>
Table of Contents
For my special and much loved Nan, Eileen.
I know you would have been so proud.
Biggest thanks to my lovely agent Hannah Ferguson, editor Caroline Hogg and Avon editorial director Claire Bord for all their hard work; I’m incredibly grateful that you’ve made my dream become a reality. Also to the fantastic team at Avon and everyone involved in making this happen. Thank you so much!
I would also like to thank my parents; the most support-ive, selfless and loving people I know. One of my best and oldest friends, Claire Honey; thank you so much for encouraging me to write this book and for offering advice and help when I needed it. You always believed in me!
The irritating sound of the alarm was instantly switched off.
Jade stretched lazily in bed and turned to her boyfriend, Tom, who was about to get up.
‘Oh, stay a bit longer,’ she pleaded. ‘Please.’
Tom sighed, glancing at the clock on the wall. ‘I’d love to, but you know I can’t be late.’
As he pulled himself up, she tugged at his arm playfully and he collapsed beside her, laughing. ‘Okay, you win. Just for a minute though.’
Cuddling under the covers, Jade began to kiss his neck.
‘Oh no, not my weak spot,’ he groaned. ‘You know I’ll never leave and I have to.’
Jade held on to him tightly until he pulled away from her warm embrace, reluctantly.
‘I’ll be back before you know it. Keep the bed warm, gorgeous.’ He winked at her and then left.
It was the same every Saturday morning. They would spend Friday nights together, Jade would stay at Tom’s parents’ house and then he’d have to get up early to coach a kids’ football team. He didn’t really need to as he had a full-time job in a bank, but he loved it. Jade had always thought it was really sweet. She could picture him running around in the back garden with their own future sons, teaching them how to play. Though of course she didn’t tell Tom that; she didn’t want him to get scared and run a mile.
Jade tried to doze back off to sleep, it was far too early to get up. Besides, she had nothing to do until he returned. Thoughts of Tom were keeping her awake though; she was so happy with him. She’d been worried when she first started university three years ago. It was a massive change in her life – and leaving her best friends Kelly and Lisa in Essex for a life in quiet Bath hadn’t been easy. Embarrassingly, she’d even cried when she waved goodbye to them and saw their sad faces through the window of the car.
‘Sugar Hut won’t be the same without you,’ they’d shouted. ‘Don’t forget about us!’
Of course she hadn’t, and at first she went home to Essex every other weekend. But when she met Tom the visits home decreased. She still managed to rack up an eighty-pound phone bill from time to time, often going over her free minutes allowance because she was talking to her best friends for too long. Her friends were happy she’d met Tom; Jade had never had a serious boyfriend until she’d met him, and now to her delight they were planning on renting a flat together in Bath. As much as Jade loved her home town Chigwell, she
