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Back All You Need Is Love Save as PDF
Chapters (56)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. OCTOBER
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. 44
  48. 45
  49. 46
  50. 47
  51. 48
  52. Acknowledgments
  53. More from Jessica Redland
  54. About the Author
  55. Also by Jessica Redland
  56. About Boldwood Books

He looked at me and I nodded. I knew that sort of bracing weather and I loved it too.

‘We’d been talking about our future together. Plans to do up the flat. The wedding. Suddenly she stopped walking and put her hand to her head. I asked if she was okay. She said her head hurt and joked that she wasn’t as tough as she looked and would bring a hat next time. She took another step then dropped to the sand. Minutes later, she was gone.’

I clapped my hand over my mouth. ‘Oh, Sam. That’s awful. How are you coping?’

‘Good days and bad days. I thought that moving away from Whitsborough Bay would help to ease the pain by taking me away from the places that remind me of Nikki. The problem is, I don’t know anyone here so I’ve got lots of spare time to think. The more I think, the angrier I get that the life we should have had together was snatched away just like that.’ He clicked his fingers.

The pain in his eyes and the grief in his voice was so raw that I couldn’t stop the tears from coursing down my cheeks once more. I completely understood how it felt to have your future disappear just like that.

‘Sorry Jemma, I didn’t mean to make you cry again. I shouldn’t have said anything.’

‘I didn’t give you much choice, did I?’

‘I wasn’t trying to keep it from you, you know. It’s just that…’

I nodded. ‘I know. Saying it makes it that bit more real, doesn’t it? A bit like me saying the word “dementia”. It’s so hard.’

Sam put his arms out and I gratefully cuddled into him again, crying for him, for his lost fiancée, me facing the future without Scott, and for Mum, Logan, and what the future meant for our little family. When there were no more tears left, I didn’t move, and neither did Sam. I lay against his chest, listening to his heartbeat, feeling safe.

23

Sam

I’m not sure what woke me up: stiff neck, the chill in the flat or the beep of Jemma’s phone. Probably a combination of all three. It took me a moment to work out where the hell I was. That had been one seriously deep sleep. Better than I’d experienced since before Nikki died.

Jemma was sound asleep, slumped against me. Her phone beeped again and lit up on the coffee table. I could make out the name ‘Rachel’. It was obviously about her mum so I needed to wake her up.