Annie O'Harran is the wrong side of thirty. A harassed single mother (of almost teen-aged Flora), she's escaped her faithless first husband with a few shreds of dignity intact, and against all expectations – met her hero: David Palmer is a kind and gentle doctor with a private practice in Belgravia, and Annie has a blissful summer ahead to plan their weddings.
But first Annie must escape the constant interruptions of her tiny Fulham house, and surround herself with calm in order to meet the horrible deadline set by the only publisher ever to have expressed interest in her writing. Giving mad Aunt-to-be Gertrud a cameo role in her novel is surely a small price to pay for the loan of a fabulous writer's retreat on a Cornish cliff with its own private beach?
No sooner has she arrived in Cornwall, however, than the doorbell starts ringing. Everyone, it seems, from her competitive sister Clare and her noisy brood, to her louch ex-husband Adam and his nubile young girlfriend, has had the same idea for their summe holidays. And then there's the houseguest who doesn't even bother to knock... Just as long as none of them affects her big day at the end of the summer...
Until work takes her to Little Crandon, home of Dominic's widow and his gorgeous younger brother, Hal. There, Hattie's world is turned upside down. She learns that if she's to truly fall in love again she needs to stop hiding from the truth. Can she ever admit what really happened back then? And, if so, is she ready for the consequences?
But first Annie must escape the constant interruptions of her tiny Fulham house, and surround herself with calm in order to meet the horrible deadline set by the only publisher ever to have expressed interest in her writing. Giving mad Aunt-to-be Gertrud a cameo role in her novel is surely a small price to pay for the loan of a fabulous writer's retreat on a Cornish cliff with its own private beach?
No sooner has she arrived in Cornwall, however, than the doorbell starts ringing. Everyone, it seems, from her competitive sister Clare and her noisy brood, to her louch ex-husband Adam and his nubile young girlfriend, has had the same idea for their summe holidays. And then there's the houseguest who doesn't even bother to knock... Just as long as none of them affects her big day at the end of the summer...
Until work takes her to Little Crandon, home of Dominic's widow and his gorgeous younger brother, Hal. There, Hattie's world is turned upside down. She learns that if she's to truly fall in love again she needs to stop hiding from the truth. Can she ever admit what really happened back then? And, if so, is she ready for the consequences?
