I turn back round to look at the man who has just made my dream a reality.
“What do you think, babe? You like it?” He asks, then adds quickly, “We can change anything you don’t like though. Don’t worry. Just let me know.”
I don’t know how he could think there would be anything I didn’t like. It looks bloody amazing. People are going to want to come here from the other side of the country. Fact.
“I can’t believe you did this.” The waterworks are back on in full. “Thank you so much.” I hiccup loudly and laugh through the tears.
“No problem babe. Blake and his team did most of the labouring. I know you’d already signed the contract for next door’s unit too, so we went ahead and knocked through.”
“Where is he?” I look around at the crowd of people behind me and flash quickly over all the faces to find him.
“I’m right here.” He appears from the storeroom out back and grins at me.
I walk back over and throw my arms around him. “Thank you, thank you. It means so much to me.”
“My pleasure, sweetheart. I’m just glad we could help you out.”
I turn my gaze back to James and take a few steps forward. My dad may not be around, but I have two amazing men in my family who have proved they’re willing to look out for me and that fills my heart with joy. I stand up on my tiptoes as he captures my face in his hands.
“I love you, angel,” he whispers against my lips and I’m conscious our friends and family are here but it won’t stop me from showing him exactly how I feel about him. I help brides every day with their fairy-tale weddings but I didn’t believe in happily-ever-afters. Now, this man may just be mine. Our lips meet gently, but eagerly, the rest of the room fades away and I lose myself in the hunger his kiss awakens in me. He pulls back breathlessly and I can’t strip my gaze away from his. His eyes show me fierce, protective, passionate love and I revel in the feeling of absolute bliss as his lips cover mine once more.
Sweet Reflection Playlist
I love putting my earphones in and getting completely lost in a song whilst tapping away on my laptop so I thought I’d share with you some of the many songs that have played a massive part in James and Laurel’s story. Some were actually mentioned in the book and some have just given me a huge amount of inspiration.
Olly Murs Ft Flo Rida ‘Troublemaker’
Fuse ODG ‘Million Pound Girl (Badder than Bad)’
Etta James ‘I Just Want to Make Love to You’
Beyoncé Ft Jay Z ‘Drunk In Love’
Kodaline ‘High Hopes’
Sam Smith ‘Latch’ (Acoustic)
Imagine Dragons ‘Radioactive’
Rita Ora ‘How We Do’
Icona Pop ‘I love It’
Robin Thicke ‘Give It To Me’
Ed Sheeran ‘Kiss Me’
Jason Derulo ‘Trumpets’
Maroon 5 ‘Moves Like Jagger’
Justin Timberlake ‘Drink You Away’
Sam Smith ‘Nirvana’
Sam Smith ‘Lay Me Down’ (Acoustic)
Beyonce ‘XO’
Beyonce ‘Upgrade U’
Acknowledgements
Firstly, I’d like to say a very special thank you to my husband. Without his continued support and reassurance I wouldn’t be fulfilling my dream. There have been so many late nights and days off that I’ve ignored him completely to focus on this, but he’s always been there with words of encouragement and never-ending cups of tea. Thank you.
To Viola Estrella for a beautiful cover.
To Wendy and Claire at Bare Naked Words for hosting the Cover Reveal and Blog Tour. Thank you so much for the help and guidance.
A big thank you to my beta readers. Without their critique this book wouldn’t be what it is now. I cringe when I think about the first drafts they had to read! They gave me so many ideas, notes and comments and I feel so lucky to have found opinions I can trust.
To the amazing bloggers that give up their free time to pimp out, review and recommend indie authors, including those they haven’t even heard of before.
And finally, to all the readers who have taken a chance on reading this book, THANK YOU!
If you would like to get in touch or have any feedback at all, don’t hesitate in getting in touch! I love to hear from readers.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Grace-Henderson-Author/177253969115810
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ghendersonbooks
Email: [email protected]
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
The Following Week
Sweet Reflection Playlist
Acknowledgements
Sweet Reflection (Truth) Page 29