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Back The Affair Save as PDF
Chapters (42)
  1. Cover
  2. About the Author
  3. Dedication
  4. Epigraph
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. Acknowledgements
  40. Read More
  41. 1
  42. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING

Connie took a breath. ‘We’re very lucky. And we will survive. Knowing I might have lost you was a living hell,’ she told him, laying her head on his chest. Devan’s love for her was tangible, not just in the powerful tenderness of his words but in the strength of his arms, the touch of his cheek to her hair. She felt it vibrate through her body as she breathed her love for him into the warm hollow of his neck. ‘I love you too,’ she whispered into the silent room.

Acknowledgements

As usual, Michael Joseph have provided me with the most excellent support in writing this book. Thank you, Maxine Hitchcock, Clare Bowron and Hazel Orme. Also, Laura Nicol, Rebecca Hilsdon, Emma Henderson, Helena Fouracre, Catherine Le Lievre and Zana Chaka.

Also, thank you Curtis Brown, my wonderful agent Jonathan Lloyd, and Lucy Morris.

For research into being a tour manager, I could not have written this book without the invaluable help of my dear friend Suzie Ladbrooke.

Thanks go to Eddie Mair, the ex-presenter of BBC Radio 4’s PM, for his extended set of interviews with a victim of stalking. It was this which gave me the idea for The Affair.

And thank you to my family, of course.

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1

Sara sat on the bed, slowly pressing out a message on her phone, then deleting it, trying again: Sorry, won’t be able to make it tonight. Had a problem last minute. Finally, she decided the text would do, but had no idea how best to sign off. Not a kiss, certainly. Not love. ‘Best wishes’? ‘Best’? She didn’t want to upset him, but she didn’t owe him anything, either. Just as she made the decision to leave nothing except her name, her mobile sprang to life.

She jumped and took a deep breath as she clicked on the call, heard Peggy, her younger daughter, say, ‘Hi, Mum. You busy?’

‘Umm, sort of. I was supposed to be going out in five minutes … on this bloody date.’ She gave theatrical emphasis to the last word, and heard a sharp intake of breath.

‘Wow! Is this the radiologist guy? Oh, my God, Mum, that’s so exciting.’ Then there was a pause. ‘Wait, what do you mean was? He hasn’t dumped out, has he?’

‘No. But I was about to.’ Sara heard Peggy give a small sigh and became immediately defensive. ‘I’m just not sure I can face some random man across the table when he’s no doubt expecting me to flirt. Not sure I know how to any more.’ Which was the understatement of the decade. She not only didn’t know how to flirt, the whole idea of kissing some strange male mouth filled her with horror. She had needed this shove from her two daughters to get this far.