by Katie Price
Jas couldn’t help but laugh and start crying at the same time. Everything was catching up with her. ‘On Friday, I did come to your house. I saw you and that girl on your doorstep and ran away. And that’s my very last secret. Promise.’
He lifted her chin and made her look straight at him. ‘Yeah, I pretty much worked that out. I had just broken up with Laura, Jas. We weren’t serious. It was only ever a few dates. I told her I couldn’t see her while I was in love with you.’
‘What?’
‘You heard me, Whiteley.’ And then they were kissing. Not in the ferocious, passionate, lustful way they had in Ibiza, but long, comforting kisses, with Luke’s arms wrapped so tightly around her that Jas felt there was no one else in the world. She had never felt more secure or happy in her life.
One month later
‘Happy birthday to youuuuuuu!’
Jas covered her face with her hands in embarrassment as the chorus rang out, sung by her friends and family. Nearby diners turned around to start clapping. A ginormous, elaborate chocolate birthday cake with butter icing and lit sparklers for decoration had just been wheeled in on a dessert cart.
Luke leant in and kissed her cheek. ‘Happy birthday, darling.’
‘You could have made less of a fuss,’ she laughed, shifting closer as he wrapped an arm around her.
‘What, now I’ve finally got you all to myself ? This is just the start. Make a wish.’
Jas had thought she was just going for a quiet birthday dinner with Luke to celebrate her twenty-ninth, but when she arrived at the cool and upmarket Hakkasan restaurant in the West End, a seven-strong group yelled ‘Surprise!’ Unlike this time last year, she was delighted by the ambush. Seated at the table with Luke were Lila, Meg, Oscar, Monica, and Michael and Kimberley, his siblings, whom Jas had met two weeks previously and fallen completely in love with. Michael was essentially an older version of Luke: polite, charming and handsome; Kim, fast-talking, constantly on her phone, wearing bold lipstick, had instantly reminded Jas of Lila and she wasn’t at all surprised to see them already becoming firm friends.
Jas blew out her candles to a round of applause and a waiter started cutting generous slices of cake and distributing them around the table.
‘Had any offers on the flat yet, Jas?’ asked Oscar, wiping chocolate from the side of his mouth. As he was an estate agent, Jas had asked his advice before she’d put her flat on the market last month.
‘Tons already! I can’t believe it.’
‘Oh, it’s a great property,’ continued Oscar. ‘You’ll make a good profit on it.’
‘And, most importantly, get a fresh start,’ put in Meg.
‘Exactly,’ replied Jas. ‘After the whole nightmare with Richard I couldn’t face living there again. Too many awful memories.’
‘Any word on when his case comes up?’ asked Meg.
Jas shook her head. ‘But he was denied bail and is locked up on remand and out of harm’s way. I really hope they send him to rehab and he gets the help he needs.’
Luke kissed her again.
Lila started clapping like an excited child. ‘Let’s do presents, let’s do presents!’ Then she was distracted by Kim and they both started taking selfies.
‘Mine first,’ said Meg. She handed a box to Jas and a soft package as well. Jas opened them up to find a bottle of pink gin and the stunning black dress she’d been eyeing up in Meg’s boutique the last time she’d been to Manchester.
‘Babe, I love them, thank you!’
‘We might as well celebrate one of us being able to wear slinky outfits and get pissed!’ Meg smiled at Oscar, who affectionately rubbed her very distinct pregnancy bump. Meg liked to moan about not being able to drink but Jas knew it meant nothing to her. She was thrilled by the prospect of being a mother and Jas couldn’t be happier for them.
Her phone bleeped with a stream of WhatsApp messages from Dylan and Charlotte, beaming to the camera from a sandy beach. She showed Monica. ‘It’s their last day in the Maldives. Look at them!’
‘Just call us Cupid,’ nodded Monica. ‘How happy they are. Which brings us nicely to my present.’
‘You already got me a clutch bag!’
‘Well, I’ve got something else for you. Technically, it’s from Burrell.’ Monica reached under the table and with a flourish produced a bottle of champagne with a blue ribbon tied around it and a card, which Jas read aloud.
‘“Congratulations on what we know will be the show of the year, Whiteley. I’ve commissioned the second series so don’t come in too hung-over on Monday. There’s a lot of work to do.”’
‘Wow! A second series before the first has even been on air!’ Everyone congratulated Jas and Monica, who hugged over the table.
‘That’s how much he believes in us, babe,’ Monica said.
‘I never doubted it for a second,’ said Luke. ‘Now it’s my turn! I’ve got one more gift for you.’
‘No! You already organised this whole dinner,’ protested Jas. ‘And gave me several presents this morning,’ she whispered, thinking back to their marathon sex session followed by Luke whipping up a birthday breakfast of scrambled eggs, fruit, black coffee and a glass of champagne, before sending her off on a spa day in Sloane Square with Lila and Meg. He really was the perfect guy.
‘Well, I can take it back if you want.’ He smiled, placing a small blue box on the table.
Jas gasped as she opened it to find a thin gold ring set with three tiny emeralds. It was elegant, understated and completely beautiful.
‘Oh my God!’ screeched Kim and Lila in unison.
‘Calm down,’ said Luke. ‘It’s not that sort of ring.’ He turned to Jas. ‘I just thought, now that your old relationship is well and truly in the past, you might like to wear a piece of jewellery to celebrate your new one.’
Jas threw her arms around him as the whole table jibed them to ‘get a room’. As Jas looked around at her loved ones, while being held in the arms of her dream man, she thought how lucky she was. She might just have spent the year from hell, but now she knew she was on a winning streak. Game over.
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Epub ISBN: 9781473507517
Version 1.0
Published by Century 2018
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Copyright © Katie Price 2018
Jacket photography © Getty Images / Shutterstock
Katie Price has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this Work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published in Great Britain in 2018 by Century
Century
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Century is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781780893518
