by Carmen Reid
The unanswered questions had fallen away. The recriminations about what he could, or should, have done instead of the life he’d chosen were gone. Charging on a runaway bike down that hill towards Alex had put everything into crystal-clear perspective for him. He was going to keep Alex alive and help him to find his happiness; he was going to be a great dad to both his children, a brilliant husband and he was going to be able to cycle for fifteen minutes without dying. Everything else was nice, but not even remotely important.
Oh, apart from dancing with his wife… that seemed to help everything.
So now, Tess and Dave faced one another and breathed, waiting for the right beat in the bar to begin.
How had Larry described this dance? ‘It’s touch, but don’t touch; move, but don’t move… hold me, but also let me go.’
Tess approached and put her arm around Dave’s shoulder. But the last three months had marked such a change between them that she now thought of him once again as David – just like when they’d met – not comfy old Dave.
Her elbow was on top of his shoulder, wrapping them close. Their chests were touching, but their hips and legs were free to tango.
Tess began with the steps around him, leaning into him and leaning out from him. Her leg flicked up and then twisted around his. To a growing chorus of claps and cheers from their friends, the dance went on, step after step, move after move. Sometimes she would lead, sometimes she would follow; there was now give and take… trust, support and understanding… in the dance, and in their lives.
As planned, the music changed from tango classic to ‘La Vie en Rose’ and they were going to make their ‘wow’ move, just as Larry had shown her and she had shown David. Chests together, she leaned in, felt his arm around her back and under her shoulder, then she relaxed, so easy when you trust your partner, and let him sweep her gently round in a half circle, before her feet picked up the steps again and they came to a standstill, wrapped tightly around one another.
Smiling, and suddenly a little embarrassed by the applause, Tess remembered Larry’s words: ‘Argentinian tango is unstructured, no steps… no rules… it’s like life. It goes where you take it and where it takes you, and there is always something new to learn.’
For their third act, David and Tess were definitely going to be together.
And it was going to be good.
Acknowledgments
It’s been quite some time since I last had a book out and, although I was determined it was going to happen, I’m very lucky to have these people in my life, who encouraged me to keep going and Get It Done: the fam, Thomas, Sam and Claudie Quinn; my mum and dad; my awesome agent, Diana Beaumont at Marjacq; and my lovely author friends Shari Low and Maggie Ritchie.
Special thanks also to Sam Quinn, whose own writing inspired the chapters about Alex.
A huge thank you to Ross Hunter, Duncan Black, Niels Footman and all my Copylab colleagues for flexible working hours and for all the creative and grammatical inspiration! Massive thanks also to the members of the lockdown ‘Virtual Pub Group’ – without you there would have been no reading recommendations, no Zoom pub quizzes, no chilly garden wine drinking, no daft WhatsApp discussions and all the other nonsense that got us through those endless Glasgow lockdowns. Special mention to Jess Brodie, my new social media guru and co-conspirator at our life story service.
Hello Boldwood! It’s wonderful to have a new author home. Thank you so much to my new editor, Emily Ruston, for great advice and for steering us through some very tight deadlines. I hope there are many happy publication days ahead.
And finally, if you were one of my readers before and you’ve come back to me after this long absence… thank you so much. This book truly is for you and I hope you love it.
More from Carmen Reid
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About the Author
Carmen Reid is the bestselling author of numerous woman's fiction titles including the Personal Shopper series starring Annie Valentine. After taking a break from writing she is back, introducing her hallmark feisty women characters to a new generation of readers. She lives in Glasgow with her husband and children
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About Boldwood Books
Boldwood Books is a fiction publishing company seeking out the best stories from around the world.
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First published in Great Britain in 2021 by Boldwood Books Ltd.
Copyright © Carmen Reid, 2021
Cover Design by Charlotte Abrams-Simpson
Cover Photography: Shutterstock
The moral right of Carmen Reid to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Every effort has been made to obtain the necessary permissions with reference to copyright material, both illustrative and quoted. We apologise for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Paperback ISBN 978-1-80162-791-7
Large Print ISBN 978-1-80162-787-0
Hardback ISBN 978-1-80162-786-3
Ebook ISBN 978-1-80162-784-9
Kindle ISBN 978-1-80162-785-6
Audio CD ISBN 978-1-80162-792-4
MP3 CD ISBN 978-1-80162-789-4
Digital audio download ISBN 978-1-80162-783-2
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