When I had planned my secret escape to the Wynmouth seaside, I’d had no idea that I wouldn’t be leaving again, or that Dad would be joining me, but I was delighted with how everything had turned out.

‘All right?’ Sam asked, walking to the end of the bar and pulling me into the shadows.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my head against his broad chest.

‘Perfectly all right,’ I said, breathing in the comforting combined scent of him and his aftershave.

Being held by him felt like coming home and I relaxed into his embrace before looking up so he could kiss me on the lips. Every time we touched it felt every bit as stirring as it had that first time behind the beach huts all those years ago.

‘Everything is very perfect indeed,’ I sighed contentedly. ‘I always knew it would be if I made my way back to Wynmouth.’

Acknowledgements

It’s not the first time that I’ve written this (and I’m certain it won’t be the last), but there are many, many people to thank for helping this book along its journey from conception to completion.

Regular readers may recall that, when my sixth book, Sunshine and Sweet Peas in Nightingale Square was published in 2018, I admitted that it was the scariest release by far because I was taking you away from beloved Wynbridge and setting you down in a brand-new setting. My wonderful team told me not to worry, and they were right because you embraced the changes and fell in love with the Grow-Well gang (as they were called in Poppy’s Recipe for Life). This time around, I’ve got all of my fingers and toes crossed that you will feel the same way about the wonderful village of Wynmouth and the folk who live there. I’m even hoping that we might head back there again at some point in the future.

Just like Tess, my love for one particular seaside place on the Norfolk coast was the result of a memorable childhood trip and when I started writing, I knew that one day there would be a character waiting to journey back to see if the present lived up to her past. I hope I have done her story justice.

Fittingly then, my first round of hugs and thanks is reserved for my wonderful readers who buy, borrow and love the books, along with the loyal band of bloggers who unfailingly respond to the call to champion my work. I’m eternally grateful to my merry #swainette crew! I’m including libraries and the hard-working staff and volunteers who run them here too. During the last year, my books have been borrowed thousands of times and I’ve had some truly memorable events talking in libraries, both in Norfolk and further afield, so thank you all.