Playing for Keeps: A fun, flirty romantic comedy perfect for summer reading
Love, Life, and a Whole Lotta HandbagsHaving papered over the cracks in her relationship with artist boyfriend Anthony, Magenta Bright is fully focused on opening her first shop on the King’s Road – and on coaching her best friend – vodka-swilling, catty supermodel Anya – through her unexpected pregnancy.But with Anthony away in Italy on a lucrative commission, the distance between them is more than metaphoric. And then Magenta’s ex, Hugo, shows up, the man she once lost her heart to. At one time there was nothing more important to Magenta than fashion and fun, and throwing herself into every drama that passes her way. But now Magenta’s world is rocked by questions of life and death, and how she would cope if the people closest to her were gone for good.At work, she can’t seem to put a foot wrong, but in her personal life she’s her own worst enemy. And the stakes have never been higher…Readers love Temple:“A great little series…most enjoyable”“I loved these characters”“an enjoyable read”“A light hearted read”
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Love, Life, and a Whole Lotta Handbags
Having papered over the cracks in her relationship with artist boyfriend, Anthony, Magenta Bright is fully focused on opening her first shop on the King’s Road – and on coaching her best friend – vodka-swilling, catty supermodel, Anya – through her unexpected pregnancy.
But with Anthony away in Italy on a lucrative commission, the distance between them is more than metaphoric. And then Magenta’s ex, Hugo, shows up, the man she once lost her heart to. At one time there was nothing more important to Magenta than fashion and fun, throwing herself into every drama that passed her way. But now Magenta’s world is rocked by questions of life and death, and how she would cope if the people closest to her were gone for good.
At work, she can’t seem to put a foot wrong, but in her personal life she’s her own worst enemy. And the stakes have never been higher…
Playing for Keeps
Rosa Temple
ONE PLACE. MANY STORIES
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2018
Copyright © Rosa Temple 2018
Rosa Temple 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 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 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 © February 2018 ISBN: 9780008260583
ROSA TEMPLE is the pseudonym of writer Fran Clark. A ghostwriter of romance novels, Fran was awarded a Distinction in her Creative Writing MA from Brunel University in 2014. To date, Fran has penned five publications as Rosa Temple: Sleeping With Your Best Friend, Natalie’s Getting Married, Single by Christmas, Playing by the Rules, and Playing Her Cards Right. A mother of two, Fran is married to a musician and lives in London. She spends her days creating characters and storylines while drinking herbal tea and eating chocolate biscuits.
Contents
It was the hottest day of the year. He stood on the top step at the front of my house. I didn’t dare cross the threshold, put my arms around him, apologise one last time. He had desperation in his eyes. He really loved me, I knew that, but the way he stood there, not moving an inch, I became scared he might pick me up, carry me away and I’d never see my friends and family again. I was wearing a top from Primark (don’t ask), and I didn’t want to spend years as an abduction victim in a £1.99 T-shirt for goodness’ sake. If the police ever found me the press would be there to take pictures of me in that T-shirt. Anya would be mortified and I’d never live it down.
I looked down at the mat, breaking his intense gaze by tracing the well-worn pattern with the toe of my Converse trainer. I wondered if a plan for my abduction had entered his mind and would he have thought to buy face cream, shampoo or conditioner for my life in captivity.
‘Magenta! Say something. You can’t just glaze over. This is important.’ He raised his voice and I snapped back to reality with a jolt. ‘This is our life we’re talking about.’
Making decisions. Something I thought I’d become a bit of an expert at. Any woman having a choice between two fantastic men would be happy, and I had been more than happy with the choice I’d made. But there, on the doorstep of the house, on a leafy, sweltering street in Holland Park, was the man I’d let go. And he wasn’t taking it well.
‘What if you regret this… this decision of yours? How can you tell me one thing one day and suddenly, out of the blue, you just change your mind? I went back, sold up practically everything to be with you, Magenta. You expect me to just go home? We were supposed to be starting something… together. This is just unbelievable.’ He didn’t drop his gaze, not once. Piercing blue eyes boring into mine. Of course, he deserved an explanation.
