LOVE, UNEXPECTED
Love always comes when you least expect it, at least thatâs what PA Alice Fletcher tells herself as she looks forward to another Friday night of trash telly and wine-for-one.
But what happens when the unexpected is daytime TV crush Jimmy Mack, and heâs sitting on your couch watching the news⦠of the accident that claimed his life?
Soon, Alice finds her ordered life turned upside down by helping Jimmy cross over to the âother sideâ.
But most unexpected of all is Aliceâs growing realisation that her gorgeous ghost has taken up residence in her heart as well as in her home.
Desperately Seeking Heaven
Jill Steeples
Copyright
HQ
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2013
Copyright © Jill Steeples 2013
Jill Steeples asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for 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 authorâs 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 e-book 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.
E-book Edition © June 2013 ISBN: 9781472043429
Version date: 2018-07-23
JILL STEEPLES lives in a small market town in Bedfordshire with her husband and two children.
From an early age she fell in love with the fabulously funny romances of Jilly Cooper, and vowed, one day, she would have a go at writing one of her own.
Jill loves writing short stories, particularly those with a twist in the tail, and her work has appeared in popular womenâs magazines around the world and in a number of charity anthologies.
This is her first novel.
A big thank you to the Geese, the loveliest, most generous and talented bunch of writers you could wish to meet, for their support, encouragement and most of all, the giggles.
For Nick, Tom and Ellie
With my love
Iâm not superstitious. Not really. I mean I wouldnât walk underneath a ladder or anything like that because that would be silly. And if I see a magpie then naturally Iâd do a little scout around the area to see if I can find his mate and if not Iâll chirp, âGood Morning, Mr Magpie, how are you and your family today?â, but thatâs just normal stuff. The sort of thing everyone does, right? And it wasnât as if Friday 13>th held any trepidation for me whatsoever because itâs just a day like any other day. Or at least I thought it was. That was until that strange afternoon. The afternoon of Friday 13>th March when the events that unfolded were to change my life and my loves forever.
âYou still here?â Damon Mitchell was standing in the doorway to my office, bouncing a ball casually on the floor, his usual sharp suit replaced with white three-quarter length shorts and a low-slung vest, showing off muscles I hadnât known he possessed. The sight on a Friday afternoon was startling in the extreme and I glanced away, feeling a colour tinge my cheeks, before sneaking another look.
âAlmost done,â I said breezily, picking up the management reports from my desk and popping them in the drawer below, locking the cabinet shut with my key.
When I looked up, Damon was bent over, stretching his hamstrings, looking up at me from beneath his floppy fringe. Did he really have to do that in my office?
âWeâre still a player short, Alice. Why donât you come along? You never know, you might enjoy yourself.â
âHa, believe me, I know,â I laughed. I had no desire to be getting hot and sweaty in front of Damon. No, retaining a dignified distance at all times was definitely the way to go with the likes of ace sportsmen like Damon. I pushed my chair beneath my desk before reaching for my jacket from the coat stand. âBall games are not my thing. But you have a great time. You can tell me all about it on Monday.â
âAh well, at least I tried. You have a good weekend, Alice.â