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Chapters (61)
  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. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. 46
  49. 47
  50. 48
  51. 49
  52. 50
  53. 51
  54. EPILOGUE
  55. THANK YOU!
  56. MORE FROM VICTORIA WALTERS
  57. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  58. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  59. ALSO BY VICTORIA WALTERS
  60. Boldwood Ever After
  61. About Boldwood Books

Liv took a sip of her coffee while I replayed her words in my mind. I knew we were very different – it was what had made me feel so intimidated by Jake in the first place, and seemed to have been what drew him to me. But what worked here in New York might feel very different once we were back in our usual lives. If we got a chance to find out.

After breakfast, Jake messaged me to meet him before the final conference exhibition so we could strategise. I nervously walked out of the Waldorf into the conference hotel to find him. I wondered if I should ask him what was going to happen once we left New York. Maybe he would reassure me that this wasn’t just a holiday thing. Maybe we could try to be together in London if we could work out what to do about Hayley.

When I saw Jake in the lobby, a smile appeared on my face. It was good to see him. Some of my nerves faded into butterflies. I started to go over but then I stopped, stunned. He wasn’t alone and the person who was talking to him was unfortunately very familiar. When Jake turned and saw me, there was no smile on his face.

‘There you are,’ Hayley called over, putting her hands on her hips, her mouth pursed. ‘Well, come on,’ she added, waving as I still stood on the spot. My boss wore one of her power suits, not a hair out of place, looking calm and cool despite the fact she must not have been long off the plane. I glanced down at my sundress and boots outfit and my stomach dropped.

God. This was a nightmare. Why had she turned up like this? Bracing myself, I walked over slowly, keeping my eyes on Hayley because if I looked at Jake, I was worried I might burst into tears or something equally embarrassing.

32

‘I thought you were at your sister’s wedding?’ I asked once I stood in front of Hayley, my palms already feeling sweaty.

‘I was,’ she snapped. ‘But after Jake told everyone at the panel that he had slagged off romance books, I knew I couldn’t trust the two of you to fix things, so I jumped on the earliest flight I could once my sister got married. She’s pissed off with me but this needs sorting.’

‘I explained to everyone…’ Jake started but Hayley held a hand up and he stopped speaking.

‘I’ve caught up on social media,’ Hayley said. ‘You said there was a personal reason, a secret, that you didn’t want that twat Mulberry to find out so you slagged off romance books instead. Everyone thinks it’s kind of bullshit. And I agree. Who cares about your personal life?’ she asked with a sneer.