Buch lesen: «A Year of Taking Chances»

This one is definitely for Richard, my husband, remembering all the chances we have taken together down the years – some that failed dismally, others that turned out to be spectacular! xxx

Contents

Cover

Blurb

Author Bio

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-Two

Chapter Forty-Three

Chapter Forty-Four

Chapter Forty-Five

Chapter Forty-Six

Chapter Forty-Seven

Chapter Forty-Eight

Chapter Forty-Nine

Chapter Fifty

Chapter Fifty-One

Chapter Fifty-Two

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

Excerpt

Endpages

About the Publisher

Prologue

New Year’s Eve

Fourteen Months Ago

‘I hate New Year’s Eve,’ Jodie Saville muttered to her friend Tina Matthews. ‘All the enforced jollity and bonhomie. Nobody believes a word of it. It’s just an excuse to drink too much.’

Tina nodded in agreement. ‘I do swish you a Happy New Year, though. And me of course.’ She gave an involuntary hic at the end of the sentence. ‘Going to have a headache tomorrow.’

The two of them were standing close together with a crowd of other people in their local park watching fireworks light the night sky.

Tina jumped and uttered a loud groan as an extra-loud bang vibrated the air around them. As the crowd uttered the obligatory ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ she said, ‘Fireworks are very pretty but do they have to be quite so noisy? That one hurt my head.’

‘We ought to make a New Year’s resolution,’ Jodie said, watching the scarlet shower turn into a spectacular burst of gold sparks. ‘Make this the year we change our lives for the better. That big three-oh is getting closer and closer for both of us.’

‘Chance would be a fine thing,’ Tina muttered. ‘Maybe we should do what that bloke on the telly did years ago – Noel somebody. He reckoned he ordered the Cosmos to change his life and it did.’

‘So, whatd’youhavetodo?’ Jodie said, slurring her words together.

‘Dunno really. Think you have to decide what you want and shout it out to space. Bit like positive thinking, only louder and more pre… hic… precise.’

‘Nah,’ Jodie said. ‘We can try but I can’t see it working. Tell you what, if nothing’s changed by the time we hit thirty we’ll jack everything in and… and join a nunnery.’

Tina, about to hurl the last of her Prosecco down her throat, almost choked. ‘You’ve got to be joking.’

‘OK,’ Jodie said. ‘How about promising ourselves if we’re still single at thirty, we’ll run away to deepest Wales and become madwomen who keep cats.’

‘Alpacas,’ Tina said. ‘I’ve always fancied living in the country and keeping alpacas. Much better than cats. And we can knit bobble hats with their wool.’

‘Whatever,’ Jodie said. ‘You hear that, Cosmos?’ She tilted her face up and stared at the star-filled sky. ‘You’ve got under two years to change our lives, otherwise we’re off to deepest Wales to live with alpacas,’ she shouted.

The loudest bang of the evening from the last firework drowned out her words.

Chapter One

February

This Year

Tina began the third Friday of February by oversleeping. Never good in the mornings, since Jodie had left and she was living on her own in the flat, mornings were reverting to being one mad rush to get to work on time. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy her job as a literary agent – she loved it and couldn’t imagine ever doing anything else. She just didn’t do mornings, never had done. She’d driven her mum to distraction and many a shouting match trying to get her to school on time.

She’d improved a lot as she got older and left home – it was a case of having to really. Employers could be less than understanding in Tina’s experience, even though she always tried to make up the time on the days she was late. Sharing a flat with Jodie, she’d been spoilt because Jodie had definitely been a morning person. She’d always got up when the alarm went off and had made it her mission in life to make sure Tina got up to. It had been all too easy relying on Jodie. After Jodie had left, Tina had given herself a strict talking to and even made a New Year’s resolution that this would be the year she embraced early mornings.

She’d bought two alarm clocks and set them – one for an hour and the other for half an hour earlier than the time she actually needed to be up. The first one she placed on the bedside table where she could easily stop the noise it made and snuggle down again, secure in the knowledge she didn’t have to get up just yet. The one set for half an hour later, she placed over by the door, knowing she’d need to get out of bed to stop the alarm. Once she was up to do that, she’d obviously stay up and use the extra time for a leisurely coffee. Late mornings would be no more. That had been the theory anyway, and in practice it had worked – most of the time.

But cold, dark February mornings were the pits and today the plan had failed spectacularly. This morning the extra thirty minutes had disappeared because, after switching the second alarm off, Tina had decided she was awake enough to lay on the bed planning her day. Instead she’d fallen back into a deep sleep, which meant she’d be lucky to get to the office before nine o’clock.

In fact, it was five minutes past when she slung her bag over the back of her chair and switched on her computer. Thank goodness the main office was empty still and there was no sign of Kirsty, her boss and senior agent. Tina breathed a sigh of relief. Time to catch her breath and…

‘Morning, Tina. I’m guessing you missed breakfast this morning. Can I get you a coffee?’ Leah, newest member of staff and a pain in the proverbial as far as Tina was concerned, stood in front of her, smiling a knowing smile. ‘I’m just off to fetch a couple for Kirsty and me.’

Tina shook her head. ‘No, thanks, Leah. I had a latte on the way.’

‘OK,’ and Leah walked away.

Tina watched her go. Saying she’d had a latte on the way was a downright lie but there was something about the way Leah had almost smirked about her missing breakfast that had got her back up. She’d kill for a coffee right now but no way was she going to admit that to Leah.

Leah had been in the office for three months and everyone agreed she was a real asset. Tina, though, was still wary. Oh, Leah was good at assessing the slush pile of manuscripts, always helpful and a whizz at marketing, but there was something about her that irritated Tina and made her decide to keep her distance.

It wasn’t just because Leah had made no secret of the fact that she was extremely ambitious and didn’t plan to stay a glorified office junior for long. It was also the feeling that Leah didn’t care who she trod on as she made her way to the top of her chosen career. Recently Tina had begun to suspect she was the first person in line for that honour.

Tina pushed all thoughts of Leah out of her mind and clicked open the pending file on her computer. In among the usual unsolicited, indifferent manuscripts she received every day there had been one, two days ago, that had caught her attention. She’d immediately replied asking to see the full manuscript. She’d been hoping it would arrive today but there was no sign of it in her email box. A time-slip story, it had a modern-day heroine learning about her grandmother’s life during the bleak days of the First World War. The covering letter from the author, Lucinda Penwood, explained it was a debut novel and she wondered whether the agency would be interested in representing her. A debut novel it might be, but Tina knew, if the full manuscript showed as much promise as the few pages she’d read, that she definitely wanted to snap up the writer as a client. Lucinda would be an ideal addition to her growing list of women’s fiction writers. Besides, she had this gut feeling the novel would turn out to be the ‘high-concept’ something demanded by publishers these days and would make it big time.

Tina’s day flew by in a succession of emails, computer work, telephone calls, and a quick ‘keeping in contact’ lunch with a publisher who was looking for the ‘next big thing’ until it was four o’clock and time for the last editorial meeting of the week in Kirsty’s office.

To Tina’s surprise, Leah was also at the meeting.

‘Thought it was about time we gave Leah more responsibility,’ Kirsty said. ‘Starting with sitting in on these meetings. Now, Tina, anything good to report this week?’

Tina nodded. ‘A couple of things but mainly a time-slip novel. I’ve asked for the full manuscript.’ No point in showing too much enthusiasm at this point.

‘Ooh, I love time-slip books,’ Leah said. ‘Can I read it when it comes?’

‘Sure,’ Tina said. The words ‘after me’ stayed unspoken in her head. ‘How about you?’ she asked, looking at Kirsty. ‘Anything interesting to report?’

‘A children’s cookery book aimed at playschools, with an interactive DVD.’ Kirsty glanced across at Leah. ‘This book is a bit of a departure for one of our clients. Thought you might like to sit in on my meeting with the author next week?’

‘Thanks.’

Tina, detecting a distinct lack of enthusiasm in Leah’s voice, knew a child’s cookery book was not on the list of things she thought would advance her career. Leah wanted nothing less than to be involved with the blockbusters.

‘Tina, next week we’ll need to spend some time working on our schedule for the Book Fair. Can you keep Tuesday morning free for that please?’ Kirsty said.

A quarter of an hour later, the meeting came to a close with Kirsty wishing everyone a good weekend before rushing off to spend the next couple of days in her country cottage with her husband. Leah was going away for the weekend too, muttering something about catching an evening flight over to Paris with her latest boyfriend.

‘Have fun, both of you,’ Tina said and quickly made for her own desk before she was forced to admit to anyone left in the office that she was sadly lacking in plans for the next two days. With her parents now retired and living in Portugal, where they played endless rounds of golf it seemed to her, she didn’t even have the option of seeing them this weekend. She could phone them, though, and hope to catch them between a round of golf and evening aperitifs with their neighbours. She hadn’t chatted to her mum for ages and it would be something cheerful to do this weekend.

Weekends had always been busy when Jodie was around. The two of them were spoilt for choice when it came to the numerous invitations for parties, receptions, opening nights of plays and the occasional nightclub. But when Jodie married and moved to France, and no longer involved her in the mad world of PR, Tina’s social life had virtually vanished.

These days, with no imminent book launches in the diary, an invite to the local charity shop’s annual coffee morning was the only thing pencilled in on the kitchen calendar and that was weeks away.

Of course, when she had been with Jake life had been different again. A lawyer with a Porsche, Jake had been a bit of a cliché as a boyfriend but they’d had some good times together, until he’d been headhunted and disappeared off to Dubai nine months ago. The promises to fly her out and keep in touch had failed to materialise so far. But, hey, she wasn’t holding her breath. She was over him now. He definitely hadn’t been ‘the one’ her mother kept on telling her she would meet some day.

Five minutes later, after closing down her computer and picking up a couple of manuscripts to read over the weekend, she was on her way home. As the bus made its way through the busy streets Tina wished Jodie was still living in London. Fleetingly, feeling a tad jealous of Jodie, she even found herself wishing she’d never introduced her to Ben. That she’d be back in the flat waiting for her and the two of them would get ready for a night out at the latest hotspot – making the most of being single in the vibrant city on their doorstep.

Tina sighed ruefully to herself. Those days were over. The last few months had seen her life shrink into a boring routine of all work and no play. And she was getting older all the time. If she wasn’t careful she’d be buried in the deep rut that was currently her life when she reached her thirtieth birthday in… God, was it that soon? She’d be on her own in deepest Wales with those alpacas before she knew it.

The Cosmos had answered Jodie’s plea to change her life in a spectacular way – while ignoring Tina’s completely. Looking around at her fellow commuters, Tina resolved it was time to shake up her life. She was clearly on her own and needed to ‘Do Something’. The only question being – what? And how was she going to change things?

Chapter Two

Seven hundred miles away from London, in a small village in a fold of the mountains behind Nice, France, Jodie Delahaye woke at stupid o’clock that same Friday morning. Turning her head, she stole a look at Ben, flat on his back and still in a deep sleep. Ben Delahaye, writer of bestselling crime novels and her husband. If she were honest, she still pinched herself occasionally, not quite believing the fairy-tale-like twist her life had taken recently. The stressed-out PR executive of four months ago had become a married woman living the dream in the South of France with the man she loved.

It had been a real coup de foudre moment when Tina introduced her to Ben. She’d known instantly that her life was about to change.

For once, she and Tina had been working at the same event, the Frankfurt Book Fair. Tina was manning a stand with the literary agency she worked for and Jodie had been assigned to represent her company, who were handling the PR for one of the big six publishers at the Fair. It was the very last evening and they were at the closing party when Tina said, ‘Oh, Ben’s here. Come on, I’ll introduce you.’

‘Who’s Ben?’ Jodie hissed, dodging around a large man blocking the way as Tina led her across the crowded room.

‘Benjamin Delahaye, crime novelist. Used to be one of my clients but sadly got poached by a big agent with lots of connections. Couldn’t blame him for leaving – they had the expertise I didn’t at the time for him to expand in the US.’

As Tina introduced them, Jodie’s hand was taken and held firmly by a tall man who regarded her intently with the most amazing chocolate-brown eyes she’d ever seen, and who, as far as she was concerned, eclipsed every other man in the room. His sexy French accent when he said ‘Enchanté’ took her breath away and she realised she was unlikely to return to her humdrum existence any time soon if Ben had anything to do with it. She was right. From that moment, things took on a life of their own.

Ben bought her a drink, they found a quiet corner and talked to each other nonstop. His English was good and Jodie could have listened to his sensual voice telling her about himself all night, but he wanted to know about her too. Two hours later, when they were asked to leave as the venue was closing, Ben escorted her and Tina back to the hotel, asked Jodie for her telephone number and promised to ring her the next time he was in London, around Christmastime.

‘So, you liked Ben then?’ Tina had said, smiling at her as the lift carried them to their room on the seventh floor. Jodie had nodded, happiness shining from her face. The next day she’d returned home in a daze, wishing the next two months away. She’d been back just twenty-four hours when Ben rang. He was in London, longing to see her again, and would she please join him for dinner?

Just eight weeks later, in the Mairie’s office of the small French village where Ben lived, they were married. Ben’s mother, Annette, and Tina, who flew over especially for the ceremony, were the only witnesses. The day had been perfect in every way, except that her mother wasn’t there to share in her happiness. Jodie had never missed her so much as she did that day, and she’d only just managed to keep back the tears.

Thinking about her mother now, Jodie’s fingers clasped the chain of the gold locket around her neck. Her mother’s locket. Two years ago, Jacqueline Saville had been knocked off her bicycle by an out-of-control car driven by a joyrider. The hospital had fought hard to save her but she’d died from her head injuries less than twenty-four hours later, a distraught Jodie holding her hand.

The locket had been around her neck ever since that horrible day when the nurse had gently removed it from Jacqueline’s body and handed it to Jodie. Dazed with grief she’d opened it and stared at the picture of herself as a toddler standing between her parents, holding their hands. The nurse had come running back when she’d screamed at the pair of them for dying and leaving her alone in the world.

When she and Ben fell in love, it had been left to Tina to assume the grown-up position with regard to Jodie’s sudden rush to get married. Although she was openly envious of Jodie’s unexpected change of fortune, Tina had taken her to task about the quickly arranged wedding and the new life she was throwing herself into.

‘Think about what your mum would say. You barely know Ben. You’ve been a townie all your life. The only place you ever go on holiday is Devon because you reckon it’s the perfect place – you’ve been muttering for years about moving down there one day. And now you’re getting married to a Frenchman and actually going to live in France? You’ll probably never set foot in Devon again. You don’t think you’re maybe rushing things a bit?’ Tina had paused for breath and shaken her head. ‘I just hope you know what you’re doing burying yourself in a village in a foreign land.’

‘Mum would have loved Ben,’ Jodie said. ‘And he would have adored her too.’

‘Maybe, but giving up your career and being a kept woman in a foreign country isn’t necessarily the right choice for you,’ Tina insisted. ‘You’re always out attending some party or launching a product. Your social life is as busy as your nine-to-five one. And…’ She’d paused as though what she was about to say clinched it. ‘You love shopping. How many shops are there in rural France? Not many.’

Jodie laughed. ‘I know, but honestly it’ll be a relief to step off the merry-go-round. Besides, I’m still going to have a social life, Ben knows lots of people. We’re only going to be an hour away from the Riviera so I’ll be able to go shopping on Rue d’Antibes in Cannes whenever I want. That can’t be bad, can it?’

‘But what exactly are you going to do all day?’ Tina asked. ‘Turn into a Stepford wife overnight?’

‘Of course not,’ Jodie had answered. ‘For a start I have to brush up my French. Try to become fluent so I can talk to the natives and make friends. Ben has promised me, once this latest book is finished, we can go house-hunting for a new home together. So I am going to be busy – just with different things. And I will look for another job, once everything has settled down.’

‘Have you asked Ben about moving over here?’ Tina demanded in one of their heated ‘Are you sure you’re doing the right thing?’ exchanges. ‘After all, writers can write anywhere. All they need is a laptop, a gallon of coffee, and to be shut in a room to write!’

‘True, but to be honest I haven’t even mentioned the possibility of him moving to London,’ Jodie said.

‘Why not?’ Tina asked.

Jodie hesitated. ‘Because his mother is still alive.’

Tina had looked at her open-mouthed before closing her eyes and nodding understandingly.

When Jodie had refused to even think about postponing the wedding, or worry about moving to France, Tina had given in, throwing herself wholeheartedly into helping her friend organise the wedding she’d always dreamt about. Quiet and romantic. The phrase ‘marry in haste, repent at leisure’ was voiced once and then never again uttered.

Something for which Jodie had been extremely grateful. But why was it popping back into her head now, two months later?