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Back A Family Reunion Save as PDF
Chapters (66)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Epigraph
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. PART ONE
  6. CHAPTER ONE
  7. CHAPTER TWO
  8. CHAPTER THREE
  9. CHAPTER FOUR
  10. CHAPTER FIVE
  11. CHAPTER SIX
  12. CHAPTER SEVEN
  13. CHAPTER EIGHT
  14. CHAPTER NINE
  15. CHAPTER TEN
  16. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  17. CHAPTER TWELVE
  18. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  19. PART TWO
  20. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  21. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  22. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  23. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  24. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  25. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  39. PART THREE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  46. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  47. CHAPTER FORTY
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  55. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  56. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  57. CHAPTER FIFTY
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  59. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  60. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  61. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
  62. CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
  63. CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
  64. EPILOGUE
  65. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  66. About the Author

‘Ella, I’ll take the courtesy bus, honestly. Don’t go out of your way driving me there,’ Marie-Claire protested.

‘Are ya mad! I’m going to have a very peaceful breakfast and a natter with you, before you get into bed. Then I’m going into town to the sales. By myself! Oh bliss,’ she grinned. ‘I love my girls, but they do my head in. Our life was so uncomplicated when we were their ages. I swear to God, those Kardashians and social media have ruined a generation.’

‘Is it that bad here too?’ Marie-Claire followed her friend to the car park.

‘You bet it is. I’ll tell you about it another day. For now, it’s all about you. Update me on EVERYTHING!’ Ella demanded. Marie-Claire had told her friend all the gory details, starting with overhearing Amelia’s furtive phone call and the evening with Marc, in several Skype sessions over the past few days.

‘Well done, missus,’ Ella had exclaimed approvingly when Marie-Claire outlined her strategy. ‘Let him die wondering, the little shit.’

‘Yep, that’s the only thing that’s positive about it for me: I’m in control and I dumped him and he’ll never know why. He hates it. And I’ll get over him. I’m not going to be defined by my relationship with him. I’m going to stop thinking of myself as a failure. It’s time to move on.’ But even as she said the words, they sounded hollow. Despite her best intentions, her heart ached as they walked out into the crisp cold air of Dublin, and the salty easterly breeze whispered across Marie-Claire’s face and she caught the familiar scent of home.

CHAPTER TEN

‘Mon dieu! What are you doing here?’ Keelin’s shout of joy was music to Marie-Claire’s ears when she was hugged by her astonished mother in Imelda’s front porch.

‘Was that a good surprise?’ she grinned, hugging back tightly, swallowing down the lump that rose to her throat at the sight of her much-loved mother.

‘What’s going on out here? Marie-Claire! What are you doing home? I thought you were working and couldn’t come.’ Imelda, hearing the commotion, bustled into the hall, her face lighting up at the sight of her granddaughter walking through the front door.

‘That was a fib,’ Marie-Claire lied, planting a kiss on her grandmother’s soft cheek.

‘Come in, have a cup of tea. Did you drive straight from the airport?’ Imelda ushered them into the kitchen.