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The Unlikely Life of Maisie Meadows
Jenni Keer
An utterly charming novel with a sprinkle of magic When Maisie Meadows finds herself single and jobless on New Year’s Day, she resolves that this will be the year she focuses on bringing her scattered family back together. Romance is all very well, but it’s the people you grew up with that matter the most. But a new job working at an auction house puts her in the path of Theo, a gorgeous but unattainable man who she can’t help but be distracted by. As their bond begins to grow, Maisie finds herself struggling to fulfil the promise she made to herself – but the universe has other ideas, and it’s not long before the Meadows family are thrown back together in the most unlikely of circumstances… Can dealing with other people’s treasures help Maisie to let go of the past, and teach her who she ought to treasure the most? Praise for Jenni Keer: ‘A charming read!’ Heidi Swain, bestselling author of Poppy’s Recipe for Life ‘A wonderful antidote to a harsh world’ Bella Osborne, bestselling author of A Walk in Wildflower Park ‘A magical story about love and friendship, full of fun and sparkle. You won’t be able to resist the cast of quirky characters!’ Fiona Harper, author of The Memory Collector ‘A compelling, enchanting and beautifully written story with a sparkle of magic, romance, emotion and humour. ’ Dash Fan Book Reviews ‘Enjoyable, entertaining, and wholly unexpected in the best way possible. ’ RoloPolo Book Blog ‘Absolutely engaging and often hilarious, I didn’t want to put it down, and was sad when it ended. I highly recommend this utterly fabulous, charming and heartwarming novel. ’ Shelley’s Book Nook ‘Many many laugh-out-loud moments. Many many heart-moving sentiments (What? Who said I cried? My eyes merely misted…. Okay, I'm lying. I totally cried)’ Reader review ‘Jennnnnni! I'm in love with your lovely writing. Please never stop. ’ Reader review
The Unlikely Life of Maisie Meadows
JENNI KEER
Published by AVON
A Division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2019
Copyright © Jenni Keer 2019
Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers 2019
Cover [photograph/illustration] © Shutterstock
Jenni Keer 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 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 ebook 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.
Source ISBN: 9780008309718
Ebook Edition © April 2019 ISBN: 9780008309701
Version: 2019-05-02
For Mum
A woman whose glass has always been half empty
but who has topped up it up at possibly the lowest point of her life.
I’m so proud of you.
Table of Contents
Cover (#u979dc83d-80b6-501a-ac07-bc8da30493fc)
Title page (#u36f093d3-8933-54fa-abe7-86c4f78ce600)
Copyright (#u4512c047-4c97-56b5-b895-f5a48f47ec90)
Dedication (#u9b56e960-0409-5562-9af9-0ffc6d0b5698)
Chapter 1 (#u2f7857bd-f756-5fae-b1b8-f0b091fbe338)
Chapter 2 (#ucbe386c6-199b-5414-bce6-97c28123cc1c)
Chapter 3 (#u048c2f10-719f-5789-9fd3-5c7132541e48)
Chapter 4 (#u4432fd1e-39aa-520a-840b-a3b6aba416ba)
Chapter 5 (#u08df56c4-b3ca-5d37-8c98-ac595309fcd3)
Chapter 6 (#ue9eae17d-5f6b-5744-ac4f-fbe91555348e)
Chapter 7 (#u170fc732-e6e4-5bf7-b2ed-6ecc2080316a)
Chapter 8 (#u592ecb39-2be7-57b8-a55e-1d5e63f56dd7)
Chapter 9 (#u798a61de-1147-56ee-a5a5-4729b7f5c39e)
Chapter 10 (#ub2488ee2-3812-5c50-b898-c3f2a4ae5820)
Chapter 11 (#u961f82ad-20f1-5bed-b289-0d15eded434d)
Chapter 12 (#ud3903f51-4b13-5d45-aad7-c89c11d1960d)
Chapter 13 (#u5e4e46e2-86e0-58ad-a757-df9d619af4cb)
Chapter 14 (#u4b4e6527-2691-5edd-b9b3-754e47da38fb)
Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 21 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 22 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 23 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 24 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 25 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 26 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 27 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 28 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 29 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 30 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 31 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 32 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 33 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 34 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 35 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 36 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 37 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 38 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 39 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 40 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 41 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 42 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 43 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 44 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 45 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 46 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 47 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 48 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 49 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 50 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 51 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 52 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 53 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 54 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 55 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 56 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 57 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 58 (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Acknowledgements (#litres_trial_promo)
Keep Reading … (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)
By the Same Author (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 1 (#ulink_a7e4c235-5e69-54bc-9cd9-721aada9ad0f)
Was it love? It certainly made her feel all tingly, although perhaps that was more to do with his magical fingers than the irrevocable connection between two people destined to spend an eternity having buttock-toning sex and finishing each other’s sentences. Currently those naughty fingers were tracing a delicious trail up her arm, over her shoulder and drawing tiny circles on her neck.
She shivered, despite the blistering August temperatures. The air-conditioning had struggled all week at work, but away from the office and enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon in the quaint Suffolk market town of Tattlesham, the hot sun soaked into her skin and bathed her in joyful expectations of the coming months.
‘Do you realise that skirt is see-through, you little minx?’ said Gareth. ‘Especially when you stand with the sun behind you.’
Maisie sat up abruptly and glanced down at her legs. She was lying on the freshly mowed recreation ground behind the town hall feeling slightly tipsy. Gareth had provided a picnic of sorts (Prosecco and a packet of Hobnobs) and Maisie determined next time she’d be in charge of refreshments. She had a delightful wicker basket at home; she could make tiny sandwiches, bake fresh white chocolate and raspberry muffins, perhaps provide a selection of cheeses, and, of course, bring proper glasses. It was embarrassing drinking from the bottle but Gareth seemed unconcerned.
She smiled at her boss – a man she’d admired from behind the Apple Mac for so long that her neck had adopted as its default position the slight angle necessary to view his delicious face without it being obvious. Suddenly, her tidy, ordered, quiet life had changed. The whirlwind that was a proper romantic relationship brought with it an infuriating chaos but also gave her much-sought-after company. And anyway, she had time to domesticate him.
Hopefully, all the time in the world …
