‘Tis the Season to be Single: A feel-good festive romantic comedy for 2018 that will make you laugh-out-loud!
A delightfully feel-good festive story!All they want for Christmas…Rachel is in shock. She was sure that her boyfriend was about to propose – not break up with her! Even worse, it turns out he’s been cheating on her…Grace can’t bear the thought of spending another Christmas with her lazy, unappreciative husband. Surely it’s time to shake things up a bit?Amber knows she should be happy that her best friend Jack is getting married, but there’s a little part of her that can’t help think ‘it was always meant to be me’!With Christmas fast approaching, surely there’s no better time to be single – yet will the three friends manage to keep their promise and ban all men until the New Year? Perfect for fans of Lindsey Kelk, Kat French and Tracy Bloom.Praise for 'Tis the Season to Be Single:‘A story of heartbreak, romance, discovery and friendships, with lots of twists and turns… I couldn’t put it down.’ Erika, NetGalley reviewer‘Simply divine… I was so enchanted by the whole story.’ Nicola, NetGalley reviewer
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LAURA ZIEPE lives in Brentwood in Essex with her husband Terry, three-year-old twins Harry and Darcey, and two dogs. Laura has always loved writing from a young age and was often writing stories from as young as eight. After leaving sixth form and working in office jobs for a year in London, Laura decided to go to university. Unsure what to study, Laura’s oldest friend asked her what her ideal job would be. Immediately answering ‘author’, Laura followed her dreams and chose a degree in Creative Writing and English at St Mary’s University in Twickenham. As well as writing books, she is a freelance make-up artist and loves travelling as much as she can. She has previously written two novels, Essex Girls and Made in Essex and hopes to be writing for many years to come. You can follow Laura on Twitter @lauraziepe or on Instagram @lauraziepewriter.
’Tis the Season to be Single
LAURA ZIEPE
HQ
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2018
Copyright © Laura Ziepe 2018
Laura Ziepe 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 © October 2018 ISBN: 9780008318482
Version: 2018-09-19
Table of Contents
I would like to dedicate this book to the three loves of my life; my husband Terry and our beautiful twins, Harry and Darcey.
‘Perhaps he’s going to propose?’ Grace said cheerfully, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she bent down to arrange a drawer of lipsticks.
Rachel frowned anxiously, biting her lower lip as she stared at the twinkly fairy lights and sparkly giant baubles above. The Christmas decorations had just gone up and they usually put her in a good mood instantly, but not today. Her boyfriend of three years, Mark, had called on her lunch break to check she was coming straight home as he needed to talk to her.
‘No, I really don’t think that’s it,’ she replied fretfully. ‘He sounded really serious on the phone and Mark is never normally like that. It was as though someone had died. Which they haven’t, thank goodness, because it was the first thing I asked when I heard his sombre voice.’
‘Well, getting married is a huge deal,’ Grace pointed out, tucking her shoulder-length dark hair behind her ear. ‘He’s probably just nervous.’ She smiled widely. ‘You should have seen Simon when he proposed to me. He was shaking so much I thought he was going to drop the ring.’
Rachel gave a light laugh. ‘I’m not so sure…’ She tailed off, unable to imagine Mark proposing on such an ordinary day. Firstly, it was a Wednesday and they didn’t have plans that evening to do anything special, and secondly, Christmas was just around the corner. Surely if Mark was going to propose he’d choose to do so on Christmas Day? She could just imagine it at the Christmas table, surrounded by Mark’s lovely family as they gushed over the beautiful diamond ring. He wouldn’t do it on a random Wednesday at the beginning of November, would he? Rachel felt like she’d been waiting forever for him to propose, but try as she might, she just couldn’t imagine that being the reason he needed to talk to her.
‘Don’t look so worried,’ Grace told her, in a comforting, caring voice. ‘I’m sure if it was that urgent, he would have just told you over the phone.’
Rachel forced a smile and nodded her head. ‘Yes, I’m sure you’re right. It’s probably nothing. I bet it’s to do with his work or something along those lines. He’s been so stressed over work lately; perhaps he’s quit his job? It wouldn’t be the worst thing.’
‘Has Bianca mentioned anything?’ Grace questioned curiously. ‘Perhaps she knows what all this is about?’
Bianca was Rachel’s best friend from primary school. When Bianca had been made redundant the year before, Rachel had managed to persuade Mark to get her a job at the bank he worked for in London. Bianca had been over the moon and so grateful. Rachel’s forehead wrinkled.
