Kitabı oku: «Faith Bleasdale Untitled Book 4»
THE TICKET TO HAPPINESS
FAITH BLEASDALE
Published by AVON
A Division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2019
Copyright © Faith Bleasdale 2019
Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers 2019
Cover illustrations © Shutterstock
Faith Bleasdale asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Ebook Edition © March 2019; ISBN: 9780008306977
Version: 2019-03-22
To Sally, wishing you love and happiness in your new adventure!
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
The Singer Family Tree
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Keep Reading …
About the Author
About the Publisher
Prologue
The Californian sun streamed through the window, highlighting the house she was looking at on the computer screen. Meadowbrook Manor, a boutique hotel in Somerset, the UK. The house drew her in as she peered at the big windows, the impressive front door, the inviting interior as shown in the photos that had been taken of the inside. She could almost see, almost feel herself there.
She noticed a tear sliding down her cheek, which surprised her, as she hadn’t realised she’d been crying. She angrily brushed it away. There had been so much, too much that had brought her to this point, and as she stared at the hotel she begged it to give her the answer she needed. Although it felt hopeless, she was desperate to understand. After a while, she felt her heart start to warm. She knew it was crazy, but it really felt as if Meadowbrook was talking to her, calling her.
Before she had time to change her mind she pulled up another website, this time for flights, and with a few clicks she’d booked herself a ticket. She hoped, no she knew, in her heart that it was the right thing to do. That ticket was going to take her to just where she needed to be.
Chapter One
Pippa could feel a smile inching its way across her face before she opened her eyes. Today was going to be a good day. She sprang out of bed with childlike enthusiasm, opening the curtains in her small bedroom that overlooked Meadowbrook’s magnificent gardens. Meadowbrook Manor, a grand Georgian house, had been home to her and her three siblings for their entire childhood. They’d lived with just their father, Andrew Singer, throughout most of this time, as their mother had passed away when Pippa was only four years old.
And since Andrew’s death, Meadowbrook had become much more than just a family home to the Singer siblings. They’d turned it into a boutique five-star hotel.
Pippa looked out at the sweeping gardens. Even in winter, they were perfectly maintained and deserving of the reputation that made them an attraction. They had been her father’s pride and joy, so they remained important to Pippa and her three siblings, as did the animal sanctuary that lay just beyond – another great love of their father’s before he passed away.
She took a moment to enjoy the view that stretched out over the Mendip countryside. It was a rare interlude, as Pippa was now busier than ever. Opening and running the hotel was pretty much the only job she’d ever had, but she was lucky that she loved doing it. She was a people person, so managing a hotel, charming the guests, making sure their every whim was catered for, played to her strengths. Although her sister and two brothers were involved in the hotel in their own way, it was still largely her baby. The only baby she had.
She brushed this negative thought away. She often thought about how just a few short years ago she’d been married to Mark, a controlling man who’d turned out to be ruthless and uncaring. But she didn’t see it until it was almost too late, as one often did in such relationships, and since then she’d been largely single.
Before her divorce, Pippa had always thought she’d have children and become a mum, rather than run a hotel, but she had learnt the hard way that life didn’t always work out the way you thought it would. And she was better off now. Surrounded by her siblings and their partners, she did sometimes feel a little sad about being single, but she was only thirty-two, after all – it wasn’t as if she was an old maid just yet … although she felt like it at times. Pippa once again pushed those negative thoughts away. Lately, she’d been letting negativity creep into her head, but not today.
She hopped around the room with an energy that seemed on endless supply since the hotel opened. Though the first few months had been anxious ones, Pippa had barely come up for air, but now the hotel had found its rhythm. In fact, Pippa was preparing a party to celebrate its one-year anniversary.
Like with many things at Meadowbrook, the anniversary was slightly unconventional in that they were celebrating over a month early. The official opening of the hotel had been held on Valentine’s Day last year, and her brother Gus’s wedding to Meadowbrook garden designer, Amanda, had marked that occasion. But as they had bookings this year for those in search of romance, they were holding the party early during the first week of January. Not only was it quiet, but everyone involved with Meadowbrook would also welcome a party to fend off the post-Christmas and New Year blues. No one she knew did dry January, after all. Her brother Freddie said if you were going to pick a month to give up drinking, why pick the coldest, longest and most depressing? She had to admit he had a point.
