Friends With Benefits
Page 33
She laughed. ‘Oh God, please don’t. It really wouldn’t suit you.’
‘Well then, Lex? What do you say that after your decree absolute comes through, we make those benefits we’ve always been so fond of legally binding? I’ve already earmarked young Connor as my best man.’
‘Sounds good to me.’ She kissed him softly. ‘Theo Blake a married man. I never thought I’d see the day.’
‘All it took was you,’ he whispered, holding her tight. ‘I love you.’
‘I know. I love you too.’ She smiled. ‘It means a lot that you even love me enough to let our nearest and dearest find out your full name when we say our vows, Theophilos Timothy Blake.’
He groaned. ‘Oh God, I hadn’t thought of that. Is it too late to take that proposal back?’
‘Nope, sorry. I couldn’t bear to part with my new ring, it’s far too shiny.’ She gave him another lingering kiss before stepping away. ‘I’ve got an anniversary present for you too actually.’
‘I bet it can’t beat mine.’
‘How much do you bet?’
He laughed. ‘Seriously, what’s better than an engagement ring? Is it tickets to Disneyland?’
‘Nope. Hang on, it’s in the bedroom.’
Lexie went upstairs to fetch the gift-wrapped parcel she’d hidden under the bed that morning. She jogged back to the kitchen and presented it to a bemused-looking Theo.
‘Well it’s too small to be sexy underwear, which was my next guess,’ he said, squinting at it. ‘What is it?’
Lexie smiled. ‘Friendship bracelet.’
Theo tore off the paper. Inside was an old Parker pen case, which, when he opened it, he found contained a little white stick. A white stick with two strong, clear pink lines in the middle of it…
‘It’s a stick with wee on, I wrapped it for you,’ Lexie said. ‘And they say romance is dead, right?’
Theo stared at it dazedly, the pink lines swimming before his eyes. He clutched at the kitchen counter.
‘You need to sit down, love?’ Lexie asked gently.
‘I’m OK,’ he whispered. ‘Lex, I think you win that bet.’
Suddenly, vividly, the fantasy he’d concocted when Lexie had briefly believed she might be pregnant appeared in his mind again. His dream family – him, Lexie, Connor and the baby – now about to become all too real. But he didn’t feel afraid, not this time. No, not even a little bit. All he felt was a deep, overwhelming joy that something he’d once believed was the last thing he wanted was finally happening to him.
He laughed as the full meaning of Lexie’s gift sank in. ‘Oh my God! Is it really real, Lex? Tell me it is.’
‘Yes, it’s really real.’ Lexie put her arms around him and stood on tiptoes for a kiss. ‘You’re going to be a dad, Theo.’
A letter from Lisa
Hi everyone, Lisa here! I wanted to say a big thank you for choosing to read Friends With Benefits. It was wonderful to be back in gorgeous Leyholme, and to get to know Lexie, Theo and Connor as they told me their story. Not to mention meeting up again with some of the characters I fell in love with on my first visit to Leyholme while writing The School of Starting Over – it was so nice to catch up with Nell, Xander, Stevie and some of the other villagers and find out what had happened in their lives since the last book.
This story was written at a time of great international anxiety as the world struggles to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, and writing it provided me with the perfect balm for the frightening reality of the real world: its core themes of love and family had never felt more relevant or poignant. As with my two previous books for Hera, The School of Starting Over (which features the same setting and some of the same characters) and When You Were Mine, the story explores the concept of family: those we’re born with, those we make and those we choose. If you enjoyed this book, I do hope you’ll consider checking the previous titles out too.
I’d also absolutely love to hear your thoughts on this story in a review. These are invaluable not only for letting authors know how their story affected you, but also for helping other readers to choose their next read and discover new writers. Just a few words can make a big difference.
If you would like to find out more about me and my books, or contact me directly, you can do so via my website or social media pages:
Facebook: /LisaSwiftWrites
Twitter: @LisaSwiftAuthor
Web: www.lisaswiftauthor.co.uk
Thank you again for choosing Friends With Benefits.
Best wishes,
Lisa
Acknowledgements
As always, huge thanks to my agent, Laura Longrigg at MBA Literary Agents, and to Keshini Naidoo, my editor at Hera, for once again going above and beyond to get this book out into the world.
Big thanks to all of my talented, supportive writer pals: Rachel Burton, Victoria Cooke, Sophie Claire, Jacqui Cooper, Rachel Dove, Kiley Dunbar, Helena Fairfax, Kate Field, Melinda Hammond, Marie Laval, Katey Lovell, Helen Pollard, Debbie Rayner, Rachael Stewart, Victoria Walters, Angela Wren, and many others! Thanks, too, to the Romantic Novelists’ Association for being such a wonderful and supportive organisation, and its members. I’m also grateful for the support of the RNA’s Rainbow chapter, which provides support for RNA members who identify as LGBTQIA+ and/or write novels featuring LGBTQIA+ characters.
As ever, thanks to my family, friends and colleagues – my partner and long-term beta reader Mark Anslow, to whom this book is dedicated; friends Robert Fletcher, Amy Smith and Nigel and Lynette Emsley; Firths, Brahams and Anslows everywhere, and my ever-supportive colleagues at Dalesman Publishing.
And finally, thanks to Keshini, Lindsey and the gang at Hera. Thank you so much, again, for everything you do for your authors!
First published in the United Kingdom in 2021 by Hera
Hera Books
28b Cricketfield Road
London, E5 8NS
United Kingdom
Copyright © Lisa Swift, 2021
The moral right of Lisa Swift to be identified as the creator of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781912973545
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events 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.
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