The Perfect Hero: The perfect summer read for Austen addicts!
The sparkling follow-up to A Weekend with Mr Darcy from Victoria Connelly – set to become the Richard Curtis of the chick-lit world!Die-hard romantic, Kay Ashton, uses her inheritance to open a B&B in the seaside town of Lyme Regis and is dumbstruck when the cast and crew of a new production of Persuasion descend, needing a place to stay. Kay can't believe her luck – especially when she realises that heart throb actor Oli Wade Owen will be sleeping under her very own roof!Meanwhile, co-star Gemma Reilly is worried that her acting isn't up to scratch, despite landing a plum role. She finds a sympathetic ear in shy producer, Adam Craig, who is as baffled by the film world as she is. Kay thinks the two are meant for each other and can't resist a spot of matchmaking.Then, when Oli turns his trademark charm on Kay, it seems that she has found her real-life hero. But do heroes really exist?Featuring a cast of characters that could have stepped out of a Jane Austen novel, this is the perfect read for fans of Katie Fforde and Alexandra Potter.
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The Perfect Hero
VICTORIA CONNELLY
Copyright
HarperCollinsPublishers
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers in 2011
This ebook edition published by HarperCollins Publishers in 2017
Copyright © Victoria Connelly 2011
Victoria Connelly 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: 9781847562265
Ebook Edition © April 2011 ISBN: 9780007373376
Version: 2017-06-12
To my dear friend, Deborah, with love.
âIs not general incivility the very essence of love?â
Elizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice
Contents
Copyright
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Acknowledgements
Victoria Connellyâs Top Ten Romantic Heroes . . .
About the Author
By the same author
Prologue
Peggy Sullivan leant forward in an attempt to get the pillows behind her just right.
âItâs my eyes I miss the most,â she said to the young woman sitting by the side of the bed. âI wasnât too bothered when my legs went. I was too tired to walk around much anyway. I didnât even mind when my right ear went last month but I do miss my eyes.â
The young woman leant forward and patted her hand.
âItâs so kind that you come and read to me, Kay,â Peggy said.
âItâs my pleasure.â
âIt canât be easy for you, my dear. Coming here, I mean.â
Kay looked at Peggy for a moment before answering. âIt wasnât at first. I kept seeing Mum everywhere â sitting in the conservatory gazing out at the gardens, or serving everyone tea in the sitting room.â
âWe all miss her so much. She always loved taking care of everybody â just like you do.â
Kay nodded. âShe used to call me âLittle Motherâ when I was growing up.â
Peggy smiled sadly and then looked at Kay with bemusement in her eyes. âHow you came to work at Barnum and Mason, Iâll never understand.â
âIt was the first job I was offered,â Kay said with a shrug. âI took it thinking Iâd only be there a little while. I was hopingââ
âSomeone would discover your paintings,â Peggy interrupted.
âYes.â
âWell, theyâre taking their time, I must say.â
They were silent for a moment and Kay looked out of Peggyâs window. Her bedroom was on the ground floor of The Pines and overlooked the communal garden which was shivering under a layer of early snow. The poor cyclamen were doing their best to survive but one more fall of snow and theyâd be buried alive, Kay thought.
Buried. The word sent a shiver through her. It had only been a month since her mother had been buried in the local churchyard after a brief but devastating illness. Sheâd been sixty-seven â not old by todayâs standards â and Kay missed her more than she could say. Perhaps that was why she was spending time with Peggy. Sheâd met her whilst visiting her mother and the two of them had clicked. Both had a profound love of the novels of Jane Austen and when Kay had discovered that Peggy was blind â a fact that sheâd kept marvellously hidden â Kay had offered to read to her.
Peggy never seemed to have any visitors and Kay couldnât quite give up visiting The Pines.
âI do wish I could see your paintings,â Peggy suddenly said.
âI do too, Peggy.â
âTell me about your new ones.â
âWell, Iâve only got one new one. Iâm afraid workâs been a bit hectic andââ
