Chapters (52)
- COVER PAGE
- DEDICATION
- PART ONE
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- PART TWO
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- ABOUT THE AUTHORS
‘My laptop died,’ Evie lied hastily. ‘I wanted to have another look at the last scene. But your filing system, it’s a mess!’
‘Evie, it’s Christmas. If we can’t take today off, what hope do we have?’ Hugo said, kissing her on the cheek. ‘Merry Christmas, baby.’
‘Merry Christmas,’ Evie said. She watched Hugo tuck the laptop away in a drawer. Out of sight, out of mind?
Hugo brightened as he moved about the kitchen, grabbing ingredients from shelves and bowls from cupboards. He wanted to make pancakes, as was his Christmas tradition, and as he cooked he chatted breezily about their plans for the day: a walk through Regent’s Park and a visit to Carnaby Street to see the Christmas lights. Evie nodded along, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Chloe and that damn laptop.
THIRTY-SEVEN
Thirty-seven
A few days after Christmas, Hugo left the house early to visit his parents. They were putting on an extravagant bottomless brunch to celebrate William’s birthday. At the last minute, Evie had bailed, citing a migraine that left her unable to get out of bed. Which wasn’t a lie. She did have a throbbing headache. It had started the day she’d first met Chloe on the street and grown progressively worse every day since. So, understandably, the last thing she wanted to do was spend the day with the other Hearsts.
Evie rolled uncomfortably beneath the sheets, having just finished another unsuccessful session of singing ‘Somebody to Love’. Bunny appeared beside her, curling up on her pillow, and Evie moved her head to let out a small sneeze. She suddenly felt allergic to this house, and all the feelings that came with it. Bunny stretched out his back, purred, and waltzed over to the small oak desk in the corner of the room. Hugo had insisted on it, in case inspiration struck in the middle of the night, even though Evie thought it made the space feel cramped. Bunny seemed to wink at Evie before settling himself on Hugo’s warm laptop, which was plugged into a charger on the wall. Evie stared at the cat, her mind racing. Hugo usually took his laptop with him everywhere he went.
I couldn’t, could I? Evie wondered, then pushed the temptation away. But before she knew it, she was standing up, pushing Bunny off his personal sunbed, sneezing again, and then grabbing the laptop, ready to rush out the door.
‘What are you doing here? You’re not rostered on today,’ Josie said. She was filling a cup of Pepsi to the very brim for a young girl.
‘I’ve just come to say hi, Josie,’ Evie said, slightly breathlessly. She had hurried from her home to the cinema, afraid if she stopped to breathe, she would back out of this covert operation. ‘Is that so strange?’