Page 128 of The Romance Library

The day after winning the pitch, I gave notice on my bedsit, and it made sense to settle in Sunshine Bay. In time, I’d look for a more permanent place to rent, but for now, my room suited me just fine.

‘Good point. Maybe Maddie, the lady from the bakery, could do some book-shaped biscuits?’

‘Love it!’

It really helped to have Sarah to bounce these ideas off. This was the kind of thing I probably would’ve done with Theo if he was still around.

I could imagine us sitting together on our bench brainstorming. So many times a thought for the library would pop into my head and I’d want to speak to him about it.

A couple of times I’d reached for my phone to text him. I wanted to know how he was. How things were going in Paris. And whether he knew when he was coming back.

I wanted to know if he still thought about me as much as I thought about him.

And whether he missed me.

I missed him so much it hurt. It was like something was missing. Like when he left, my heart went with him and now my chest was hollow.

‘Jess? Jess!’ Sarah shouted.

‘Huh?’ I snapped out of my thoughts.

‘Go anywhere nice?’

‘Eh?’

‘You were daydreaming! I’ve been calling your name and you weren’t answering.’

‘Sorry.’

‘Were you thinking about Theo?’

‘Yeah,’ I sighed. There was no point denying it.

The day after Theo returned to London, I’d filled Sarah in on everything and she’d been checking on me ever since.

‘Awww, hon. I’m so sorry. I know it can’t be easy. But with all that you’ve got on your plate, it would’ve been hard to maintain a relationship anyway. And at least you’re busy, so that can help take your mind off things.’

‘Yeah.’

She was right. In theory. It would’ve been hard. But the thing was, knowing I had Theo to come back to at the end of a busy day would’ve made it all worthwhile.

Although I had loads to do, it didn’t stop me thinking about him. As soon as I woke up, I’d think about how much I used to enjoy eating crumpets together.

Then, as well as thinking about him throughout the day, when I finally shut down my computer, my mind would drift to how much I loved our evening walks on the beach and having dinner at Candace’s place.

And of course, the nights were when I missed him the most. Reading together, snuggling up in each other’s arms. Not to mention the amazing sex.

Wasn’t it supposed to get easier the more time that passed? For me, it seemed like it got harder.

‘So, back to your launch party thing. To really draw the crowds, you should get someone cool to cut the ribbon and open the library officially.’

‘Ribbon cutting.’ I pulled out my phone and typed it into my notes, adding it to my never-ending list of things to do. ‘I don’t know anyone cool. Apart from you, of course.’ I smiled.

‘Flattery will get you everywhere!’ Sarah grinned. ‘But I mean someone that’s well known and preferably who likes books. Like Oprah or Reese Witherspoon.’

‘In my dreams!’ I chuckled. ‘As much as they love books, I’m not sure I have the budget to fly them over from America. It has to be someone local.’

‘Oooh!’ Sarah’s eyes widened. ‘You should get Mia Bailey to open it. She’s from London, which is close enough, and she seems really nice and approachable.’

---