Title: Meet Me at Beachcomber Bay
Author: Jill Mansell
Pub Date: May 2, 2017
International bestseller Jill Mansell
weaves a heartwarming tale of love, family and friendship in her latest novel
1. A brief
encounter that could have become so much more…if only everything were different
2. Step-sisters,
bitter rivals in every area except one—by unbreakable pact neither will ever
steal a man from the other
3. A love
triangle that starts out as a mess of secrets and mix-ups, and only gets worse
from there
Plus!
Friendship,
family ties, crossed wires and self-discovery, second chances and first
impressions
Welcome to Jill Mansell’s blustery seaside
world. Once you step inside, you’ll never want to leave!
With over 10
million copies sold, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jill
Mansell writes irresistible and funny, poignant and romantic tales for women in
the tradition of Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella and Jojo Moyes. She lives with
her partner and their children in Bristol, England.
EXCERPT
“Oh my God,
what are you doing?” Ronan, who’d been
concentrating on his computer screen, jumped a mile and almost sent his coffee
cup flying across the room.
“Sorry,
Sam’s on his way in.” Having flung her arms around him from behind, Clemency
planted her freshly lipsticked mouth on Ronan’s cheek before realizing that was
where people who weren’t
boyfriend
and girlfriend planted kisses. She did another one at the very corner of his
mouth and said, “Shh, we’re young and in love. Don’t try to wipe it away, here
he comes now. Pretend you haven’t noticed. And please look besotted…”
“With him or
with you?”
The door
began to open, and Clemency rested her cheek lovingly against the side of
Ronan’s face. She laughed affectionately, as if he’d just said something
romantic, then glanced up, let go of Ronan, and sprang back.
“Oops,
didn’t see you there!” She beamed at Sam. “Sorry about that. Anyway, here you
are, I’ve got the keys all ready for you.”
“Excellent.”
Sam nodded briefly.
As she
scooped them off the desk and handed them over, Clemency said, “And
congratulations! You’ve got yourself a fantastic property!”
“Thanks.”
Sam’s gaze flickered toward Ronan. “It looks as if congratulations are in order
for you too.”
“Oh, right.
Yes, early days. But it all seems to be going well so far.” Ronan paused and
gave Clemency the kind of look she’d only seen him give other girls before
today. She marveled at his skills. Wow, when he chose to use them, he really
was rather impressive.
It also felt
quite weird, suddenly finding herself on the receiving end. Anyway,
concentrate. She pointed to the corner of Ronan’s mouth. “You’ve got a bit of
lipstick…”
“Have I?”
Ronan gave her another of those smiles. “You’re going to have to keep
yourself under control while we’re in the office.”
Clemency
said flirtily, “Or I could stop wearing lipstick.” She turned to Sam. “You
haven’t told Belle, have you?”
His tone was
even. “You asked me not to.”
“Thanks.
I’ll do it in the next day or two. It’s a sister thing,” she explained. “She’s
got you now, so it won’t really matter, but Belle always had a bit of a crush
on Ronan.”
“She’ll be
fine,” said Ronan. “That’s all in the past. Belle’s got herself sorted out, and
you’ve got me.” He paused, his eyes sparkling as he surveyed Clemency.
“Seriously, I still can’t believe how right it feels. We should have done this
years ago.”
Phew. He sounded as if he
actually meant it.
“Well, I’ll
be off.” Sam held up the key. “Thanks for this. I’ll see you soon.”
“Definitely,”
said Ronan. “We should all go out together for dinner one night.”
They watched
as Sam left, heading off in his car to his brand-new apartment.
“Well?”
Ronan spread his hands and looked at Clemency. “How did I do?”
“Very well.
I’m impressed.”
He winked.
“They always say that.”
She tutted.
“You’re such a cliché.”
“Hey, I do
it with irony. And fun. That’s how I get away with it.”
“Why are you
looking at me like that?” Clemency regarded him with suspicion; they were on
their own now.
“Just
practicing. This is my seductive expression. We want it to be right, don’t we?
We need to be believable.”
“You are
believable. You’re doing great.” There was a box of tissues in her desk drawer.
Beckoning him closer, Clemency pulled out a tissue and began wiping away the
lipstick mark at the corner of his mouth.
“I think I
should probably kiss you,” said Ronan.
“Kiss me?
Why?” She refolded the tissue and assiduously removed the last remnants of Ruby
Crush.
“So we’ve
got it out of the way.”
“But I
already kissed you just now. See?” Clemency showed him the crimson-stained
tissue.
“That wasn’t
a kiss.” Ronan turned her to face him properly. “This is a kiss.”
And there,
in the otherwise empty office, he slid his arms around her waist and gave her
the kind of proper kiss that was worlds away from her earlier lip-printing one.
Gosh. Yet
more skills. This felt…real.
Then again,
it was a while since she’d last been kissed in any meaningful kind of way;
maybe she’d just forgotten how nice proper kissing could be.
“There,
done.” Pulling away as his phone began to ring, Ronan said, “This could be fun
after all. Hello? Yes, Mr. Arundel, I can come over right away. That’s no
problem whatsoever.”
It wasn’t
until he was in the back room collecting his jacket and car keys that Clemency
realized the mail had been delivered. Instead of coming into the office and
leaving it on the main desk as she usually did, Kate had left the collection of
letters sticking through the letter box. Which presumably meant she’d glimpsed
the two of them enjoying their moment together and had decided to discreetly
leave them to it.
Oh well,
never mind.
“Right, I’m
off to see the Arundels. Wish me luck.”
The Arundels
were finicky but very rich. Clemency blew him a jokey kiss. “You’ll be
magnificent.”
As he
swerved past the desk, Ronan ran a playful index finger down her spine. “I
always am.”
GIVEAWAY
Jill Mansell book bundle and a British
summer tumbler
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