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Chapters (46)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Chapter One
  5. Chapter Two
  6. Chapter Three
  7. Chapter Four
  8. Chapter Five
  9. Chapter Six
  10. Chapter Seven
  11. Chapter Eight
  12. Chapter Nine
  13. Chapter Ten
  14. Chapter Eleven
  15. Chapter Twelve
  16. Chapter Thirteen
  17. Chapter Fourteen
  18. Chapter Fifteen
  19. Chapter Sixteen
  20. Chapter Seventeen
  21. Chapter Eighteen
  22. Chapter Nineteen
  23. Chapter Twenty
  24. Chapter Twenty-One
  25. Chapter Twenty-Two
  26. Chapter Twenty-Three
  27. Chapter Twenty-Four
  28. Chapter Twenty-Five
  29. Chapter Twenty-Six
  30. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  31. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  32. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  33. Chapter Thirty
  34. Chapter Thirty-One
  35. Chapter Thirty-Two
  36. Acknowledgments
  37. Read on for an extract from the brand new book from Lucy Diamond
  38. Prologue
  39. Chapter One
  40. Q&A with Lucy Diamond
  41. On a Beautiful Day
  42. The House of New Beginnings
  43. Praise
  44. About the Author
  45. By the Same Author
  46. Copyright

She knew, at heart, that this was why he was puffing up like a cobra whenever Julia’s name was mentioned, because of his deep-rooted instinct to protect his child, to keep him safe. Craig was a good person, he believed he was doing the right thing here – but somehow his actions were coming across as aggressive rather than kind. Whatever happened next in this saga, however she and Craig negotiated with Julia, they had to keep remembering that this was about Fergus, the small, exuberant person they all adored. They had to act out of love, in other words, rather than from misguided vengeance or rivalry. But could she make Craig see this, before they found themselves trading insults in a courtroom and making everything a hundred times worse? Or was he too blinded by his own convictions to listen?

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

When Work Means It’s Love-All

Craig Jacobs, 41, and Frankie Carlyle, 34, are the real-life couple behind the hugely successful ‘Dad About the House’ column – a genuine happy-ever-after tale that has captured the hearts of readers everywhere. The pair of them live in west London with Craig’s young son Fergus, the co-star of the columns. So how did the story begin?

FRANKIE: As a freelance artist, it’s rare that I get to meet the writers whose work I illustrate, but in Craig’s case I felt as if I knew him from the first few paragraphs. There’s something so honest about his work, and his writing is so witty and moving, that I very quickly gained a sense of the real person behind the page and found myself eagerly awaiting the latest instalment of his column. Like the rest of the country, I was willing him and Fergus on, cheering every achievement – as well as sympathizing through each setback. Then came the newspaper’s Christmas party, and I couldn’t help crossing the room to introduce myself. I think my opening gambit to him was something really cheesy like ‘I’m such a fan of your work’, which I now realize he gets a lot, but once I introduced myself and we began talking, it turned out that he was a fan of my work, too. And—

Harry was blinking as if he couldn’t take in any more of the words on Paula’s iPad screen. ‘And it’s really her?’ he said faintly, his eyes full of tears. ‘She’s . . . the same Frankie?’

‘Well, you tell me,’ Paula said. ‘I mean, I’ve only seen photos of her. You’re the one who actually met her.’