Things Are Looking Up

Maxine Morrey

Description

From the Amazon charts bestselling author of My Year of Saying No comes a novel about a young woman forced to reevaluate her life after an accident, who realises that there is more to life than work, and whose first love makes a very welcome reappearance.

Milly has been waiting for this moment forever and finally it’s just an hour away – an interview with Vogue magazine and the opportunity to get her foot in the door. There’s just one problem – totally engrossed in her mobile phone, Milly doesn’t see the bus that is fast approaching – until it’s too late…

When Milly next opens her eyes, the consequences of her accident become clear. Everything she has worked for and dreamed of suddenly feels out of reach. But there is one bright spot on her horizon – the reappearance of her ex Jed, in all of his six-foot-four, broad-shouldered glory, with the most piercing ice blue eyes Milly ever saw.

Once used to working in a whirlwind, Milly now has the chance to reconsider how to live. Will she rush back to the treadmill, get her head down and back to business, or is there a whole other life waiting for her, if she’ll just look up to see it?

‘Read yourself happy’ with Maxine Morrey’s latest uplifting, page-turning, heart-warming romance, guaranteed to brighten up your day. Perfect for fans of Lauren Weisberger and Sophie Kinsella.

'An uplifting read that stops you in your tracks and makes you wonder "....but what if?" Absorbing, funny and oh-so-romantic, I loved every page!' Rachel Burton

Praise for Maxine Morrey:

'A super sweet read, guaranteed to warm any winter evening' Samantha Tonge

'A lovely story that kept me turning the pages' Jules Wake

‘A stunning, perfect novel – it literally took my breath away.’ The Writing Garnet, 5 stars
‘A warm hug of a book.’ Rachel’s Random Reads, 5 stars

Sujets

• Policier & Thriller
• Thriller
• Mashups
• Holidays
• Social Media
• Humorous
• COMPUTERS
• Women
• Coming of Age
• Men
• Friendship
• Contemporary history
• Romantic Comedy
• General officer
• Woman
• The Women
• General
• Holiday
• Contemporary
• Internet
• Topic
• Family Life
• Romance
• Fiction
• Humour

Informations

• Publié par: Boldwood Books
• Date de parution: 25 mai 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9781838890483
• Langue: English

Extrait

THINGS ARE LOOKING UP


MAXINE MORREY
For Shirley Ann Hill
CONTENTS



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

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Epilogue


More from Maxine Morrey

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Also by Maxine Morrey

Love Notes

About Boldwood Books
1

The London traffic rumbled past me as I tapped the toe of my suede Louboutin ankle boot on the pavement impatiently, glancing up at the traffic light. Checking the phone clutched in my hand, I saw there was still plenty of time. I was pretty punctual in general but today was the one day there was no room for error. This was it. This was the chance I’d been working towards for… well, since I could remember. The reason I’d grown up reading about the greats of fashion, done a degree in fashion journalism, and a Master’s in fashion history. The motivation for all the late nights, early mornings and complete lack of social life. I’d worked so hard for this, to the detriment of pretty much everything else. There was a twist in my stomach as my mind fluttered back to that day four years ago. The emptiness of the flat. The silence. The overwhelming sweep of loneliness that had washed over me when I realised he’d gone.
A car horn blasted, bringing me swiftly back to the present. Good. The last thing I needed now was memories like that encroaching. Today just proved I’d done the right thing. This was the future. This was my future. And it was going to be bright and beautiful!
I finished my mental pep talk and rolled my shoulders, trying to release some of the tension, then gave Instagram a quick scroll to see if I’d missed anything vital that might come up in the interview. Just relax , I said to myself as I scanned the line of traffic. Were these lights ever going to change? I brushed a tiny speck of dust from the slim black Chanel trousers and pulled the long camel-coloured Marc Jacobs coat around me a little more as I adjusted a large tote bag by the same designer on my shoulder. I’d probably brought too much with me, but better to be over-prepared than under. Running a hand quickly back over my hair, I was pleased that it still felt smooth and shiny. It had taken long enough to style but I’d got there, and although I wasn’t one to toot my own trumpet, I’d done a good job. The long, dark auburn layers had almost shimmered as I’d turned to check my work, the natural gold highlights catching the light from the slightly small, definitely grimy window of the bedroom in my shared flat. With a bit of luck, I’d finally be able to change that circumstance as well soon. My phone beeped a message.


Something’s come up. Need to bring the meeting forward half an hour. Trust that is OK with you?
Shit. I checked the time again. OK. I could still do this. Assuming this bloody crossing light ever changed! Was it broken? A few others waiting had clearly begun wondering the same thing and a couple had already rushed forward to weave between the traffic. I’d have preferred to keep to the original appointment time but the question mark on the message was, of course, ironic. When you had a meeting with the editors of Vogue , you adjusted things for them, not the other way around. But that was fine. I was used to that. I’d been freelancing for long enough to know that the client is always the one in charge, even if it wasn’t convenient for me. Having no money to pay the rent would be even more inconvenient so I made it work. I was just glad that I’d given myself plenty of time to get to the offices today so that I could tap out a jaunty reply.


Absolutely. No problem at all.
‘Oh, for God’s sake,’ I muttered as the light resolutely remained green. Ooh! A gap. I dashed out, ignoring the beep from a taxi that was miles away anyway. My phone dinged again. I opened the message as I hurried across the road.


Great. See you then.
I felt a smile spread over my face. This was it. What I’d worked for. My ultimate aim was within sight. Just getting the interview was a large part of the battle and I knew these people wouldn’t be spending any of their precious time on me if they weren’t already pretty sure of the outcome. An hour’s time and life was going to change!
Actually, it took far less than an hour. Just a few seconds, in fact. With my eyes still on my phone, I hadn’t seen the bus round the corner and the next thing I remember was a squeal of brakes and the horrified look of the driver as I suddenly looked up from my phone to lock eyes with him a split second before the vehicle hit me.
2

So, it turns out that being hit by a bus really, really hurts. My one piece of luck that day was that an ambulance heading back to its base was close to the junction I’d just helped block when the call came in and so was on the scene pretty quickly. The screaming had now stopped – it turned out it wasn’t me as I’d initially thought, but an onlooker. Fair enough. I don’t think I’d like to see someone knocked down by a bus either. I was even less enthusiastic about being the one under it. OK, under it is a bit dramatic. I definitely wasn’t under it as I could see the big, red, square front of it looming a few inches from my face. Admittedly it was a bit of a fuzzy image, not helped by the cracking headache I now had but I would deal with all that later. Right now, I just had to get to my interview.
One of the paramedics was talking to me.
‘Can you tell me your name, love?’
‘Milly,’ I replied, my voice sounding faint and croaky and odd.
‘Hi, Milly. I’m George.’
I raised my hand to wave but it didn’t work.
‘Try not to move too much, Milly,’ George said. ‘Just while we get you comfortable.’
I was beginning to think that might be an impossible task with the pain that was now starting to radiate out from various parts of my body. But again I pushed it away. I’d felt like I was breaking once before. It hadn’t been physical damage but the pain had been just as intense – I’d got through that and I’d get through this too. I’d obviously managed to collect quite a few bumps and bruises as I bounced off the front of the vehicle but, right now, nothing was more important than getting to the Vogue offices. Oh, God, what was the time? Where was my phone?
‘Can you move your fingers for me?’ I didn’t have time for this but did as he asked, just to get it over and done with. I was fine. A few bumps. Getting me up off the road – oh, my poor coat – would be the most helpful thing.
‘Good,’ he continued. ‘And your toes?’ How the hell he was going to be able to see my toes wiggling in my boots I had no idea, but I obeyed anyway. ‘That’s great.’ He turned away from me and had a short conversation with his colleague, who was busy doing something with my right arm. My phone had been in my right hand. Perhaps George’s colleague had it.
‘What’s that, Milly?’ George asked as I croaked out the question. He’d been busy putting a collar thing around my neck, which stopped me being able to see exactly what his colleague was up to. That would obviously have to come off before I went in! Accessorising was key and I didn’t think the editor of Vogue would buy that it was a choker by a new, avant garde designer.
‘Where’s my phone?’
‘I’m afraid you’re going to need a new one of those, love.’
Great. I knew I should have taken out the insurance the guy had tried to flog me.
‘What’s the time?’
George was coordinating something with his partner and the next moment a board thing slid under me and they started strapping me to it.
‘What’s the time?’ I asked again, the words sounding even fainter now as the pain in my head began to almost blind me.
‘It’s ten to two, Milly,’ George replied, his kind face smiling at me, the words measured and calm.
‘I have to get to an interview. It’s really important.’ I was struggling to keep my eyes open now.
George had leaned in to hear me, his face was close, and I felt him touch my fingers, a gesture of reassurance. ‘I’m sure they’ll be able to reschedule it for you,’ he said gently, the voice drifting into the darkness.
I tried to shake my head – No, they won’t – but it didn’t move.
‘Milly?’ The voice was so faint now, I could barely hear it. Everything that had been so loud before now disappeared and drifted away into nothing. ‘Milly, can you hear me?’



* * *
It was dark when I woke up. At least, that’s what I thought at first. As my eyes, feeling heavy and still tired, began to adjust I realised that there was a little light filtering through the partly closed blinds. I shifted slightly in the bed.
‘Milly?’ My brother’s voice was quiet. I turned to see him pushing himself hurriedly from an upright armchair, rushing towards the bed. ‘Oh my God, Milly.’
Henry bent over me and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead. Even in the low light of the room, when he pulled back, I could see tears shining in his eyes. Henry and I were close and I spent as much time as work would allow with him and his family, but he wasn’t the gushy type. He was sensible, reliable, dependable Henry and the expression on his face was one I’d never seen before. Apart from looking like he hadn’t slept in over a week, his eyes were filled with – what? Frankly, my brain felt a bit on the foggy side, but if I had to try and rootle out a name for it, I’d say it looked like relief. He reached out and pressed a button before focusing his attention fully back on my face.
Trying to make sense of it, I supp