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Back Where The Story Starts Save as PDF
Chapters (65)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  3. CONTENTS
  4. PROLOGUE
  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. 41
  46. 42
  47. 43
  48. 44
  49. 45
  50. 46
  51. 47
  52. 48
  53. 49
  54. 50
  55. 51
  56. 52
  57. 53
  58. 54
  59. 55
  60. 56
  61. 57
  62. 58
  63. BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS
  64. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  65. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

‘Oh, you know how to spoil a girl,’ she laughed, rolling her eyes at him, but actually a cup of tea with this gorgeous man would tick all her boxes. Well, nearly all of them.

‘Or I could take you home?’ he added, his tone light as if he hadn’t just propositioned her, but his grin making it clear that he knew exactly what he was suggesting. ‘Do you live nearby?’

Melissa considered his offer. There was a possibility that he really did mean to just give her a lift home, but she doubted it. She’d met his type before, and she recognised the confidence in his own ability to get precisely what he wanted. She could do a lot worse, though. It wasn’t every day that she met a man who might actually lift her beyond her day-to-day drudgery into something more exciting. Ray seemed safe enough and posed no threat to her. He was smart and clean and polite. And surely, he had come back specifically to seek her out? Why else would he be in this dump of a pub? What the hell, she thought. What did she have to lose?

‘I don’t live in town,’ she said. ‘You’d need a car, like.’

‘Well, that’s all right, because I have a car,’ he said with a smirk. Something told Melissa that the idea of his not having a car amused him.

‘Not some old rust bucket, it is?’ she asked him. ‘A girl’s got standards, you know!’

‘It’s a very nice Merc that comes with my job,’ he said. ‘And there’s not a patch of rust on it anywhere.’

Melissa nodded her approval. ‘Well, I live about fifteen miles out of town. Still want to give me a lift?’

‘Of course, and it’s good that it’s so far away,’ said Ray.

‘How do you make that out?’

‘All the longer to get to know each other,’ he replied.

And so it was decided.

9

9

GRACE – THEN

For a while after Hector was born, Grace was totally engulfed by the delicious bubble that new motherhood brings with it. Whole days disappeared in the discovery of her son’s freshly learned skills and talents, for was it not early for him to be smiling, sitting up, crawling? Each day Grace would wait for Charles to return from his time with the orchestra, and barely had he got in through the door than she was regaling him with stories of that day’s antics.

‘I’m certain that Hector is very bright,’ she’d say. ‘He has this way of holding his head when I’m talking to him. I’m sure he understands what I’m saying completely. I wonder if he’ll read early. What do you think, Charles?’