’m fine. Thanks. Open it.’ Rob grinned at her.
‘You don’t want to go to bed first?’ Piper said, raising one eyebrow. ‘While Matt’s out?’
‘Yes. Shit. Leave it.’ He reached for her hand and she stretched hers out to take his. ‘No, I’m joking. I can wait five minutes. Open it.’
Piper had to take a second to internally shake herself since mentally she was already on her way to the bedroom and reaching for Rob’s clothes. She didn’t know how he did this to her. Just the suggestion of sex and her brain turned to marshmallow fluff.
She stared down at the box. Open the box. Right. Present first and then sex. The box wasn’t taped up so she lifted the lid easily, but whatever was inside was wrapped in bubble wrap. She lifted a piece out and dropped it on the table.
‘Oh wait,’ Rob said. ‘You’ll probably need to lift it out.’
Piper reached her hands inside the box and felt something round. She lifted it and Rob pulled the box out of the way, dropping it on the floor. The thing was quite heavy and she rested it on the table as she stripped away the remaining bubble wrap to reveal a glitter ball. She laughed out loud.
‘It’s electric,’ Rob said. ‘You can put it on the ceiling or have it standing on your desk or whatever.’
‘I love it,’ she said.
‘It’s home-made. Well, school-made. I set it as a project for the boys at school. Some of the boys who left comments. The one who made the photo edit. They really did not enjoy cutting all those tiny squares to my specifications, I can tell you.’
‘Oh my god,’ Piper said. ‘Seriously?’
‘Yep. Plus while they were doing it, I showed them Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche’s ‘We Should All Be Feminists’ TED talk on the whiteboard.’
‘You did not,’ Piper said.
‘I did. A couple of them apologised. I know it’s you they shou
ld be apologising to, not me, but I didn’t think you’d actually want to hear from any of the little sods, so…’
‘This is amazing,’ Piper said. She stared down at the glitter ball, seeing tiny versions of herself reflected over and over and over. ‘I love it.’
Rob stepped closer, hooking his chin over her shoulder, his arms sliding around her waist. She gasped as he squeezed. She could see tiny reflections of the two of them now. They were both smiling.
‘Why don’t you move here?’ Piper said before she could change her mind.
‘Okay,’ Rob said, kissing behind her ear.
‘Just like that?’
‘Why not?’
Piper turned in his arms to look at him. ‘What about your job?’
Rob furrowed his brow, pretending to think. ‘I’m fairly sure there are schools in London. Grange Hill? That was in London, wasn’t it? Waterloo Road?’
‘That’s in Rochdale.’
‘Is it? Okay, then whatever school William and Kate’s kids go to. Or I bet there are even other schools, not frequented by royalty.’
‘You think you’re clever, don’t you?’ She bit lightly at his jaw. She loved how his skin tasted.
He smiled, smugly. ‘Well I am a teacher.’
Piper rolled her eyes. ‘It’s a big move. You’ve got a flat. Friends. Family.’
‘They’ll all still be there. Even the flat. I could sublet it. And I was thinking it was time for a new challenge anyway.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes. I’ve been there a few years now. Plus after what happened on Facebook I’ve started to think of the students as a bunch of bastards, so a change is probably overdue.’
‘Right,’ Piper said. ‘Okay. I mean, if you were thinking about it anyway…’
He leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers. ‘Oh, make no mistake, it wouldn’t be because I wanted a change.’
‘No?’
‘Nope. It would be because I want to be with you.’
‘Rob—’
‘No, listen. No pressure. Honestly. If you decide you don’t want this, if it’s too much or too soon or both, then tell me. And we can carry on with long distance. It’s not that far. But if we can have more, I want more. I want to wake up with you in the morning. I want to fall asleep with you at night. I want to watch TV with you and eat brunch with you and shower with you and sit in your tiny garden drinking coffee with you. I want to get to know your friends and see London through your eyes and be, you know, together.’
Piper wasn’t sure she was breathing. Dots were starting to appear in front of her eyes.
‘Also,’ Rob said. ‘I want to be naked with you. Like, all the time.’
‘Okay,’ Piper said. ‘We can do that. I can do that.’
‘Want to start now?’ Rob asked.
So they did.
If Piper and Rob’s story made your heart sing, you’ll love If You Could See Me Now by Keris Stainton. Izzy is at an all-time low – her boyfriend ignores her and she hates her job. Then an unexpected turn of events turns her life upside down, and Izzy has the opportunity to reinvent herself and start again. Get it here!
If You Could See Me Now
‘ One of the funniest books I've ever read. It made me cry with laughter. I highly, highly recommend it to anyone looking for a complete gigglefest of a read!’ Kirsty Greenwood
* * *
Izzy Harris should have it all – but her boyfriend has been ignoring her for months, she’s been overlooked for a promotion, and the owner of her local coffee shop pervs on her every time she has a craving for a salted caramel muffin.
* * *
Then an unexpected turn of events gives her the boost she needed.
* * *
Suddenly Izzy has the confidence to do all the things she’s never dared: dump her oblivious boyfriend, turn the tables on catcallers, and put herself forward for a big pitch at work. Having to work closely with gorgeous colleague Alex is just an added perk…
* * *
But then her best friend has her heart broken, the pitch is way more complicated than expected, and Alex is keeping secrets. Does Izzy have what it takes to help her friend, save her career and get the guy?
* * *
A funny, feel-good read about finding yourself – and love – when you least expect it, for fans of The List, Just Haven’t Met You Yet, and Hot Mess.
* * *
Get it here!
Hear more from Keris
If you want to be the first to know when Keris Stainton has a new book out, you can sign up to her mailing list here. Your email address will never be shared, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Also by Keris Stainton
Women’s Fiction
It Had To Be You
If You Could See Me Now
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Children’s and Young Adult
One Italian Summer
Lily, the Pug, and the Christmas Wish
Counting Stars
Spotlight on Sunny
Starring Kitty
Baby, One More Time (as Esme Taylor)
All I Want For Christmas (as Esme Taylor)
Emma Hearts LA
Jessie Hearts NYC
Della Says: OMG!
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Non-fiction
Happy Home Ed
Calm Like a Stupid Feather
As Delightful as a Carrot
A Letter from Keris
I want to say a huge thank you for choosing to read The Invitation. If you did enjoy it, and want to keep up to date with all my latest releases, just sign up here.Your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.
I hope you loved The Invitation and if you did I would be very grateful if you could write a review. I’d love to hear what you think, and it makes such a difference helping new readers to discover one of my books for the first time.
I love hearing from my readers – you can get in touch on my Facebook page, through Twitter, Goodreads or my website.
Thanks,
Keris
www.keris-stainton.com
It Had To Be You
‘Keris’s writing is fiesty, fresh and utterly addictive. I LOVE it!’ Colleen Coleman
* * *
Twenty-five-year-old Bea is a hopeless romantic – with a hopeless love life. She’s been single ever since her awful ex broke her heart, and the only thing she gets up to in bed is watching rom coms on her laptop. So when she meets the man of her dreams, her Mr Darcy, The One, she knows she can’t let him get away. But the path of true love never did run smoothly, and Bea is about to find out that Mr Right might just be Mr Couldn’t-Be-More-Wrong… Will Bea be brave enough to change her dreams – and dare to ask for more?
* * *
A laugh-out-loud tale for anyone who’s ever dreamt of a fairy-tale romance and found a real-life happy ending. Perfect for fans of Joanna Bolouri, Cate Woods, and Mhairi McFarlane!
* * *
Order here!
Acknowledgements
Enormous thanks as always to my fabulous agent, Hannah Sheppard; my amazing editor Abigail Fenton, who always gets what I'm going for, takes no shit, and buys me cake; and everyone at Bookouture who make writing these books so much fun.
Thank you to everyone in The Place and the One Direction Adult Lady Slack who suggested bad (and good) band names, and a massive glass of wine for Alice Broadway who came up with the absolutely perfect ‘Bitter/Sweet’.
To all the body positivity and fat acceptance bloggers and Instagrammers who have genuinely changed the way I feel about my body, particularly Body Posi Panda, Becky Barnes and Bethany Rutter.
To all my amazing friends who were so incredibly lovely and supportive when the thing that inspired this book happened. (Everything is copy.)
To Sue Morgan (née Pritchard) and Susan Walters for making my own rubbish teens much more fun, to Lindsay Bown for super-yacht adventures, to Chloe Smith for naming Infinite Plays, and to Frances J
acks for medical advice (obviously any errors are my own).
To everyone at Weatherhead in the 80s and London Records in the mid-90s. All the good bits are based on you, the bad bits I made up. Special shout out to Juliette who thought I’d be amazing in Press – I'll always wish I’d been brave enough.
Finally, as always, to my shipmates, David, Harry and Joe.
Published by Bookouture in 2018
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An imprint of StoryFire Ltd.
Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y 0DZ
United Kingdom
* * *
www.bookouture.com
* * *
Copyright © Keris Stainton 2018
* * *
Keris Stainton 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.
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