BooksBarbecue
Back Long Story Short
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

‘Here’s to making this trip the most successful one we possibly can,’ I said, leaning across the aisle so he could hear me. I lifted up my glass of champagne.

Jake raised his glass too. ‘Cheers to that.’ He kept his eyes on mine as we both took a sip.

6

Once we took off towards New York, I was able to relax and enjoy first class as much as I wanted to because Jake put in ear buds and closed his pod curtain. I didn’t have to worry about being cool any more or not embarrassing myself; I could do exactly what I wanted to. So, I had another glass of champagne, put on the sheet face mask I’d brought and changed into the pyjamas they’d given me, even though it was daytime. Then I feasted on fancy food they brought around and watched old episodes of Sex and the City to put myself fully in a NYC mood.

Halfway through the journey, I turned my seat into the bed and for the first time in my life, had a great sleep on a flight. When I woke up, more food came, including a slice of chocolate cake, and I watched a romcom while I ate it. When I changed back into clothes, excitement began to build again for my first sight of New York.

As the approach to the city began, Jake opened up his pod and gave me a nod as we all fastened our seatbelts. He looked remarkably refreshed, whereas my hair and make-up had definitely taken a turn for the worse but my worry about that completely disappeared as the plane began to descend. I looked out of my window and let out a gasp when I caught sight of New York below stretched out like an urban blanket, fluffy clouds like candyfloss breaking up the view. A thrill ran through my veins at the thought of finally being able to walk around the city I had been fascinated by in films, books and TV shows. I knew I wouldn’t have as much time as I would like to explore as I needed to be focused on the conference, but I would make use of it as much as possible.

My gaze drifted over to Jake, who was scrolling on his phone, uninterested by the view, and our descent into New York. I supposed he had seen it many times before. I hoped that he wouldn’t make me feel bad for being so excited to be here for the first time. I was determined to not let him. This was a dream come true for me and even if I was with someone who appeared to be world-weary, I sure as hell wasn’t going to be like that.

* * *

Getting off the plane and through security and immigration was an experience.