Sunrise at Strawberry Farm: As delightfully delicious as strawberries and cream, this is the perfect summer romance to read in 2020.

by Kellie Hailes

  Two pairs of luminous green eyes widened as they nodded, then shook their heads.

  ‘I’ll remind you. First, the music will start…’

  The string quartet struck up in a classical rendition of ‘Here Comes the Bride’ as Amethyst began to walk down the strawberry row. Her gown, a barely there shade of pink, contrasted beautifully with the rich green of the strawberry leaves and the paler green of the strawberries that were hanging down the mounds of straw as if desperate to get a look at the bride.

  In her one and only diva-ish moment ever, Amethyst had insisted she walk down the ‘aisle’ first, and Hannah was only too happy to agree. Seeing her best friend marry her newer best friend was a glorious moment. Made more so when she saw Matt in his crisp white shirt, open at the collar, paired with the closest thing to board shorts he could find – black dress shorts that skimmed his knees – bring his fisted hands to his chest, his jaw dropping as he saw his wife-to-be sashay up the aisle. Navigating the ground’s lumps and bumps confidently, despite the towering nature of her heels.

  Hannah was reminded of how Grey had looked at her the day they’d married. A less grand affair, held in the garden at the back of the farmhouse, with just her family, Amethyst and Matt, and Grey’s brothers, their wives, and their small tribe of children running amok. Less grand, but no less wonderful. The moment he saw her his eyes didn’t leave hers, nor hers his. The two in a bubble of happiness, shared only by them – and by the barely there babies growing in her belly.

  Gill and Eva tossed rose petals with wild abandon as they trailed behind Amethyst. Stopping every now and then to inspect a strawberry or point at a bumblebee.

  To the left of Matt stood Grey, resplendent in a soft dove-grey three-piece suit. He’d been happy enough to go along with Matt’s more casual idea, but had changed his mind when Amethyst and Matt had heatedly discussed the mens’ wedding-wear.

  ‘Suits are for penguins and Santa.’ Matt had argued when Amethyst had tried to get him to go fully formal. ‘The only suit I wear is a wetsuit.’

  ‘If you want your birthday suit anywhere near me again you’ll do as I ask,’ Amethyst had shot back.

  Knowing an immovable object meeting an unstoppable force when he saw one, Grey had stepped in and offered to wear the proper wedding garb, and convinced Amethyst that one day, many years from now she and Matt would look back at the photos and laugh. At Matt. Then years later again from that the photos would become a treasured memory of two very different people who’d found love in the unlikeliest of places.

  Or in Grey and Hannah’s case, the most likely of places.

  Hannah jumped in surprise as the crowd seated on squabs placed between the rows hollered and clapped. She followed their faces to the front where Matt had dipped Amethyst and was busy planting a long, passionate kiss on her lips.

  He swung her back up and smiled unapologetically at the celebrant. ‘Sorry, couldn’t wait.’ He shrugged.

  The celebrant smiled mildly, unfazed, as Hannah took her spot beside Amethyst, who handed over her bunch of daisies, picked fresh that day from the farm’s garden.

  ‘Dearly beloved…’

  Hannah half-listened as she kept an eye on Eva and Gill, who’d abandoned their little baskets and were running up and down the rows, taking turns chasing each other in some kind of game Hannah couldn’t hope to understand. The two shared a special bond. Had done right from birth, and watching them grow was as miraculous to her as the change of seasons, as the life cycle of a strawberry, as the love story that had unfolded the last few years. Between her and Grey. Her life with her family. Her place on the farm.

  She looked out over those gathered. Her gaze falling on her mum and dad, gran and grandad, all sitting together in their finest clothing, their attention not on the two lovebirds standing making their vows, but on the littlest members of the family whose faces were now screwed up in disgust as they each munched on a nowhere near ripe strawberry.

  Who would they become? What would they want to do?

  Gill was the bookworm of the two. Bringing book after book to her and Grey to read. Loving nothing more than snuggling up in their laps while tales were told to him about princesses and princes, pirates and ballerinas, talking mice and cheeky bunnies.

  Eva was the daredevil. A climber. An investigator. Nothing was safe from her inquisitive nature. Hannah would’ve bet the farm that it had been Eva who’d instigated the unripe strawberry eating, and the director of their next adventure, which looked to involve scaling the old tractor.

  A librarian?

  An acrobat?

  A scholar?

  An adventurer?

  She glanced over at Grey. Their eyes met, locked. A thrill that she really ought to have been used to by now, but in no way was, sizzled down her spine. Her hand itched to reach out, to tangle…

  ‘To have and to hold from this day forward…’ the celebrant guided Matt through his vows.

  Hannah smiled as Matt tripped over his words in a rare show of nerves from the confident Kiwi.

  Her eyes were drawn back to Grey.

  I love you. His mouthed words filled her with security, joy, love, more than any vows ever could.

  She was where she was meant to be, where she was born to be.

  A bubble of laughter formed as she caught sight of Eva riding the tractor, her enthusiastic ‘brrmmmm, brmmmmms’ capturing the attention of the wedding goers, causing giggles to rise in the air.

  As for the next generation?

  Eva and Gill could be whoever they wanted to be. Whatever they wanted to be. Wherever they wanted to be. Grey and Hannah had made that promise the moment they learned of their little ones’ existence.

  They’d made one other promise too.

  No matter who the twins became or where they ended up, they’d always know, unequivocally, if ever they changed their minds, if ever either one of their heart’s desires changed, they’d have a place for them ready and waiting at Strawberry Farm.

  Their home.

  Their heart.

  Their always.

  Forever.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Thank you, wonderful reader, for taking the time to read my words. For delving into the world of two people seeking their happily ever after. Your support means I keep living my own happily ever after, and I appreciate it more than you’ll ever know.

  As always, Aaron. My love. My raisin deckchair. Thank you for your continued support, your love, your acceptance of the messy house and the takeaway dinners.

  Daisy, my sweetest pea. Thank you for putting up with a mum who says ‘hang on’, ‘just a minute’, ‘I’ll be there in a second’. Your patience, your sweetness and your understanding is more than I could hope for.

  Victoria Oundjian, you marvellous woman. You pulled me from the slush pile three odd years ago, and here we are together again. Thank you so much for pushing me, for giving amazing insight, for being a comforting voice in these strange times. I adore working with you – long may it continue!

  AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

  At the age of five Kellie Hailes declared she was going to write books when she grew up. It took a while for her to get there, with a career as a radio copywriter, freelance copywriter and beauty editor filling the dream-hole, until now. Kellie lives in Auckland, New Zealand with her patient husband and very entertaining daughter. When the characters in her head aren’t dictating their story to her, she can be found taking short walks, eating good cheese and hanging out for her next coffee fix.

  Also by Kellie Hailes

  The Cosy Coffee Shop of Promises

  The Big Little Festival

  Christmas at the Second Chance Chocolate Shop

  The Little Unicorn Gift Shop

  The Little Bookshop at Herring Cove

  The Litter Bakery of Hopes and Dreams

  Copyright

  AN ORION EBOOK

  First published in Great Britain in 2020 by Orion Books

  Ebook first published in 2020 by Or
ion Books

  Copyright © Kellie Hailes 2020

  The right of Kellie Hailes 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 publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor to be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  ISBN: 978 1 3987 0002 4

  The Orion Publishing Group Ltd

  Carmelite House

  50 Victoria Embankment

  London, EC4Y 0DZ

  An Hachette UK company

  www.orionbooks.co.uk