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
‘Charlie and Dot.’ Evie’s anxiety bubbled to the surface again—she worried that, one way or another, she would come to regret the decision to involve Steven.
‘Okay, hopefully we get lucky!’
Evie nodded slowly, still clutching Florence’s card. Her emotions were all over the shop. Hopefully not, she thought.
THIRTY-EIGHT
Thirty-eight
The morning of New Year’s Eve always filled Evie with excitement and anticipation. What would the night bring? How many unrealistic, and frankly downright absurd resolutions—Keep a gratitude journal! Save money! Spend more time with horses!—would she set, then break within days of the new year? After securing the internship with Florence, Evie was filled with a little more optimism for what the year had in store. She still hadn’t heard from Steven about Hugo’s documents, and she sort of hoped that she never would. Tomorrow could be about fresh starts.
While Evie would have loved to attend Ben and Josie’s annual New Year’s bash, she would instead be accompanying Hugo to an important dinner with his publishers, hosted by Auklet Print’s UK CEO, Nancy Walker. Evie had told Hugo she wanted to stop off at the party before or after, but he wasn’t keen on the idea. He said he didn’t know how late the dinner would run, and he didn’t want to get there too late, either.
‘Tonight,’ he had said, ‘will be a seminal moment for me to solidify my place in the company.’
Evie was excited for tonight, too. It would be the first time she was out with Hugo in a professional capacity since the screenplay of Henrietta’s Gift had been given the nod. She was looking forward to discussing their project and networking for future opportunities.
Evie heard Hugo step out of the shower and called out to him. ‘Hugo, can you zip me up?’
She wore a soft yellow silk dress that clung to her body in a way that made her feel feminine and sexy. Hugo had bought it for her as an early birthday present during his last trip to LA. It had apparently been created by some up-and-coming Californian designer. Very expensive. Very luxe.
He walked towards her, heat still radiating off him from the shower and a towel hanging loosely around his hips. His chest was more toned and his shoulders were broader than they had been a few months ago on account of his rigorous ‘film ready’ training program, which had him running and doing sit ups, push ups and pull ups, morning and night. He zipped up her dress and kissed her gently on the neck.
‘You look gorgeous, baby,’ he whispered in her ear, his breath feathering her exposed neck.
Evie pulled away delicately, sitting on the bed to slip on her strappy heels while Hugo dressed in his suit. She then applied a slick of red lipstick, pulled on her thick woollen coat and made her way downstairs.