“Nikki Martin,” she said, sliding into the adjoining seat.
“Sorry?” I mumbled.
“I’m Nikki Martin,” she stated, expectantly awaiting a response.
“Oh, hi,” I replied, as I went back to copying down the equation from the projector.
“Oh, my God, you really are one of them,” she laughed, teasingly.
“One of them?” I answered, glancing up in confusion.
“The freaks who only speak in numbers and have no social skills whatsoever.”
“Wow, rude much?” Oh, my God! I’ve never been confrontational, ever, but with this girl, it just slipped out.
She laughed again, probably at the look of sheer horror on my face. “So the kitten has claws. You know, you and me are going to get on just fine.”
I had no idea what to say to that. This girl was like a beautiful steamroller.
“Okay, a name would be good about now, unless you want me to call you Mathlexy all term.”
“Mathlexy?” Yep, I was getting good at repeating everything she said back to her as a question.
“I can tell you’re a math fiend by the stack of handwritten notes you’ve got there, and you’re the sexiest thing this lot has probably ever seen.”
She gestured around the lecture hall, and I wasn’t convinced that the guys would actually wait until the end of class to pounce on her. The wide-eyed looks of disbelief, appreciation, and finally hunger reminded me of starving hyenas, eyeing up their appetizer. I giggled at the image and snorted through my nose at the absurdity of the name. Snorting was neither sexy nor attractive.
“Emily McCarthy,” I offered up in return, hopeful of rejecting that ridiculous nickname before anyone heard it. The last name was new. I’d only had it for a year, and I was still getting used to it. But I figured that keeping my first name wouldn’t hurt. Emily was a pretty common name, and people got suspicious if you didn’t answer to your name when called because you didn’t know it.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Emily McCarthy,” she answered.
By the end of the lecture, I had three sides of crisp clean notes, and Nikki had half a page and some lovely heart and floral murals.
“What’s your next class?” she asked, as we were stuffing things into our bags.
“I don’t have another one for a couple of hours,” I replied. “I was just going to the library to study.”
“Perfect, I have a couple of hours free. Let’s go and grab a coffee. My treat.”
She looped her arm through mine and all but dragged me out, clearly not caring about my plans.
Latte, espresso, tall, fat, mocha, grande. The board in front of me laid out the endless possible taste sensations, and I agonized over my decision. I loved coffee, but on my budget, regular coffee at Daisy’s was about as good as it got. So if this was my treat for the month, then I was going to make the most of it.
“Come on, Em,” Nikki moaned, “I’m growing old here!”
“A cappuccino, please,” I ordered quickly. The barista handed me my drink, and I pulled out the chair next to Nikki.
She took a long sip of her coffee, sighed deeply, and turned to me. “So…the whole social hermit thing. Is it just for a term or are you committed for life?”
To Mr P, the love of my life and my greatest supporter. Without you, there would be no more words to write. You and the boys are my entire world and I will never, ever take for granted how lucky I am to have married my best friend! Jack and Gabriel, you are both growing up so fast, but every day you show me what wonderful men you will one day become and it makes me prouder than you will ever know. Being your Mum is, and always will be, the greatest thing I have ever done. Every time I nag you to do your homework and remind you to clean you room, remember it’s because I love you! To Mum and Dad, who always support and encourage me whenever I have a crazy idea. Thank you for always having faith that I can do anything I set my mind to do if I work hard enough.
Lauren-Marie, I have no idea where I’d be without you to organise, guide and support me. Your friendship means the world to me and I can’t thank you enough for everything you do. To say that you are worth your weight in gold is an understatement of epic proportions. The next year is going to be a good one and I can’t wait to make loads new and wonderful memories with you!
To my wonderful friend Maria. Thank you for being so patient with me when I disappear for weeks at a time to write, and thank you for always being there to share a cuppa with me when I’m done. You are kind, supporting and selfless and our friendship means the absolute world to me.
Marie, exchanging ideas on this book has been so much fun and I have loved so much working on this together. I don’t think either of us ever thought when we were painting walls and chatting about Gateway that we’d ever be here, but I’m so glad that we are. Thank you always for your friendship and support and for re-introducing me to a love of romance that will never die.
To Nicola and Lynsey. Every time I lose faith in myself, you always give it back to me. No matter what you are going through, or how low you might be feeling, you take life by the balls and keep moving forward and I love you both for constantly giving me the confidence I need to send my books out into the world. Nic, I would be lost without you. I can never hope to repay everything you do for me, but I will never take your friendship for granted. You are the ultimate Wonder Woman! Lyns, my only regret is that we don’t live closer so I could squish you in person on a regular basis! Thank you so much for all of your support and encouragement. No matter what, you are always there when I need you.
Clare, Lorayne, Steph and Sarah. Two years ago we were strangers, now I couldn’t live without you! You guys keep me sane and laughing even when I’m so tired I can barely string a sentence together! Clare, between the snacks to keep me going and your amazing editorial powers I’ve been spoiled in this book and I have every intention of taking advantage of your mad skills with every book I write! Lorayne, Steph and Sar, you banded together to buy me time when I didn’t have any and when I was at my lowest, you rolled up your sleeves and said, ‘what do we need to do to get this done?’ All four of you are nothing short of legends and I hope you realise you’re stuck with me forever. Thank you all so much. I couldn’t have finished this book without you.
To the best family in the world, Gerry, Faye, Ben, Boo, Dave, Gareth, Laura, Dan, Sarah, David and Tiffany. You all make me feel that there is nothing I can’t achieve, and no matter what, you always love and support me. I feel so lucky to call you all my family.
Every author I know believes they have the best reader group, but I’m positive I do! Prescott’s Hurricanes you inspire me! You are supportive, encouraging and always enthusiastic, even when I make you wait even longer for the Driscoll boys. You bring so much friendship and joy to the group that every day I’m reminded why I love writing. Thank you for being such a huge and amazing part of my world!
To Leigh Stone, there aren’t words for how awesome you are!!! Your skills blow me away and you bail me out time after time. Thank you so much for everything you do for me and for your mad crazy skills. I can’t wait to work on our next book together because working with you is nothing short of effortless. You know what I want even before I do!
To Emilie from Inkslinger PR. Thank you for taking a chance on me and for all of your great advice. I’ve had so much fun working with you!
Rachel de Lune, I’m so glad we get to sign together at last! As always thank you so much for the support and for always being on the other end of the phone if I need you.
To Veronica from Hot Tree Editing, thank you so much for your patience and to Sarah from Okay Cover Creations for an epic cover that I am so in love with!
Thank you so much to all of my friends in Bristol, Cardiff and around the world. Conors, Christine, Jodie, Gav, Kerrie, Kevin, Cynth, Amanda, Ruth, Ceri-Anne, Adele, Paul, Bronwen, and all my friends. Your support and encouragement means the world to me.
Over the last few years I’ve had
the privilege of working with and meeting so many bloggers, authors and readers, many of whom have become close friends. To each and every one of you, thank you. Every day I learn something new and every day I count myself lucky for getting to be part of this wonderful, supportive community bound together by a shared love of books.
To you the reader, as always I thank you from the bottom of my heart. In a sea of books, you chose mine. To know that has made my dream come true.
My final thank you goes to the original Britney Spears for all of his technical help and patience and to each and every member of the Armed Forces and their families. Thank you for your service and dedication. Your bravery and sacrifice is truly humbling.
City Under Siege Page 30
