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?
It didn’t take long for the buzz surrounding Shelley—the hottest new name in London floral design—to be felt in Hartmead. Thomas, who had always been in love with his wife but perhaps took her contributions to the family business a little for granted, had seen Shelley in a new light since her collaboration with Pippa. He’d since had all their business signs repainted to read Noel & Family. He was Shelley’s biggest fan on Instagram, and her biggest advocate in life.
Jake and Sasha had semi-retired and spent most weekends traveling around in the camper van that had waited so patiently to be used. In January they planned to start their European tour. But they would be back every school holiday to help out with the grandchildren and the business.
Ameerah, looking sublime in her best woman outfit and faux-fur stole, was outshone only by the dazzler of an emerald on her ring finger and by the smile of her handsome fiancé. Dev’s family had instantly welcomed Ameerah into their hearts. Her own parents remained distant both physically and emotionally, but between the Noels and the Chakrabartis, Ameerah had all the family she needed. And when she’d earned a big promotion in the summer, both families were in attendance for her very noisy celebration dinner.
Dev and Thomas had hit it off when they’d met again in the pub last Christmas Eve, and Dev was now firmly ensconced in the Mead and Medlar pub quiz team with Thom, Isaac, Jake, Sasha, and Shelley. And when Jake and Sasha were away in the camper van, Nory and Ameerah filled in on the team.
After splitting her time between London and Hartmead, Nory had finally moved in with Isaac in November. Lettuce and Mugwort were still working out their differences—though to be fair, the problems were mostly Mugwort’s. He was still suspicious of the outside world, but he certainly enjoyed telling off the birds from the windowsill.
Nory found that she enjoyed the commute to London; it felt like having her cake and eating it, being ensconced both in the country and the city. It had taken her a while to train up Imelda, her newest member of staff, but finally she was ready and Nory could stop working six-day weeks. She felt that Imelda was a little gung-ho in her bookselling technique, but Andrew assured her that Imelda was exactly the right amount of gung-ho, and that Nory would have to increase her searches for vintage books to keep up with demand. This was music to Nory’s ears.