Happy Endings at Mermaids Point

Sarah Bennett

Description

The heartwarming festive read from bestseller Sarah Bennett!

Music sensation Aurora Storm finally has her career back on track, but then she’s caught up in a media storm. Desperate to distract from the story, she enlists the one man she trusts to pretend to be her boyfriend.

Meanwhile, in the small seaside village of Mermaids Point, Nick Morgan never expected to see Aurora again. When she calls out of the blue needing his help, he agrees at once. It feels like she’s back in his life for a reason, and he’s determined to make the most of it.

Aurora joins Nick and the rest of his family for their festive celebrations and, as the snow falls, Aurora finds herself caught up in the romance of Christmas. But having tasted worldwide fame, can she ever be content with village life?

Two weeks is all Nick has to prove to Aurora that there’s a happy ending for them both in Mermaids Point.

There’s always a second chance for love in a Sarah Bennett story, so escape to the seaside village of Mermaids Point for a festive, feel-good treat. Perfect for all fans of Trisha Ashley, Holly Martin and Milly Johnson.

Praise for Sarah Bennett:

'A gorgeous story packed with love, romance and heartfelt emotion. Will bring sunshine into your day!' Phillipa Ashley

'Cosy, heartwarming and moving, this story is as beautiful as its cover.' Samantha Tonge

'Happy Endings at Mermaids Point has passion in spades, romance to make you blush and a community that cares. I hoped this story would just keep on going.' Celia Anderson

'What a finale to a fabulous season! I absolutely loved the story and it was wonderful to see all the characters get their much deserved happily ever after! An absolutely gorgeous Christmas read!' Katie Ginger{::}*
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'This is a real page turner, with a brisk plot and a really emotional core. The community we've grown to love at Mermaid's Point is alive with love, laughter and vibrancy!' Fay Keenan

'I loved Nick and Aurora's story, and want the Morgan family to adopt me. Sarah Bennett has surpassed herself.' Jules Wake

'This is the perfect escapist read and I can't wait to follow the characters in what promises to be a wonderful series. Five sparkling stars!' *Rachel Griffiths

'What a Mer-mazing book! I'm so glad this is a series and I'll get to meet the characters again because you won't want to leave them after the final page.' *Catherine Miller
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‘I inhaled this book in two days. Absolutely gorgeous. Sarah Bennett is back, and better than ever!’ *Rachel Burton

'A perfect heartwarming read full of family, romance and intrigue, set in a stunning location - what’s not to love?' Bella Osborne

Sujets

• Musique
• Musique
• Sea Stories
• Holidays
• Women
• MUSIC
• Friendship
• Contemporary history
• Multiple signal classification
• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Sea story
• Romantic Comedy
• General officer
• Woman
• The Women
• General
• Holiday
• Contemporary
• Romance
• Christmas
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Boldwood Books
• Date de parution: 03 octobre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781838899714
• Langue: English

Extrait

HAPPY ENDINGS AT MERMAIDS POINT



SARAH BENNETT
This book is for my editor, Sarah Ritherdon, who has helped me rediscover my writing mojo x
CONTENTS



Mermaids Point Character List


Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Epilogue


Acknowledgments

More from Sarah Bennett

About the Author

About Boldwood Books
MERMAIDS POINT CHARACTER LIST



Alex Nelson. Tom’s half-brother, Emily and Max’s uncle, son of Archie and Philippa Nelson. Former accountant, now runs Mermaid Tails and Treasures, the village bookshop. Author of the bestselling novel The Marriage Roller Coaster . Hero of Love Blooms at Mermaids Point .
Ali Mackey. Runs the late-night diner at Cleopatra’s hotel in Las Vegas with her husband, Gus.
Alun Wise. Local estate agent.
Andrew Morgan. Married to Sylvia, Laurie and Nick’ father. Owner of The Mermaids Cave, a large gift shop on the seafront.
Anna Nelson. Tom’s late wife and mother to Emily and Max.
Archie Nelson. Tom and Alex’s father. Married to Philippa, grandfather of Emily and Max. Known in the family as ‘Pop’.
Audrey. A nosy neighbour of Aurora’s parents.
Augustus ‘Gus’ Mackey. Runs the late-night diner at Cleopatra’s hotel in Las Vegas with his wife, Ali.
Aurora Storm. Pop star who staged a number of mermaid sightings around the Point as part of a viral campaign for her comeback album. Had a very brief fling with Nick Morgan while she was in the village. Heroine of Happy Endings at Mermaids Point .
Barbara Mitchell. Part of the local knitting circle. Lives with Malcolm Gadd.
Bev. Part of the local knitting circle, known to have a sharp tongue.
Blaze Reynolds. Founder of ATG (All the Goss). A scurrilous gossip website.
Bud Callaghan. On honeymoon in Las Vegas with his wife, Helen.
Carly King. Tabloid showbiz reporter.
Carlotta. Barbara Mitchell’s cat.
Chad Logan. Hollywood legend. Married to Melissa Howard.
Damian. A young boy who lives in Mermaids Point.
Dennis Rouse. Head of DR Talent Agency. Aurora Storm’s agent. Married to Hetty.
Emily Nelson. Tom and Anna’s teenage daughter.
Gabriel. A cairn terrier.
Gareth Beckett. Nerissa’s late fiancé. Died in a road accident whilst on a military deployment twenty-five years before the books are set.
Helen Callaghan. On honeymoon in Las Vegas with her husband, Bud.
Hetty Rouse. Married to Dennis, helps him run DR Talent Agency.
Ivy Fisher. Runs her own design, repair and alterations service which is located within the village bookshop. Laurie’s best friend. Heroine of Love Blooms at Mermaids Point .
Jake Smith. Investigative journalist currently working on a non-fiction book about county lines drug smuggling. Hero of Summer Kisses at Mermaids Point .
Janey. Mermaids Point resident. Talented singer.
Jen Fisher. Ivy’s mother, passed away in January after a long illness.
Julian Knox-Cavendish. Ex-boyfriend of Aurora Storm.
Kayleigh. Backstage assistant for the Divas show in Las Vegas.
Kim Powell. Aurora Storm’s mother. Married to Ross.
Kitty Duke. Part of the local knitting circle. A darling.
Leonard Cavendish. Former owner of the local bookshop which now belongs to Alex and Ivy.
Liam. Local architect who works with Nick Morgan.
Linda Smith. Jake’s mother and a close friend of Nerissa’s.
Lorelai ‘Laurie’ Morgan. Runs a café next door to her parent’s gift shop. Heroine of Summer Kisses at Mermaids Point .
Louise. A resident of Mermaids Point. She and her husband are in the process of purchasing one of the warehouse apartments recently redeveloped by Nick Morgan.
Luca. Owns and runs the local delicatessen. Married to Maria.
Lucifer. Alex and Ivy’s black cat.
Mac. Newspaper editor. Jake Smith’s former boss.
Malcolm Gadd. Mermaids Point former doctor, known to everyone as ‘Doc’. Mostly retired. Lives with Barbara Mitchell.
Marcy Johnson. Singing superstar and the headline act of the Divas show in Las Vegas.
Margot Beckett. Gareth’s mother.
Maria. Runs the local delicatessen with her husband, Luca.
Max Nelson. Tom and Anna’s teenage son.
Melissa Howard. Former Hollywood actor, now a celebrity talk show host. Married to Chad Logan.
Mrs Bailey. A regular customer at the bookshop.
Nerissa Morgan. Andrew’s younger sister, paternal aunt of Laurie and Nick. Manages the doctor’s surgery. Heroine of Second Chances at Mermaids Point .
Nick Morgan. Runs a tourist boat business from the Point’s commercial harbour with his and Laurie’s uncle, Tony. Still pining after a brief fling with Aurora Storm. Hero of Happy Endings at Mermaids Point .
Nicholas. A miserable toddler at a service station motel.
Pete Bray. Landlord of The Sailor’s Rest, a popular pub on the seafront. Owns the Penny Arcade a few doors down from the pub.
Philippa Nelson. Archie’s wife, Alex’s mother and Tom’s stepmother. Step-grandmother to Emily and Max. Known in the family as ‘Mimi’.
Reverend Steele. Mermaids Point’s vicar.
Rob. Local contractor who works for Nick Morgan.
Ross Powell. Aurora Storm’s father. Married to Kim.
Ruby. A school friend of Emily Nelson.
Sophia. A young girl who lives in Mermaids Point.
Sylvia Morgan. Married to Andrew, Laurie and Nick’s mother. Runs The Mermaids Cave with her husband as well as working part-time at the village school as classroom assistant.
Toby. Tom and Nerissa’s golden retriever.
Tom Nelson. Widower of Anna, and father to Emily and Max. The village doctor. Hero of Second Chances at Mermaids Point .
Tony Evans. Sylvia’s brother and maternal uncle of Laurie and Nick. Owner of Mermaid Boat Tours, a pleasure boat business which takes tourists on trips around the area and out to the Seven Sisters, a group of nearby islands.
Wendy Hancock. Ex-girlfriend of Ivy’s estranged father. Works in the local greengrocer’s.
PROLOGUE

‘Grab that end, will you?’ Nick’s father, Andrew Morgan, gestured to the opposite end of the brightly striped windbreak he was wrestling with. It wasn’t that breezy, but the taut piece of fabric would help their ever-expanding family group to stake a claim on the beach and provide a visual guide back to the right spot as the narrow stretch of sand filled up. There was plenty of space on the pebbles behind them, but it was one of the few days over the summer when no one was working, and his father was determined to grab a prime spot, which was why the two of them were out on the beach before 7.30 a.m. setting up. With the late August bank holiday weekend behind them, the Point was rapidly emptying of tourists and the Morgans and the Nelsons wouldn’t be the only local families taking advantage of the glorious weather before they fell back into the routines of school and work.
Nick held the wooden pole in place while his father hammered it into the sand with a rubber mallet and tried not to think about the million and one tasks waiting for him back at the warehouse. His parents didn’t ask much of him so when they’d gone to all the effort of coordinating a family day, it was the least he could do to show up with a smile on his face. Apart from his aunt, Nerissa, who worked at the local doctor’s surgery supporting her partner, Tom Nelson, who’d arrived just about a year ago to take over the practice, their entire extended family relied on the tourist season to keep their heads above water. Everyone had worked flat-out through what had been an incredibly successful season thanks to a prolonged period of high pressure over the UK, which had led to a particularly warm summer. His parents ran a gift shop on the seafront, his sister the adjoining café. Alex, Tom’s brother and a good friend of Nick’s, had taken over the village bookshop in the spring. Although everyone still referred to it as the bookshop, it had grown into so much more thanks to Ivy’s innovative fashion and homeware designs which occupied one half of the shop. Nick himself helped his uncle run a pleasure boat business out of the old harbour. Juggling his commitment to Uncle Tony while trying to project manage his new venture to turn an old warehouse into four modern apartments had been a struggle. Nick had leaned heavily on Rob, his lead contractor, to keep things running smoothly. From the enthusiastic way Rob had greeted the prospect of a day off site, Nick fully expected he would see him, his wife and their three small children making the most of the sunshine. Hopefully it would earn Nick some goodwill when things got down to the wire with the warehouse conversion and the inevitable late nights needed to get things done on time. Now summer was almost done, Nick would have more free time away from the boats, and he intended to throw every hour he could into getting the flats completed before the weather turned.
Leaving his father to roll out the straw mats that would keep the worst of the sand off their towels, Nick raised a hand to shield his eyes and stared out across the calm expanse of blue ocean. Mornings like this made it easy to believe they would enjoy sunshine forever, but like all residents of the Point, he knew better. Come the winter, that blue blanket would be a seething mass of dark grey topped with white rollers crashing in to swallow the sand and halfway up the pebbles too.
‘We couldn’t have asked for a better start to the day,’ his father observed as he came to stand beside Nick. ‘I know there’s as many hard times as there are good, but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.’
Nick swallowed a frustrated sigh. Though his dad probably thought his comment was the height of subtlety, it was one of many similar observations various members of the family had made to him in the past few months. They sensed the restlessness inside hi