Love Heart Lane
Preorder the brand new romantic comedy from bestselling author Christie BarlowWelcome to Love Heart Lane…When Flick Simons returns to the small village of Heartcross she only expected to stay for a few days. The white-washed cottages of Love Heart Lane might be her home, but the place holds too many painful memories, and of one man in particular – Fergus Campbell.When a winter storm sweeps in, the only bridge connecting the village to the main land is swept away! As the villagers pull together, Flick finds herself welcomed back by the friends she once left behind. And as the snow begins to melt, maybe there is a chance that Fergus’s heart will thaw too…
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HarperImpulse
an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HarperImpulse 2019
Copyright © Christie Barlow 2019
Cover illustrations © Shutterstock.com
Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2019
Christie Barlow 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 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, down-loaded, 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: 9780008319700
Ebook Edition © January 2019 ISBN: 9780008319694
Version: 2018-11-02
Table of Contents
For Roo, Mop, Missy & Mo,
Itâs the circle of life.
Itâs not negotiable.
Whereâs my woodland outfit?
Operation Miaow.
Walnut Wendy.
Thank you all for the best week of summer 2018!
Staring out of the window, Felicity Simons sat nervously at her bossâs desk. As she admired the view across the city of London, she wasnât in any doubt that this was the best seat in the building.
It was only a few seconds later that she spotted her boss through the glass walls of the office, her size-eight figure tottering along the plush red carpet on her high heels, wearing the usual well-tailored suit with distinctive buttons that oozed designer brand. Her crimson blouse matched the colour of her nails and made Felicity feel unrelentingly beige in her dowdy brown tunic and scuffed patent shoes.
Eleanor Ramsbottom had arrived at Little Browns department store six months ago, and Felicity had always felt inferior in her bossâs company, knowing from the outset that there was no chance theyâd ever hit it off. After sixty years of steady trade, the store had landed itself in financial difficulty and Eleanor, the daughter of a rich businessman, had rescued the store from closing. At the time everyone had been grateful, all the staff thankful that their jobs had been saved â until theyâd had to work under Eleanor Ramsbottom, who lacked warmth, compassion and basic people skills.
The second Eleanor glided into the room Felicity bristled. She was aware that she was forcing a smile, putting on a happy face, but she needed this conversation to go in her favour. Under the desk, Felicity had her fingers firmly crossed. She watched as Eleanor pulled out a chair and shuffled some papers into a neat pile before finally settling down at the desk. Clasping her hands in front of her, she stared towards Felicity.
âMy secretary said you needed to see me urgently. It must be urgent to want to see me at 5 p.m. on a Friday night, have you no home to go to?â Eleanor asked, as she flicked a glance towards the clock on the wall.
Felicity took a breath, knowing home was exactly where she didnât want to be, because right at this moment in time Adrian would be moving out. Theyâd lived together for six months, but Felicity had known within hours of him moving into her flat that sheâd made a huge mistake.
Initially, Felicity had been swept away on a tide of passion â Adrian was overwhelmingly sexy, after all â but the second she found herself picking up his dirty laundry despite the washing basket being within reaching distance, the lust had worn off and real life had smacked her right between the eyes.
âI would like ⦠if at all possibleâ¦â She paused. ââ¦Some time off.â Felicity was relieved to finally get the words out in the open.
âYou donât see me to book time off.â Eleanorâs manner was curt. âYou know what to do, fill in your request form and pass it to your team leader and I will authorise it within due course, after Iâve checked the chart.â
Eleanor was always about the charts.
âUnfortunately, thatâs not possible; I would like two weeks off from Monday.â Felicity was thankful her voice was steady because inside she felt all jittery and even more so when Eleanor released a long, shuddering sound underneath her breath. Felicity could already feel the disapproving tension in the room. She watched Eleanor slouch back in her chair, twisting her wedding ring round and round before letting out a half laugh then fixing a serious expression back on to her face.
