Chapters (51)
- Cover
- Praise for A Season for Second Chances
- Also by Jenny Bayliss
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- 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
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- Discussion Guide
- About the Author
- What’s next onyour reading list?
“Yes. Which is why we handed over the gravy making to Marks and Spencer, because no nana would argue with M&S.”
They closed the shop at four o’clock because the only customers they were getting were the post-work Christmas-lunch kind, and Nory didn’t want beer hands on her books. And they weren’t buying anyway; they only wanted somewhere warm to wait until the pub queues quieted down a bit.
Nory locked the door for Serendipitous Seconds for the final time that year. Andrew was holding a small sack over his shoulder like a well-groomed robber. They were Nory’s gifts to her goddaughter.
“You spoil her,” said Andrew kindly.
“Only with love.”
“These are things!” he said, rattling the sack slightly and smiling.
“Things given with love,” Nory corrected him.
Andrew pulled her into a hug with his free arm.
“Happy Christmas, darling Nory,” he said into her hair.
“Happy Christmas to you too, my lovely friend.”
They pulled apart from each other.
“Oh my god, it’s your first Christmas together as a family.” Nory was suddenly welling up. “It’s so wonderful! You’ve waited so long.”
“Now don’t start,” said Andrew, wiping at his eyes. “Because you’ll start me off.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too. Now go on, off with you. I don’t want you to see me cry.”
Nory laughed and crossed the square toward her flat. She turned and called, “Say merry Christmas to Seb and give Matilda a big kiss from me!”
“Consider it done!” Andrew called back as he rounded the corner and disappeared.
Ameerah called for Nory and her cat at six o’clock, and after settling a grouchy Mugwort in his basket on the backseat, they began the slow drive out of London along with the thousands of other people leaving the city for the holidays. At one point the traffic was so still that Nory jumped out of the car, ran to the garage across the road, grabbed two coffees and a bag full of snacks, and made it back before Ameerah had moved two car lengths.
“Jackson and Lucas will be in bed by the time we get to Hartmead,” Nory lamented.
“You’ll see them in the morning.”
“It’s probably for the best. I’m not sure I can take another fight with Thom just yet.”
“We should still have time for Jake Noel’s annual Christmas cocktail hour, though.”