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Back Because She Loves Me Save as PDF
Chapters (50)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Dedication Page
  4. Contents
  5. One
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Ninteen
  24. Twenty
  25. Twenty-one
  26. Twenty-two
  27. Twenty-three
  28. Twenty-four
  29. Twenty-five
  30. Twenty-six
  31. Twenty-seven
  32. Twenty-eight
  33. Twenty-nine
  34. Thirty
  35. Thirty-one
  36. Thirty-two
  37. Thirty-three
  38. Thirty-four
  39. Thirty-five
  40. Thirty-six
  41. Thirty-seven
  42. Thirty-eight
  43. Thirty-nine
  44. Forty
  45. Forty-one
  46. Forty-two
  47. Epilogue
  48. Letter From the Author
  49. Acknowledgements
  50. About the Author

‘I’m not going to cheat on you. I’m not going to start staring at other women. I’m not like that. And it’s hard to say this without sounding corny as hell, but I’ve only got eyes for you.’

She held me tightly, the chilly wind whipping around us, her head pressed against my chest, until my leg began to ache.

‘Come on,’ I said. ‘Let’s go home.’

Twenty

Twenty

It was a glorious sunny winter morning, mild and bright, and I opened the windows to let some of the mustiness out. A couple of days had passed since I’d awoken from my long sleep. Maria was due that afternoon but I decided to have a pre-spring clean, to sort out some of the admin of my life.

I emailed Victor to ask if it was OK for me to start work next Monday and he replied immediately: ‘The sooner the better!’ Knowing I would soon have some regular income, I went online to buy replacements for the clothes I’d lost when I fell. The postman brought the necklace I’d ordered as a gift for Charlie, which prompted me to buy some more gifts for her: a couple of lavish art books and, remembering our conversation in the park, some handcuffs with pink fluffy bits that I thought would make her laugh.

I even managed to get through all my unread emails. I contemplated sending a message to Sasha, whom I’d had no contact with since the unsuccessful night with Charlie, but decided against it. I would leave it a few more days. I didn’t want to risk anything spoiling my good mood.

As I ate my lunch – mushroom soup that Charlie had prepared and left in the fridge for me – I felt more relaxed than I had for ages. My hibernation period was over; not just the last two weeks, stuck inside in a codeine haze, but the last fourteen years, ever since my parents’ deaths. This felt momentous. I was about to embark on a new chapter of my life. No, not a chapter – a book. Andrew Sumner: Volume 2. Or was it 3?

Whatever, it felt like things were changing. And as I went around the flat tidying up and sorting out the messy piles of DVDs and books and clothes, I thought about asking Charlie to move in. I was confident she’d want to. She was here all the time and still paying rent on her own place – which I still hadn’t seen. It made sense. Or was it still too soon? It might be a good idea for me to see her place before asking her to move in. What if it was an apocalyptic mess? What if she had a collection of creepy porcelain dolls that she’d want to bring with her?