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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

How many pints had we had? Six? Zack and Hailey weren’t going to be impressed. Better not have any more.

‘Another beer?’ Rob asked, indicating the empties obliterating the table.

‘Go on, then.’ What difference would one more make?

Rob headed off towards the bar, ricocheting off a table he’d misjudged on the way.

‘You think so?’ I asked, returning to Stevie’s comment.

‘She sounds lovely. D’you love her?’

‘Yeah. Didn’t think I’d love anyone again after Nikki. Didn’t think lightning would strike twice.’

‘Then tell her. Don’t lose her.’

‘Only been a year,’ I said. ‘Too soon?’

‘Noooooo! Just a number. Nikki’d want you to be happy, yeah?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Jemma makes you happy, yeah?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Bollocks to everyone else, then. Took me…’ He squinted and started counting on his fingers but the maths was obviously too hard with six pints inside him and he couldn’t coordinate his fingers either. He gave up. ‘Took me fourteen years or summat like that to find love again. If you’ve found it, grab it. Might not happen again.’

‘What if she wants to stay friends instead?’

‘Then it wasn’t meant to be. Move on.’

‘What about the baby?’

Stevie shrugged. ‘What about the baby? Nikki was pregnant, Nikki died, baby died, but you’re still alive and you need to live your life. You say you haven’t grieved for the baby but you have. You’ve grieved for Nikki and the baby was part of her. You don’t need to start again. They’re both gone, but you’re here and you’ve found someone you love and, if she loves you too, you might have your own babies one day. When Maddy and I lost Rebecca, it was horrendous but I got over it. Rebecca was one of those babies who wasn’t meant to make it, just like yours. Now I have two babies of my own. Melody’s not mine biologically but she’s still as much mine as Tristan is. I’ll never forget Rebecca and neither of them are replacements for her. It’s just how life is. You can ride the waves or you can get caught in the riptide. Which do you choose, Sam?’

‘The waves.’

‘Then you choose life. You choose the future. You choose Jemma.’

‘I choose beer,’ Rob said, placing three pints on the table.

‘Me too!’ I said, laughing.

‘And me!’ Stevie added.

We clinked our pints together. ‘To Nikki and the baby,’ I said.

Stevie grinned at me. ‘To the waves, to life, to the future, and to Jemma.’

And to Jemma. The future with Jemma. I liked that.

40

Jemma

I stared open-mouthed at Fiona. Scott was dead? He was actually dead? He couldn’t be. How? When? It didn’t make any sense.

‘It was a massive heart attack,’ Fiona said gently.

I clapped my hand across my mouth. ‘What? But he was only thirty-two.’