by Kim Nash
Les joined her and shook Jack’s hand before he sat down.
‘Mum. Dad. Do you mind if I take Nellie-bum, somewhere? Will you be OK?’
‘Of course, son.’ His dad gave him a hug. I did love it when men weren’t frightened to show their emotions.
We’d grabbed a taxi from the wedding reception and as we arrived back in Larkspur Lane, Jack took my hand and led me down to the beach hut, where he opened it up, went to the fridge and took out a bottle of champagne and brought it over to where I was standing in the entrance.
‘I think we deserve this, don’t we?’
The moon disappeared briefly behind a cloud, but still, the light shimmered on the sea. It was beautiful here at night, so peaceful, and it filled my heart with joy. I remembered back to the many nights when we were fourteen, when Jack and I used to sneak out of our houses and spend time on the beach, sitting side by side, his leg pressing into mine, making my heart beat that little bit faster, just staring at the sea and the moon for hours on end.
Jack bent down to pick something up off the floor and tumbled to one side. He righted himself and I realised that he was down on one knee.
I gasped.
‘Marry me, Nellie-bum. We’ve wasted twenty years. Let’s not waste a moment longer. Will you marry me?’
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I nodded my head, tried to say yes, and laughed, all at the same time and made a hiccuppy-burpy sound. Trust me to spoil a perfect moment. Jack laughed and woohooed really loud! He threw a blanket over his arm, took my hand in his, grabbed the bottle of champagne in the other and we walked hand in hand down to the sand. We fell to the ground and he kissed me first tenderly, then more passionately. Oh how I loved this man.
He wrapped the blanket around our shoulders and we sat, side by side, his leg pressing into mine, making my heart beat a whole lot faster, and as the moon came out from behind a cloud, and as the brightest star in the sky beamed down on us, we watched the moonlight over Muddleford Cove.
If you’d like to keep up to date with my latest releases, just sign up at the link below. I’ll never share your email address and you can unsubscribe at any time.
* * *
Sign up here!
Books by Kim Nash
Amazing Grace
Escape to Giddywell Grange
Sunshine and Second Chances
Moonlight Over Muddleford Cove
A letter from Kim
I do hope you enjoy your trip to Muddleford.
Muddleford is a fictional seaside place, based upon Mudeford in Dorset where my sister and I spent a great deal of our childhood at our Aunty and Uncle’s house where our gorgeous Nan used to take us for the summer holidays. We have so many happy memories and it was lovely to revisit Mudeford in this book.
If you did enjoy Moonlight Over Muddleford Cove, and would like to keep up to date with my latest releases, you can sign up at the following link. Your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Sign up here!
I loved writing this book and really do hope you love it too. If you do, I would be super grateful if you were able to leave an Amazon review. It doesn’t have to be a huge essay, just a line or two is great too. It really makes a difference helping new readers to discover my books for the first time.
I love to hear from my readers, so do please get in touch.
* * *
www.kimthebookworm.co.uk
Amazing Grace
Buy now!
* * *
She’s taking her life back, one step at a time…
* * *
Grace thought she had it all. Living in the beautiful village of Little Ollington, along with head teacher husband Mark and gorgeous son, Archie, she devoted herself to being the perfect mum and the perfect wife, her little family giving her everything she ever wanted.
* * *
Until that fateful day when she walked in on Mark kissing his secretary – and her perfect life fell apart.
* * *
Now she's a single mum to Archie, trying to find her way in life and keep things together for his sake. Saturday nights consist of a Chinese takeaway eaten in front of the TV clad in greying pyjamas, and she can’t remember the last time she had a kiss from anyone aside from her dog, Becks…
* * *
Grace’s life needs a shake up – fast. So when gorgeous gardener Vinnie turns up on her doorstep, his twinkling eyes suggesting that he might be interested in more than just her conifers, she might just have found the answer to her prayers. But as Grace falls deeper for Vinnie, ten-year-old Archie fears that his mum finding love means she’ll never reconcile with the dad he loves.
* * *
So when ex-husband Mark begs her for another chance, telling her he’s changed from the man that broke her heart, Grace finds herself with an impossible dilemma. Should she take back Mark and reunite the family that Archie loves? Or risk it all for a new chance of happiness?
* * *
A funny, feel good romance about finding your own path and changing your life for the better – readers of Cathy Bramley, Jill Mansell and Josie Silver will love this uplifting read.
* * *
Get it here!
Escape to Giddywell Grange
Buy now!
* * *
After having her heart broken by boyfriend Jamie, successful businesswoman Maddy Young threw herself into her career, not realising how she was neglecting her friends and family. But when she’s made redundant from the job she loved so much, Maddy takes her wounded pride back to her childhood home – the village of Giddywell.
* * *
With time on her hands being the only thing that Maddy does have, when best friend Beth, needs help with her doggy daycare business at Giddywell Grange, she's the obvious choice to help out.
* * *
Soon, Maddy is swapping designer handbags for doggy poo bags and Jimmy Choo heels for wellies… and when she meets furry friend Baxter the Cockerpoo, Maddy learns that love can come from unexpected places.
* * *
With Beth's brother – and Maddy’s schoolgirl crush – Alex, back from the States, she soon realises he still makes her heart flip. But when Jamie crashes back into her world, with an offer which looks too good to refuse, will Maddy go back to her old life? Or will she discover that the key to her future lies in making other people happy?
* * *
An uplifting romantic comedy that will warm your heart – perfect for fans of Cathy Bramley, Milly Johnson and Lucy Dillon.
* * *
Get it here!
Sunshine and Second Chances
Buy now!
* * *
Liv wants her friends to think she has the perfect life. But honestly? She’s running on empty. Desperate for a break from her needy family, Liv is determined that as she and her three life-long friends turn fifty they will honour their promise to each other – made on a beach at sunrise twenty-nine years before – to celebrate this milestone together.
* * *
And what better place to celebrate than a gorgeous villa in the Algarve? They’ll enjoy the stunning beaches, picturesque fishing towns and glorious climate, and maybe be spoiled by the gorgeous Eduardo, who’s making one particular heart unexpectedly flutter…
* * *
Liv’s friends can’t wait to escape with her: Debs is newly single, Fiona is caring for her mum, and Samantha is grieving. But does time away make the heart grow fonder? Is the thought of returning to reality too hard to bear? Is what they have really all there is to life?
* * *
It begins as a reunion in the sunshine, but little do the four friends know what life-changing decisions they’ll all be making before their flight home…
* * *
A heart-warming, feel-good summer read about friendship, love and second chances. Perfect for fans of Nicola May, Jo Thomas and Fern Britton.
* * *
Get it here!
Ackno
wledgments
First, I’d like to say a huge thank you to Lauren once more for your editorial advice. Your hard work is much appreciated.
To Radhika, for holding my hand through the final part and doing all the technical stuff.
To Lisa/Mary Jane for creating yet another stunning cover and to Lydia for being my sounding board.
To the awesome Jessica Redland who helped me brainstorm titles when I hadn’t a clue what to call this book.
To the blogger and author community that I chat to on a daily basis. I cannot tell you how much you mean to me and have spurred me on to keep writing. Your kind and funny comments, tweets, posts are an absolute joy.
To Audra, this is to make sure that you read the acknowledgements and have a little smile when you read this. Thanks for all your messages about my books and for loving my books. And for forgiving me for telling you to “shut the f*ck up” when I was trying to read on my holidays a million years ago when you kept talking to me! LOL! Sending love to you matey.
To Emma, for the rants on our daily dog walks. Not sure how I’d have coped if I didn’t have you to rant to. And we never ran out of words did we?
To Liza, what a year you’ve had! You’ve shown bravery, courage, tenacity and determination beyond words. I’m so proud of you and have loved our little bubble and the laughs we’ve had along the way. And the tears too. So good to have you by my side through this shitstorm of a year.
To all my awesome Bookouture colleagues and authors. To Angie Marsons, Patricia Gibney and Carol Wyer for checking in on me to make sure I’m ok if you don’t hear from me for a while. Thanks for caring.
To my book club pals. I’ve missed you so much this year and can’t wait to get back to “what was it called?” and “who was the author again?” And to Kate, our funny, bubbly, lovely book club pal, that Covid took away. Hope you’ve found the library in heaven Kate. You will be missed.
To Dawn for doing the very first read and let me breathe a sigh of relief.
And finally, to Ollie and Roni. I love you both to the moon and back.
And yes Ollie, I do love you more than you love me. It’s now in a book, in writing, so it’s the truth! And I grew you so that gazumps everything. You know it! Thanks for being my lockdown buddy this year. It’s been such an honour to spend all this extra time with you.
Love you my fabulous boy xxx
Published by Kim Nash in 2021
* * *
www.kimthebookworm.co.uk
* * *
Copyright © Kim Nash, 2021
* * *
Kim Nash 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 publisher.
* * *
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.