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Back Unnecessary Drama Save as PDF
Chapters (49)
  1. COVER PAGE
  2. TEXT LOGO PAGE
  3. ABOUT THE BOOK
  4. DEDICATION
  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. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  46. ALSO BY NINA KENWOOD
  47. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  48. PRAISE
  49. NEW MARKETING PAGE

We watch Harper and Penny rapidly pass the ball back and forth before Penny pivots, shoots and scores.

‘Okay, they’ve got this, but we’re going to help,’ Jesse says. He leans over, and gives me a quick kiss on the forehead.

It’s been a month since we got together, and it still feels wildly reckless and utterly wonderful. I’m sure both Mum and Nanna think it’s a recipe for disaster, even though Nanna married her first husband at nineteen after knowing him for seven weeks and she says he was the best of all her husbands (she had three). Lauren thinks it’s perfect, that I’m an intense person who needs to be all-in from the beginning. But she also said if we break up and I have to move home, I need to accept that I can’t have my old bedroom back, because she’s thinking of switching our rooms.

So far, no disaster has befallen us. We have some loose rules, at my insistence, but Jesse breaks them regularly. I’ll say, we should spend a night apart, and he’ll agree, then at 2 am, he’ll sneak into my room and say he’s cold, and then he’ll snuggle up against me and I won’t be able to go back to sleep, but not because I’m spiralling with anxiety, because I feel a shot of giddy I’m-in-love happiness that’s strong enough to keep my brain buzzing for an hour. We’re up to season four of The Vampire Diaries, and he’s helping me plot a novel that I’ll probably never write but it’s fun to talk about. I have finally convinced Harper and Jesse that we need more structure around our food shopping and chores, and they reluctantly downloaded the apps I suggested, but they haven’t actually used them yet.

And I’m getting better about living in the moment. About ignoring my anxious thoughts and letting Jesse love me.

The netball team was Harper and Penny’s idea, and inviting Tristan and Kendra to join kind of happened before I could think through the reality of it, and now we’re hanging out and it’s okay, maybe it’s even nice. It turns out, the things I liked about Tristan as a boyfriend work much better with him as a friend. And Kendra, she’s nice. And Henry, well, we’re helping him develop his comedy set.

The umpire blows her whistle, a one-minute warning until the game starts. Jesse throws me the ball.

‘Come on then, captain, get your team in order.’

I grin, and lead him onto the court.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you first and foremost to my phenomenal editor, Jane Pearson, for her enthusiasm, warmth, humour, patience, expert editorial guidance and care, and her belief in the book from the very beginning. Without Jane’s support and perceptive feedback throughout, Unnecessary Drama would not exist.