BooksBarbecue
Back Fancy Meeting You Here
Chapters (52)
  1. COVER PAGE
  2. DEDICATION
  3. PART ONE
  4. ONE
  5. TWO
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. PART TWO
  23. NINETEEN
  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. FORTY-THREE
  48. FORTY-FOUR
  49. FORTY-FIVE
  50. FORTY-SIX
  51. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  52. ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Evie and Hugo pulled up in the Hearsts’ long leafy driveway in Surrey. Evie’s stomach churned at the sight of their grand Victorian house, swallowed in green climbers and vintage embellishments. It made her childhood home look like a doll’s house, and not one of the fancy ones at that. Hugo had arrived home from Italy the evening before, and after spending the morning in bed, he had sprung on Evie that he’d agreed to go to lunch at his parents’ place. Meals with his family were always tense and, quite frankly, a little awkward, and Evie would have preferred to spend the day in bed, ordering takeaway and binge-watching movies as they soaked up the simple pleasure of just being together. But Hugo had rightly pointed out it had been ages since he’d last seen his parents and he couldn’t put it off forever.

She took Hugo’s hand in hers and gave it a squeeze as they got out of the car.

‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘I’m right here.’

He squinted at her curiously. ‘Why would I be worried?’

‘You just look a bit … tense.’

‘Of course I’m tense. I’ve just written a bestseller, my publishers are on my back to write another, my producer is hassling me about the screenplay, and I’m about to debut in a bloody film,’ he blurted out in a single breath.

Evie swallowed and bit her tongue, not wanting to get into a fight just before lunch with his parents. He’s just tired. Let it go.

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Evie never felt quite so out of place as when she was with Hugo’s parents and older brother, William. They were all seated around an oval oak table in the middle of the Hearsts’ expansive dining room. The room was large and draughty, and showed off their signature style of old-world wealth—which mostly meant posh and gold-leafed. The Hearsts’ personal chef, Marie, had just brought out the main course: salmon with steamed vegetables. Evie, who didn’t eat fish but also didn’t want to seem rude, had been taking painstakingly miniscule bites.

‘Because I wrote Henrietta’s Gift, I know my characters more intimately than anyone. Plus, I have acting experience, so it made sense I play the lead role,’ Hugo explained, justifying his life choices like he always did at these family events.