“I am your child’s mother now,” she said calmly. “And you are Islay’s. Your child is my child. And my child is yours.”

Mrs. Mitchell nodded. And together they disappeared into the house. And Cormac and Lissa squeezed their hands together, hard.

Acknowledgments

It is incredibly useful for a writer to have her two best friends from school be a doctor and a lawyer, and I unabashedly hit them up for free help on this book (although all errors or simple fiction smoothing—few cases come to court as quickly as they do here, alas—are of course mine). So huge thanks—and love, as always—to Karen Murphy, FRCS, and Alison Woodall, BA (Hons) Law.

Also thanks to Muriel Gray for plant help, Claire and Fredi Melo for helping me out with Albanian (faleminderit!), and Rona Monroe, my secret Plot Fairy Godmother.

Huge thanks to Jo Unwin, Maddie West, Lucy Malagoni, Milly Reilly, Donna Greaves, Joanna Kramer, Charlie King (NICE BABY YOU GOT THERE), David Shelley, Stephanie Melrose, Emma Williams, and all at Little, Brown; Deborah Schneider, Rachel Kahan, Jennifer Hart, Dan Mallory, Alexander Cochran, Jake Smith-Bosanquet, and Kate Burton.

And finally, as they deserve top billing: I am so thrilled we were allowed to use not only lyrics from “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” but also lines from “Sunshine on Leith” in this book. Thanks to one of the best bands in the known universe, the Proclaimers, and the best management in the business, Braw Management. Massive thanks also due to Sandra McKay and the estimable Kenny MacDonald, as well as to Sarah Sharp at Warner Chappell Music and, of course, the amazing brothers themselves. (I apologize for the shocking illustration.) If the Proclaimers is not a band you’re familiar with, you’re in for such a treat.

About the Author

JENNY COLGAN is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous novels, including The Bookshop on the Corner, Christmas on the Island, and The Bookshop on the Shore. Jenny is married with three children and lives in Scotland.

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Also by Jenny Colgan

The Bookshop on the Shore

Christmas on the Island

The Endless Beach

Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery

The Bookshop on the Corner

Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery

The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris

Welcome to Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop of Dreams

Meet Me at the Cupcake Café

The Good, the Bad and the Dumped

Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend

Operation Sunshine

West End Girls

Where Have All the Boys Gone?

Do You Remember the First Time?

Working Wonders

Looking for Andrew McCarthy

My Very ’90s Romance

Amanda’s Wedding

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