I knew the torture of waiting, of not knowing what was happening, what my future held, and so I deleted his voice mail message and blocked his number and switched off my phone. Then I turned back to the departures board to decide where I should go.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Huge thanks go to my terrific editor, Danielle Perez, for her insight and editorial advice, and to my wonderful agent, Kate Burke, for all her encouragement and support. You have both made such a difference to my work, and it’s always a pleasure working with you.

For each of my books the writer Fiona Collins has been my first reader and I can’t thank her enough for her friendship and her critical eye. She’s just the person any writer needs, both when times are tough and when everything’s going well. She makes working from home so much fun.

Thanks to Caz Finlay for being such a great friend. She is at the start of her publication journey and I know she’s going to make a huge success of it.

Thanks to Richard Hill for all his support and for discussing plots night after night.

Thank you, too, to Kourtney O’Dwyer, who was at Bouchercon in Toronto, and was kind enough to bid to have her name in my novel.

Finally, thank you so much to Rosie and Louis for all your love and encouragement. You mean so much to me.

Readers Guide

READERS GUIDE

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. On the night Ruby left home, Harry wrote to tell her not to leave and explained why. If Ruby had read the e-mail in time, do you think she would have stayed with Tom?

2. When Jane confronted Harry about his affair, he told her he would dump Ruby immediately. Should Jane have told Emma what was going on, or do you agree with her that it would have been better for Emma if she remained in ignorance? Would you answer differently if Emma hadn’t been pregnant?

3. Emma and Tom slept together after discovering that their spouses were having an affair. Would you still consider this infidelity on their part? Or was this revenge, or something else?

4. What do you think Tom’s intentions were toward Emma and her baby? Did he sincerely believe he was the father and simply want to be involved, or did he just want to control Emma? How much did his divorce, which led to him living apart from his son, affect the way he behaved with Emma?

5. If Emma hadn’t realized Harry was having an affair and hadn’t gotten pregnant, do you think Ruby and Harry would have had a happy life together, given how their relationship started?

6. What should parents do if they realize their adult children are involved with a controlling partner?

7. Do you think Tom’s controlling behavior will have any effect on Josh’s adult relationships in the future?