The fireplace in this room was at the opposite end to the one in the kitchen/dining area and was equally marked by soot, although this one had a basket of logs on the floor beside it, as well as unused logs in the grate itself. A faded print of a coastal view hung at an angle on the wall.
There was a double door leading out of the house from the living room but I didn’t bother opening it. Nor did I look out of the windows. Stupidly, I was feeling spooked again. Despite the total silence, I felt as though someone was inside the house, watching me. I told myself not to be ridiculous as I straightened the crooked print on the wall; then I went back to the kitchen door and made sure it was securely locked from the inside and that the bolt was in place. I opened one of the windows to allow some air in and switched off the harsh fluorescent light, before turning on the standard lamp instead. The glow was softer and more relaxing, but I still couldn’t quite get over the feeling of being watched. As I made my way upstairs I felt the need to remind myself yet again that I didn’t believe in spirits or ghosts or things that went bump in the night. And it didn’t matter that I was alone in the house in the middle of nowhere, because being alone was perfectly safe. After all, being alone couldn’t hurt you. Other people could.
There were six rooms upstairs. Four bedrooms. Two bathrooms. And a cupboard for bedlinen, which also contained a motley selection of old, but clean, oversized T-shirts and cotton shorts. The first doors I opened led into unfurnished rooms, but the next contained two unmade single beds and the fourth had a king-sized bed with bedlinen neatly folded and placed on the mattress. When I turned on the light a ceiling fan began to rotate slowly, although it didn’t actually cool the warm air, just moved it around.
I was suddenly overcome by tiredness. I put my handbag on the small dressing table and opened the window. I left the shutters closed and slipped out of my skinny jeans, which I threw on to the tub chair in the corner. I unfolded the bedlinen. It was crisp and clean, with a faint scent of lavender. I made the bed and fiddled with the ceiling fan so that it stayed working when I turned off the light. Then I lay down and closed my eyes.
But even though I was exhausted, I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned and finally reached for my phone again. This time accessed my voice messages. It was the only one he’d ever left for me.
I wish I was there with you. His voice was clear and strong. I wish I had my arms around you right now.
I wished he had too.
Available on 17/05/2018.
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The riveting No. 1 bestseller . . .
Have you ever wanted to disappear?
When Imogen Naughton vanishes, everyone who knows her is shocked. She has a perfect marriage. Her handsome husband treats her like a princess. She’s always said how lucky she is. So why has she left? And how will she survive without Vince?
What goes on behind closed doors is often a surprise, and Imogen surprises herself by taking the leap she knows she must. But as she begins her journey to find the woman she once was, Imogen’s past is right behind her . . .
Will it catch up with her? And will she be ready to face it if it does?
Available now to download in ebook.
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And don’t miss the unputdownable No. 1 bestseller . . .
When Steffie helps her two siblings organise a surprise wedding anniversary party for their parents her only worry is whether they’ll be pleased. What she doesn’t know is this is the day that her whole world will be turned upside down.
Jenny wants to be able to celebrate her ruby anniversary with the man she loves, but for forty years she has kept a secret. A secret that she can’t bear to hide any longer. But is it ever the right time to hurt the people closest to you?
As the entire family gather to toast the happy couple, they’re expecting a day to remember. The trouble is, it’s not going to be for the reasons they imagined . . .
Available now to download in ebook.
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Have you read all of Sheila’s irresistible novels?
IF YOU WERE ME
You’re engaged to a great man. You’re on a countdown to your wedding day. You stopped thinking about your first love a long time ago.
But what if one unexpected, forbidden kiss were to throw your life upside down?
Carlotta O’Keefe suddenly finds herself wondering if the girl she was would recognise the woman she has become.
She thought she was living a charmed life. But what if she’s got it all wrong?
What if her past is meant to be her future?
THINGS WE NEVER SAY
A husband is afraid to say that selling the house his wife loves is the only option . . .
A son can’t say how useful his ageing father’s fortune will be when he’s gone . . .
A woman hasn’t said that even though they live thousands of miles apart, this man is always on her mind . . .
But if those things were said, the results might be surprising. As Abbey – and a whole family she knew nothing of – are about to find out in Sheila O’Flanagan’s warm-hearted, thought-provoking and touching novel.
BETTER TOGETHER
Sheridan Gray has discovered a secret . . .
When journalist Sheridan loses her dream job, she’s distraught. She’s forced to relocate to the countryside. Her career is over . . . until she discovers that her landlady holds the key to a big story.
But the longer Sheridan stays in Nina’s home, and the closer she gets to a certain handsome man in the town, the tougher it is to expose their secrets. When it comes to love or success, will Sheridan go with her heart or her head?
ALL FOR YOU
As TV’s favourite weather forecaster, Lainey is good at making predictions. But what she doesn’t foresee is that her own life is about to hit a stormy patch. With a string of failed relationships behind her, surely history isn’t about to repeat itself with her beloved Ken?
Uncovering some long-concealed family secrets, Lainey begins to reassess her life. Is the happy-ever-after she’s always dreamed of really what she wants after all?
CHRISTMAS WITH YOU
What if a secret from your past has come back to haunt you?
As Claire and Neil Archer open the doors to their luxurious Sugar Loaf Lodge for the festive season, it’s with worries of their own.
But can they, along with their troubled guests, find the magic of Christmas – and a happy ending – within the walls of this beautiful hotel? Maybe Christmas really is the happiest time of the year!
Previously published as A SEASON TO REMEMBER.
STAND BY ME
Dominique Brady’s life changed the day she met Brendan Delahaye.
He was a man with big dreams and she was the girl he wanted to take with him. Madly in love, they married, Brendan’s business hit the big time and they became the most powerful couple in Ireland.
Then one day Brendan disappears without a trace and Dominique’s world is shattered. Will Brendan ever return? And if he does, will Dominique stand by her man?
THE PERFECT MAN
Brit doesn’t believe in love. One painful mistake was all it took.
So she’s as surprised as anyone when her novel THE PERFECT MAN becomes a huge bestseller.
Heartbreak has never stopped her sister Mia from being a hopeless romantic. She can’t be with the love of her life, but she’s never stopped hoping.
They both have to let go of the past to stand a chance of being happy in the future. Could a Caribbean cruise be just what they need to open their hearts?
SOMEONE SPECIAL
Romy Kilkenny loves her life in Australia.
She has her dream job, a fun lifestyle, and best friend Keith who understands her better than anyone. But when a phone call summons her home at short notice, Romy’s world is turned upside down.
Romy has never fitted in, and with Keith too far
away to give comfort, she feels like more of an outsider than ever. What on earth has Romy let herself in for?
BAD BEHAVIOUR
Darcey and Nieve were best friends for life.
Until Nieve stole the heart of Aidan, the boy Darcey had fallen in love with.
For the next ten years Darcey has been haunted by the memory of her humiliation. And then the invitation comes: to the wedding of Aidan and Nieve, neither of whom she’s seen since they left Ireland for life in the USA. Will Darcey be there? Will there be fireworks? And can the past be put to rest at last?
YOURS, FAITHFULLY
Two worlds are about to collide in the most shocking way . . .
Iona Brannock has always been impatient. She married her gorgeous husband just months after meeting him and they have lived happily ever since. Now all she needs is a baby and her life will be perfect.
Sally Harper has been blissfully married for almost twenty years. Her life is complete. But a surprise pregnancy is about to change everything . . .
CONNECTIONS
Romance is very much alive in the hot Caribbean nights . . .
There’s Tara, who’s arrived with the man she wants to marry only to find that a rejected lover is planning to get in the way; and Grainne, who’s been sent with her husband by their children to celebrate their anniversary, and who thinks the time has come to move on.
Rudy’s on an idyllic break with his young son which is set for an unexpected ending; and Isobel’s ex-lover Nico might be staying just next door . . .
HOW WILL I KNOW?
It was love at first sight for Claire and Bill Hudson.
When baby Georgia came along, it was the icing on the cake. So when a tragic accident snatched Bill away, Claire felt like she’d lost everything – except Georgia.
Now Georgia’s a teenager, though, and there’s one thing Claire can’t advise her on: dating. And so, purely to help her lovely young daughter in her journey through the teenage years, Claire sets out on some serial dating. And destiny is watching, again . . .
ANYONE BUT HIM
Andie and her sister Jin have never seen eye to eye.
Andie doesn’t envy Jin her marriage to a wealthy businessman, while Jin can’t believe Andie’s happy with her man-free existence. But when their widowed mother comes back from a cruise with more than just a suntan, Andie and Jin are united in horror.
Who is this gorgeous young man who’s swept their mother off her feet? What they really need now is a friend – but can they be friends with each other?
DESTINATIONS
A myriad of lives captured beautifully . . .
Two eavesdropping train passengers learn more than they bargained for about their own love lives; an office-party fling has unforeseen consequences for a young woman and for a marriage; a suburban housewife is forced to face her past when her estranged mother makes contact; an adopted woman journeys to meet the woman who gave her up all those years ago, and finds that all is not what she imagined . . .
DREAMING OF A STRANGER
Dreams are not always what they seem . . .
When Jane O’Sullivan meets blue-eyed Rory McLoughlin, she knows that he is who she’s been waiting for.
And when Jane walks up the aisle to marry Rory, she believes all her dreams have come true. What she doesn’t know is that she’s not going to get quite the happy ending she expects.
TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE
Carey Browne is in for the holiday of a lifetime . . .
When Carey Browne decides it’s time for a holiday she flies into New York City – one of her favourite shopping destinations – knowing she’ll have a good time. Within days she’s met and married Ben Russell, and a week later they’re heading back together to Dublin, where they both live, to share the happy news with family and friends. Except not everyone’s thrilled.
Carey and Ben are about to discover whether they’ve found the kind of love that can survive a blast of reality . . .
What Happened That Night: The page-turning holiday read by the No. 1 bestselling author Page 43
