How to Marry Your Husband
Page 28
She could make out most of the words she had bastardised from Elizabeth Browning’s Sonnet 43. How did she love him? All those years ago, she had counted twelve. The words swirled in her head. Now there were a few more to add. Love shone through those hastily written vows, pure unadulterated emotion. David squeezed her hand, giving her the power to continue. He whispered in her ear the three words that she longed to be true. ‘I love you.’ She searched his face in return, for signs she could trust him, for the truth. In his eyes she found all the security she was looking for.
‘When I met David, he quickly became everything to me – my sun, my moon. But he was more than that too. He was the way ahead. He didn’t smother me. In fact, quite the opposite. He gave me the freedom to find my own path; comforted me when I made mistakes; above all, he offered me his unconditional support. I am who I am today thanks to his love. And, David, for that I thank you.’
Their friends and family revelled in the romance of the moment and clinked their glasses in appreciation.
‘To David!’ they shouted with glee.
He leaned in to Rachel and almost inaudibly said, ‘Thank you, Rachel. Thank you for giving me a second chance. I’ll never hurt—’
‘Don’t say it! Not today. It’s behind us now.’
David presented her with an envelope wrapped in ribbon. She pulled at the ribbon and found he had booked them a second honeymoon. Two weeks in the blue and white Greek island of Santorini.
‘Something blue,’ Rachel whispered.
‘Something blue,’ David repeated.
Rachel joked they should sail Raquel all the way to Greece. David nodded obediently until he saw the smile on her face and laughed with relief.
‘It’s not Bali,’ David joked.
‘Too soon!’ Rachel laughed.
She allowed herself to drown in his blue eyes. She drank in his familiar smell. The musky scent tickled her nostrils and left her with goose pimples. She nuzzled into his neck and whispered into his ear: ‘Don’t let us down. This is the last time I’m going to marry you, Mr Chatsworth.’ Rachel and David started the next chapter of their lives with a kiss.
‘For the record, your favourite colour is fuchsia.’
‘Nice try, it’s teal.’
‘Teal?’
‘And for the record, I bloody hate lilies!’
Acknowledgements
It’s a dream come true to have my debut novel published. First, I have to thank my mother, for instilling a passion for books and reading with our weekly trips to the local library. Fullwell Cross Library was also home to my first job as proud Saturday assistant.
I would like to thank my publishers, the wonderful team at Arrow – Selina Walker, Emily Griffin, Isabelle Ralphs, Alice Spencer, Natalia Cacciatore. Thanks also to my incredible copyeditor – any mistakes that made their way into the book are definitely my own. And three cheers to my unwavering editor extraordinaire Sonny Marr!
Being shortlisted for the Daily Mail Penguin Random House First Novel Competition 2018 changed my life! Thank you to my agent, Luigi Bonomi, and his wonderful enthusiasm, and to the very supportive team at LBA Books. Luigi’s first call in September 2018 will always be in my heart.
I am indebted to the Romantic Novelists’ Association – and an early draft of How To Marry Your Husband was reviewed through their amazing RNA New Writers Scheme. I couldn’t have done without the RNA Facebook group and I can’t wait to be upgraded to fully-fledged member!
My journey as a writer started at primary school where I thought that my reinterpretation of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang would get me a gold star (it didn’t). The first of many rejections! In 2017, I took a sabbatical to establish a non-profit to conserve wild chimpanzees in Uganda, the Bulindi Chimpanzee & Community Project, with my then-boyfriend, now fiancé. After three months, my job was no longer available and we ended up moving to Africa. It was in Uganda that I was able to write up the ideas that had been dawdling in notebooks for years. This story had been in a state of scribbles until I was inspired by NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) to write 50,000 words in one month, and I was able to complete the first draft of How To Marry Your Husband.
Thank you all my friends and family who had to endure early drafts! Thank you for staying friends! And to Anne Gilchrist, who told me … Well she knows what she said.
This book would not exist without those who spurred me on and provided time, advice, unconditional love and support. Special mentions (sorry – the list is long!) go to Adrian & Helen Jeckells, Alison May, Andrea Wylde & Adrian O’Brien, Alan Thorne, April Rohen, Catherine & Ben Gosling-Fuller, Cece Beyer, David Quammen, Emily Griffin, the lovely Gareth Smith (and his mum Janice), Gazz & Kuli, Helen Lederer, James Duncan, Jo Dickinson, Joyce McLennan, Kathy Wylde, Kelly Pearce, Kim Mendez, Luigi Bonomi, Ma Rohen, Monica Burgess, my lovely spa ladies (Andrea, Julie & Lesley), Nancy Merrick & Gary Lairmore, Paul Savident, Pippa Batt, Rahel Noser, Ralph Bogard, Richard Lumsden, Rosie Walsh, Sally Howe, Selena Walker, Sinead Wall, Sonny Marr, Sue Msallem, and Susan Raasay.
A million thanks go to Matt McLennan for putting up with EVERY draft and my constant tea and coffee demands!
And last but not least, thank YOU (the reader) for joining me on this journey!
THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING
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Copyright © Jacqueline Rohen, 2020
Illustration: Dermot Flynn. Design: Emma Grey Gelder.
Jacqueline Rohen has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.
First published in Great Britain by Arrow Books in 2020
www.penguin.co.uk
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 9781473574465