Miracle On 5th Avenue (From Manhattan with Love 3)

“For turning my back on what you offered so generously.” He stroked her hair back from her face with gentle hands. “When you told me you loved me—I was terrified. Terrified of hurting you, terrified of being hurt myself—”

“I understand.” The cold slid under her coat but she didn’t notice.

“I’d been living in the dark for three years and then you showed up, with your full wattage smile and your sunbeam personality, and you shone a light on all the dark corners of my life. My whole life changed that night. You changed it. You made me want to be in love again. Damn it, you could make me believe in fairy tales.” He took her face in his powerful hands and lowered his mouth to hers.

She kissed him, her arms locked around his neck. “You’re going to make me cry.”

“I thought you were a dreamer. I thought what you wanted didn’t exist, and I carried on thinking that right up until the moment you walked away from me. That was the point when I realized I wanted to be part of your dreams. I want to share my life with you, all of it, the good, the bad, the terrifying and the exciting. I love you, Eva.” He whispered the words against her lips. “You are the kindest, sweetest, strongest person I’ve ever met and I can’t believe you’re mine.”

Her heart was so full she could hardly speak. “I love you, too. So much.”

Snow started to fall, dusting her hair and her coat like confetti and he brushed it away and took her hand. “Let’s get inside.”

They arrived at his apartment and she paused as she looked around the now-familiar space, so happy she could hardly breathe. “I should call my friends and tell them.”

“They know. How else do you think I managed to persuade them to help me? They refused to put you in a cab and send you uptown until I assured them I was going to give you the happy-ever-after you deserve. They’re very protective.”

“So they knew before I did?” Without letting go of the book in her hand, Eva toed off her boots and shrugged off her coat.

“Not the detail. Just that I love you. And Frankie made some pretty gruesome threats that I most definitely intend to use in a book at some point. That girl has a warped mind.”

“You have a lot in common.” She closed her fingers around the lapels of his coat. “I thought you loved me, but you were so determined to push me away—”

“My relationship with Sallyanne was volatile and unpredictable. Sometimes it was exhilarating, but mostly it was exhausting. I assumed that was the way love was, and then I met you and you taught me something different.” He brushed the backs of his fingers over the soft curve of her cheek. “You taught me that love didn’t have to feel like a battle, or like finding your way through a maze in the dark.”

“I know you loved her, Lucas. I would never want you to pretend that you didn’t.”

“I did love her, but what you and I share is different, I won’t lie about that. So different that to begin with I didn’t even recognize it. I thought love was this dark, complicated thing and then you came into my life with your sunshine and optimism. I didn’t know love could be that simple and easy. You wanted a dream and I thought there was no way I could live up to that dream. I couldn’t stand the thought of another relationship crumbling around me. But then I realized what it would mean not to have you in my life. If you’ll have me, I promise to spend every day for the rest of my life living up to your dreams.”

Her eyes filled. “Dreams aren’t real, and I want what’s real. I want you. The real you. Not better, or different. I can’t believe you wrote a book where the characters live.” She was still clutching the book and he gently removed it from her grip.

“We should get rid of this. It needs some serious editing.”

“No.” She took it back from him. “I want to keep it, just as it is. It’s the best gift ever, and it’s all mine.” “You haven’t read the ending.”

“Do they both live?”

He gave a slow smile. “Yes.”

“That’s all I need to know, although I hope their happy-ever-after includes plenty of hot sex. And about the part when he blindfolds her—” She narrowed her eyes. “Maybe we could move that scene to the bedroom.”

His eyes gleamed. “That’s not a bad idea. Turns out you’re a pretty good editor.”

“I think so.” She stood on tiptoe and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Of course it’s important to try these things, to see if they work in real life. What do you think?”

“I think that sounds like the perfect en

ding to me.” And he scooped her into his arms and carried her up the stairs.

* * * * *

Thank you

I write uplifting contemporary fiction where generally speaking no one dies on the page. Getting into the mind of my hero Lucas, who writes horror/crime, wasn’t easy for me and I want to thank author Graeme Cameron, who was generous with his time giving me insight into the mind of a crime writer. Graeme, your book Normal kept me awake all night and definitely contributed to a rise in my electricity bill because I had to sleep with the lights on. Lee Child described the book as “hypnotic and chilling,” and it’s a testament to your skill as a writer that you kept me reading despite the fact that “chilling” isn’t usually the first thing I look for in a story. You even managed to add quirky humor to a serial killer.

This year I was proud to be invited to be part of the Get In Character campaign run by the charity CLIC Sargent, who raise money to support children and young people with cancer. My thanks to Ann Cooper, who generously bid to name a character in this book. “Annie Cooper” is a nurse, and a warm, wonderful person just like you. I hope you like her! Also a big thank you to Laura Coutts, who bid for signed books from me as part of the same auction. Your generosity is much appreciated.

As ever, thank you to all my wonderful readers for choosing my books, and for all your kind messages.