Time moves on. I’ll be honest, and admit I’m struggling, desperately. I was blessed with the love of the most amazing woman, and I am grateful. But I am also selfish. It wasn’t long enough. Not by a long shot. I remember a few weeks before she died, I told Ava I had no idea how I would go on living without her.

You’ll find a way to manage, she said. People still live after losing a limb.

She was more than just a limb, though. She was my whole heart.

I will try my hardest to live my best life, because I promised her I would, and because she taught me not to make promises you can’t keep. But she can hang on to my heart, until the day we are reunited again.

Acknowledgments

This book would not be in your hands if it weren’t for the tireless belief of my wonderful agent, Vicki Marsdon, who keeps insisting that I have talent, and who is relentless with her encouragement. Thanks to Emma and Anna at Piatkus, who believed in this story based purely upon the strength of a few paragraphs. You saw the potential, and I’m hugely grateful for that. Thanks also to the wonderful teams at Hachette New Zealand and Hachette Australia for your amazing support and efforts, especially Sacha, who is very clever and very kind.

Amanda Shapleski, Andrea Sheffield, Jo Edwards, Michelle Barbridge, Richard Lloyd-James, Cara Randall-Hunt, Tara Lyons, Kelly Thompson, Micaela Bretton, Yvette Hurst, Gail Shaw, Robyn Jan Geiger, Gilda Galluzzo Seager, Emily Ciravolo, Emma Green, Rebecca Raisin, Fiona Wilson, Shelly Feetham, Mark Paxton, Tracy Bain, Casey-Lee Vautier, Rachael Albert, Bonnie Whittaker, Janelle Harris, Michelle Vernal, Donna Moran, and Donna Young—you guys are all special to me and your support doesn’t go unnoticed.

My family, especially Tony Ryan, Patrice Ryan, Rob Ryan, Kerrie Ryan, Ange Ward, Jacqui Morrissey, Catelyn McCarty, and Jack Morrissey. I love you all so very much. My welcoming new family, Christine and Ian Robinson, Rachel and Mark Barker, Wayne and Nikki Robinson.

My very, very dear friends who feel like family, Kevin, Lorraine, and Rachel Tipene. We’ll come and see you in France one day, I promise!

And, lastly, my hard-working, tremendously supportive husband, Karl, and our precious cherubs, Holly, Willow, and Leo. You make every day chaotic and loud, but also fun and wonderful. I love that every time I drag you into a bookstore and point at the shelf you still say “Mummy’s book!” with as much enthusiasm as the first time. Long may that continue.

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About the Author

After years spent working her way around the world, Tammy Robinson settled back in New Zealand, where she married her husband, Karl, and had three children. After her husband followed his dream of being a farmer and moved them all to the rural countryside, Tammy decided it was time to get serious about her own dreams of being a writer. She has since written eight novels and is working on her ninth, when the kids let her.