Nothing New for Sophie Drew: a heart-warming romantic comedy - Katey Lovell (best english novels for beginners .txt) 📗

nothing compared to the feeling when I wasn’t with him though. That was the worst of all, and I’d find myself reaching for my phone to share a joke I knew he’d find amusing or tell him a song we both loved was on the radio.

In the past, Eve had been my first port of call when I had news to share, knowing she’d gladly listen to me going on about whatever was causing me heartache or hurt, but the support Max had shown me had been so sincere, so wholehearted, that he’d become my default contact when I was wobbly; and there’d been quite a bit to wobble about. My nieces (recent scans confirming the gender, which my brother and his wife hadn’t originally wanted to know) were both still growing, but the doctors had confirmed Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome, which could lead to the girls needing to be delivered before their October due date. We were quietly hoping things would stay stable enough for them to stay in utero until at least thirty-five weeks, but the specialists were also realists, telling us to prepare for all eventualities.

I’d not seen Eve in a while. The last time I’d spoken to her she’d had concerns of her own, with her mum taking a turn for the worse and wandering out of the care home and onto the busy main road. Tawna had been in touch, and I’d asked her if she’d seen Darius, but he was remaining very elusive, not visiting the house as he normally did. I hadn’t mentioned to Tawna how Darius had been bragging about how he could get back with me if he wanted to. It would only cause her to worry about tensions riding high on her wedding day, plus I hadn’t seen her because she was spending all her free time at the gym, doing torturous classes to get wedding-ready.

My own long summer nights had been spent crafting. With Max’s encouragement I’d not been able to shake the idea of starting up a small business out of my system. I wasn’t deluded enough to believe it could ever be my main source of income, but the pleasure I got from creating meant any money made would be a bonus. I’d slowly but surely built up my stock and had set up an Etsy page. I’d even made plans to rent a table at some of the local Christmas fayres that year. There were always loads of them in church halls and schools and people love Christmas decorations. Glittery stars, crocheted angels… I was already full of ideas.

As I approached the charity shop, squinting into the sun as it started to dip in the powder-blue sky, nervous butterflies fluttered in my stomach. I was meeting Max’s family – the whole clan – for the first time. He’d assured me they’d love me, but knowing how much his family meant to him made their approval all the more important.

Max was standing outside waiting for me, one foot casually tapping against the brick wall he was leaning against. Seeing him there calmed my nerves.

“How are you doing?” He took my hand in his, giving it a firm squeeze.

“Oh, you know. Pretty petrified about meeting the whole Oakley family.”

“You have nothing to worry about,” he promised, giving my hand another pulse of reassurance. “Grant and Chris thought you were lovely, and the rest will too. They’re all very laid back and really friendly, I promise. I can’t guarantee Dylan won’t fire questions at you though.”

“Nothing quite like being grilled by a child.”

“Piers Morgan has nothing on him. He’s so damn nosy.”

I pulled a face that probably doubled as a frown. “Oh no. What’s he going to ask me? I’m not used to being around kids that age. Noah doesn’t say much at all yet, only a few odd words.”

“Nothing too probing, don’t panic. More ‘what’s your favourite colour?’ and ‘who’s your favourite Pokémon?’ than politics or the economy.”

“Phew. I think I can manage that. Although the Pokémon one might have to be Pikachu by default. I don’t know any others.”

“You will by the end of the night, I can assure you. Dylan’s obsessed. He’ll have his cards and sticker book out ready to show you. You’re his idea of a dream, the rest of us have heard it all so many times that we’re nodding blankly whenever he starts talking about it.”

“Well, I’ll be the perfect audience for him, even if I do have to fake it a bit.”

“You might end up loving it. There are adults obsessed with Pokémon. I’m not one of them though,” he clarified, pointing his key towards the car and setting the headlights flashing with one press of the button.

“Maybe,” I gamely replied, opening the door and buckling myself in.

I’d already made my mind up that if it all got to be too much I’d hide in a corner with Dylan and learn all there was to know about Pokémon. His questions, however incessant, were likely to be easier to answer than anything the adults would ask.

Max’s parents’ house was as I remembered it from the day of Fred’s funeral – large and smart and set back from the road. The short driveway leading up to the double-fronted house looked like a car park, there were that many vehicles on it. The front garden was beautifully in bloom – someone with green fingers must have been tackling it – and as I got out of the car I heard laughter coming from the back of the house.

“Sounds like everyone else is here,” Max said cheerily. “Ready to meet them?”

“Ready.” I smiled bravely. I wasn’t normally one of those people who got nervous walking into a room but I wanted this over and done with.

We followed a path around the outside of the house until we came to a tall wooden gate. Max reached over to undo the latch and the scene that greeted us looked like it belonged in an advert. Wisps