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Back When Life Gives You Lemons Save as PDF
Chapters (54)
  1. Cover
  2. WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS
  3. Dedication
  4. Part One
  5. Chapter One
  6. Chapter Two
  7. Chapter Three
  8. Chapter Four
  9. Chapter Five
  10. Chapter Six
  11. Chapter Seven
  12. Chapter Eight
  13. Part Two
  14. Chapter Nine
  15. Chapter Ten
  16. Chapter Eleven
  17. Chapter Twelve
  18. Chapter Thirteen
  19. Chapter Fourteen
  20. Chapter Fifteen
  21. Chapter Sixteen
  22. Chapter Seventeen
  23. Chapter Eighteen
  24. Chapter Nineteen
  25. Chapter Twenty
  26. Part Three
  27. Chapter Twenty-One
  28. Chapter Twenty-Two
  29. Chapter Twenty-Three
  30. Chapter Twenty-Four
  31. Chapter Twenty-Five
  32. Chapter Twenty-Six
  33. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  34. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  35. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  36. Part Four
  37. Chapter Thirty
  38. Chapter Thirty-One
  39. Chapter Thirty-Two
  40. Chapter Thirty-Three
  41. Chapter Thirty-Four
  42. Chapter Thirty-Five
  43. Chapter Thirty-Six
  44. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  45. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  46. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  47. Chapter Forty
  48. Chapter Forty-One
  49. Chapter Forty-Two
  50. Acknowledgements
  51. Keep Reading …
  52. About the Author
  53. By the same author:
  54. About the Publisher

‘Dad was supposed to fly back to the UK with me,’ he explains. ‘I was four years old and only supposed to be out there for a two-week holiday. But then he decided he quite liked this dad lark after all – he had a couple more kids by then – and that all of his children should be together, in a kind of fantasy happy family way. And he phoned Mum to say I wouldn’t be coming back.’

‘She must’ve been horrified!’

‘Yeah. And she had the shops by then – it was all taking off back here – and she had to get on a plane and come and fetch me and take me home. So,’ he adds with a grim smile, ‘you can imagine how well it went down when I told her I was moving to the other side of the world, of my own accord.’

I nod, taking this in. The festive fairy lights I’ve strung around the kitchen are filling the room with a soft golden light. Nick looks especially handsome tonight in a pale blue shirt and jeans, his hair freshly trimmed. I’ll miss him more than I can begin to imagine, I realise now. ‘But you were, what, in your late thirties then?’ I ask. ‘I know it would’ve been hard, but it wasn’t quite the same.’

‘Didn’t make much difference,’ he remarks. ‘She was kind of … well, furious, I suppose. And it still surges up in her from time to time. But that’s not the reason …’ He breaks off and looks at me. ‘I mean, it’s not the only reason I’m coming back.’

I blink at him. The chatter and laughter from the living room seems to have faded away. ‘You mean, for your next visit home?’

Nick smiles and shakes his head. ‘No, I don’t mean for a visit. I mean …’ He blinks, and my heart seems to stop as those grey-blue eyes meet mine. ‘I mean for good, Viv.’

I stare at him, barely able to take this in. ‘You mean you’re coming back to live in Glasgow?’

He nods. ‘Yeah, that’s what I’ve decided.’

‘When?’ I blurt out, not caring if I seem too eager.

‘I’m not exactly sure,’ he replies. ‘There’ll be a lot to sort out. But soon, hopefully.’ And he smiles that smile that lifts my heart. ‘Don’t say anything yet, will you?’

I look at him in the soft, warm light, barely able to contain my joy. ‘You want me to keep another secret from Penny?’ I pull a mock-terrified face.

‘Just for now,’ he says, touching my hand, and then squeezing it. ‘And please, never let her know I told you first.’

Chapter Forty

Wednesday, December 11