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Back The Library Save as PDF
Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. THE LIBRARY
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. 42
  48. 43
  49. 44
  50. 45
  51. 46
  52. 47
  53. EPILOGUE
  54. Questions for your Book Club
  55. Acknowledgements
  56. About the Author
  57. Become an Aria Addict

‘Err, yes it is. Especially when it’s romance.’ He turned back to face her. ‘I’d get slaughtered for this.’

‘At school?’

‘At school, at home, everywhere!’ He threw his arms up.

‘At home. Surely your mum wouldn’t…’ Tom’s face changed. It was his eyes mainly. Like a light going out. His expression broke Maggie’s heart just a fraction. She lowered her voice. ‘You don’t have a mum around, do you, Tom?’

‘Miss Marple strikes again.’ He swallowed hard and shook his head. ‘She died when I was eight.’

‘I’m so sorry,’ she said reaching out a hand and squeezing his shoulder. He gave a weak smile at the gesture. ‘It’s crap isn’t it?’

Tom laughed and looked at her through his fringe. ‘Yeah. It is total crap. You’re funny…’

‘For an old woman?’

‘Nah, you’re just funny.’

‘So come on. What did you really think of the ending of Me Before You?’ she asked, leaning forward and resting her forearms on her thighs.

‘Bloody hell. That was a shock, wasn’t it? I can’t stop thinking about it. It was different to all the other books I’ve read and those last few pages… Whoa.’

Maggie loved to hear the indignation and excitement in his voice. She’d not heard him speak for so long in all the weeks he’d been coming to the library. She’d found a kindred spirit in the most unlikely place and she was going to hang on to him as if her life depended on it.

9

TOM

I thought about Maggie a lot that evening. I didn’t like how she’d got the truth out of me. I thought I was smarter than that. My big secret was out and weirdly it was a huge relief. More than that it felt good to talk about the books with another reader. It was like reliving them. I had been reading every night since Dad killed my Xbox.

The books opened a door for me to escape into a different world. One where I was the hero. I could also convince myself that it was research. Research into a life I wanted to lead, people I wanted to be like. I had even made some notes. These heroes had some great lines. They were mostly aloof or idiots at the start of the stories but they learned along the way and came good in the end. They were arrogant rather than shy like me but still awkward in their own way with the ability to push women away. But what I was learning was that this situation wasn’t irretrievable. There was hope. Not a lot of it, but it was enough to make me want to know more.