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Copyright
Published by AVON
A Division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2019
Copyright © Sue Moorcroft 2019
Cover design © Head Design 2019
Cover illustration © Carrie May 2019
Sue Moorcroft asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780008321765
Ebook Edition © May 2019 ISBN: 9780008321772
Version: 2019-04-02
Dedication
For my fantastic friends
Pia Fenton and Myra Kersner
(readers may know them as Christina
Courtenay and Maggie Sullivan)
for their unstinting friendship and support,
meals in Italian restaurants, writing retreats
and a lot of laughter.
Contents
Cover
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
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Keep Reading …
About the Author
About the Publisher
Prologue
Six years ago
At the front of Thornham church, best man Aaron stood beside his bridegroom brother, Lee, who gently vibrated with nerves. The church organist floated background music onto the still summer air above the congregation, the vicar looked thoughtful, and they all awaited the bride, Alice.
Lee was welcome to high-maintenance Princess Alice, spoiled to death by her long-widowed mother, Sally, Aaron thought. Personally, he preferred her down-to-earth, brightly intelligent cousin Clancy, the only bridesmaid Alice had wanted. To joke Lee out of his obvious state of nerves he leaned in close to murmur, ‘I hope all the stories about the best man and bridesmaid are true, by the way.’
Lee managed a smile. ‘Your tongue’s been hanging out since last weekend.’
‘Guilty.’ Aaron had been in a constant state of awareness since Clancy had hopped out of her car, one that looked too red and sporty for the tiny Norfolk village of Nelson’s Bar.
‘Alice and Clancy’s mums are identical twins.’ Lee moved the conversation to his favourite subject: Alice. ‘It’s why the girls look more like sisters than cousins.’
It was true that they shared chestnut hair and green eyes, but, as Aaron was quick to point out, ‘They’re really different personalities.’ He and Clancy had been flirting all week, sharing jokes about the pre-wedding hoopla, and after last night’s rehearsal dinner hosted by Aaron’s parents at De Silva House, the flirting had culminated in a long, deep, hot kiss in the dark reaches of the garden. Her body, wedged against his, had driven him crazy as she nibbled along his jawline. Then Lee had come looking for him with some annoying best-man task – there seemed to be thousands – and Clancy had made a silent-scream face, before whispering, ‘Tomorrow. After the wedding.’
Aaron could not wait for this wedding to be over …
A stir at the back of the church and the vicar in his white robes stepped forward expectantly. Finally! Aaron turned, his gaze filled with the sight of Clancy Moss walking up the aisle towards him, her dress of muted green flowing around her like water.
He began to smile … until, beside him, Lee made a strangled noise of distress. Then Aaron realised that everything about the picture Clancy made was wrong. She scurried instead of taking stately, bridesmaid steps. There was no bouquet. No bride. And no answering smile as she arrived breathlessly in front of the vicar.
She glanced at Aaron, before laying her hand on his brother’s arm, her voice shaking with emotion. ‘I’m sorry, Lee. I can’t find Alice. Her mum had left for the church and Alice and I both went to our rooms for last-minute things but … when I looked for her, her wedding dress was back on its hanger. And her car was gone.’
Aaron swung around to look at his brother.
And Lee crumbled right before his eyes.
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