Published by AVON A division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF
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First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins 2008
Copyright © Shari Low 2008
Cover design © Head Design 2017
Cover illustrations © Shutterstock.com
Shari Low 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.
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Source ISBN: 9781847560179
Ebook Edition © June 2009 ISBN: 9780007335022 Version: 2017-10-19
To Danny Murphy, our incredibly handsome new
nephew, who won’t be allowed to read this until he’s at least thirty! To John, who knows he is everything, always… And to my boys Callan & Brad, for being hilarious, outrageous and endlessly cuddly. Now can one of you please learn to make tea.
The champagne corks popped, streamers fell, the music blared, lovers embraced, their hearts overflowing with joy as they welcomed in another year…
But unfortunately all that happened on the TV.
In my living room, three twenty-something friends sat shrouded in dejection, watching the celebrations on the box, each clutching a sparkler in one hand and a drink in the other.
‘We are officially the saddest people on the planet,’ I muttered.
‘No, we are not!’ argued Stuart.
Over on the other couch, Trish burst into a faux-tragic rendition of ‘My Heart Must Go On’.
‘Okay, now we are,’ said Stu. ‘Right, Trish, one verse and a chorus and that’s it. My ears will start to bleed any minute.’
His voice got louder with every word as he endeavoured to be heard over the noise of poppers and whistles coming from next door. Even my neighbour Mrs Naismith was having a much wilder time than us, which, given that she was in her seventies, was taking the night to a whole new level of depression.
A wave of something suddenly consumed me. In hindsight it was probably several large glasses of Rosé Cava, but at that moment it absolutely felt like it was something real–something important. ‘I’m making a resolution,’ I announced.
‘Here we go…’ grinned Stuart, consulting his watch. ‘Two minutes, three seconds–that’s a record.’
I ignored him and spoke up so that I could be heard over the noise of Trish going down with the Titanic.
‘My dear saddo friends, this is it–this is the year I stop being unfulfilled, skint and single. I’m going to find the perfect job, the perfect man, the perfect life. Oh, and sex–I’m going to have bloody great sex!’
I stood up with a flourish and dramatically raised my glass to propose a toast…
‘Wow!’ spluttered Stu and Trish in perfect synchronisation.
I was gratified by the enthusiastic reactions from my audience.
‘I know,’ I continued, in the solemn, dignified manner of a politician announcing that he was running for prime minister, ‘it’s a huge challenge, but I’m determined.’
