BooksBarbecue
Back On the First Day of Christmas Save as PDF
Chapters (33)
  1. Cover
  2. ALSO BY FAITH HOGAN
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Contents
  7. Prologue
  8. 1
  9. 2
  10. 3
  11. 4
  12. 5
  13. 6
  14. 7
  15. 8
  16. 9
  17. 10
  18. 11
  19. 12
  20. 13
  21. 14
  22. 15
  23. 16
  24. 17
  25. 18
  26. 19
  27. 20
  28. 21
  29. 22
  30. Author’s Note
  31. Acknowledgements
  32. About the Author
  33. An Invitation from the Publisher

‘I’d like that, but what about…’ She wanted to ask about Anya, but what was the point? She remembered standing at his apartment the night before, Anya in the doorway, as territorial as a lioness. Suddenly, she felt a chill run over her; Liv didn’t want to mention her name, not if Anya was lying next to Pete right at this moment. And, she realised, she didn’t particularly want to ring in the New Year with them either. ‘No, do you know what? I think I’ll just head into town and then go straight home. I could get a call to be in at work first thing yet, you never know,’ she said softly. She could meet him for lunch one day next week. They could go somewhere near his office, just the two of them and she could tell him then. What exactly? That Anya wasn’t good enough for him, that he could do so much better, that he deserved so much better – he deserved someone who would never cheat behind his back. He deserved someone who would adore him. Someone like Rachel would have wanted; or, at least, a variation on that anyway.

‘Seriously, Liv, you’ll never get a taxi tonight and the last place you want to be is on a bus with New Year revellers.’ He didn’t add that it would be too depressing for words; he didn’t have to.

‘No, I’ll be fine, really. For all I know, it could be tomorrow afternoon before I get to leave here.’ She laughed now.

‘So, why did you…’

‘Ring you?’ God, did she only ever ring him because she wanted something? She’d park that nugget to unpack later when she could face it. ‘I just rang to wish you a happy New Year, of course.’ She mustered up as much enthusiasm as she could, and actually this morning maybe it felt as if she really was full of good cheer.

‘Right, well, a happy New Year to you too,’ he said uneasily.

‘See you next year.’ She rang off, knowing there was so much more she needed to say to him, but not being quite sure where to start.

19

She struggled out of her coat and changed into her uniform with a nagging pain along her right hip and down into her leg. Reaching into her locker she pulled out two painkillers; otherwise, she knew that within a few hours she’d be hobbling around the A&E like an unsteady pensioner.

‘I’m afraid it’s all hands on deck again today,’ Francine said wearily. ‘We’re rushed off our feet and there’s no sign of things getting any quieter.’