Twice in a Lifetime Read online

  It had always been Sally.

  “I love you, too, but I hope you know that.”

  Sally smiled, nodding her head. “I do.”

  Harriet squeezed her hand, her eyes filling with tears. Dammit, she didn’t mean to get emotional, but it was like Daniel had said: once she started talking about feelings, the floodgates were open. And she had to admit; being open with her emotions was kinda freeing. She wiped her eyes before continuing.

  “And you know, this collective is going to take off, I just know it. With me, you, Paula, and Taylor behind it, how can it fail?”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “I know I am,” Harriet said, bracing herself. She had been planning to build up to this question, but now they were here, it seemed as good a time as any.

  “And about you finding somewhere to live. I…” She paused, glancing out at the lake, before holding Sally’s gaze, locking it in. “I don’t want you to. And I know Paula offered to help you out, but I don’t want that either.”

  “You want me to turn down money? That’s not like you.”

  Harriet smiled: she deserved that. “Sally, we’ve been apart way more than we’ve been together in our lives, and from now on, I want us to be together, always. I have a three-bedroom apartment, and it’s big enough for you. And if you don’t want to live there permanently, we can move to somewhere else, somewhere we’ve both chosen.

  “But the point is, I want you to live with me. I want to wake up next to you every morning. I want to do all the ordinary things, like make toast, watch TV, read a newspaper with you by my side.”

  Harriet took in a lungful of air before continuing. “I should have asked you years ago. I should never have let you go. But now I’ve got you back, this is really important. So, will you move in with me?”

  Sally looked at her with so much love in her eyes, Harriet’s heart boomed. It took less than five seconds for a wide grin to break out on her face, and for her to nod her head, her eyes getting watery.

  Sally put down her glass, before taking Harriet’s from her fingers and wrapping her arms around her neck, Sally’s warmth enveloping her like the sun.

  “Of course I’ll move in with you — I just wasn’t sure if you’d think it was too soon.”

  Harriet let out a strangled laugh. “When it comes to us, nothing’s too soon, is it? We’ve got so much lost time to catch up on.”

  Sally nodded. “We really do,” she said. “Starting now?”

  Harriet nodded. “Starting right now,” she said, placing a kiss on Sally’s lips.

  THE END

  If you’ve enjoyed this book and want to read more, you can download a FREE lesbian romance It Had To Be You by going to: www.clarelydon.co.uk/it-had-to-be-you

  A Note From Clare

  I hope you enjoyed reading the story of Harriet and Sally — I know I enjoyed writing it. I did toy with the idea of calling it When Harriet Met Sally, but was told that was naff. I still kinda like it, but not as much as Twice In A Lifetime! I never had the luck of meeting my soulmate at age 17 — I had to wait till I was 33 for that to happen — but I hope the story resonated whatever age you met yours. And if you’re still waiting, I hope it gave you hope that day will come!

  If you have a moment, I’d also really appreciate an honest review on the site you bought it on. Reviews are hugely important as they encourage new readers to take a chance on me — if my book’s got some reviews, they’re far more likely to give me a try. So if you’d like more books from me, please take a moment to leave your thoughts. And it doesn’t have to be a novel — even a few lines makes a difference and every review means so much!

  If you fancy getting in touch, you can do so using one of the methods below — I’m most active on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

  Twitter: @ClareLydon

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/clare.lydon

  Instagram: @clarefic

  Find out more at: www.clarelydon.co.uk

  Contact: [email protected]

  Thank you so much for reading!

  Also By Clare Lydon

  London Romance Novels

  London Calling

  This London Love

  A Girl Called London

  Other Novels

  The Long Weekend

  Nothing To Lose: A Lesbian Romance

  All I Want Series

  All I Want For Christmas (Book 1)

  All I Want For Valentine’s (Book 2)

  All I Want For Spring (Book 3)

  All I Want For Summer (Book 4)

  All I Want For Autumn (Book 5)

  All I Want Forever (Book 6)

  Boxsets

  All I Want Series Boxset, Books 1-3

  All I Want Series Boxset, Books 4-6

  All I Want Series Boxset, Books 1-6

  Discover Clare’s books on Amazon UK

  Discover Clare’s books on Amazon US

  Acknowledgements

  There are a ton of people to thank for getting this book out the door!

  First, thanks to Richard Evans for graciously letting us stay in his lovely apartment overlooking Lake Michigan for a week — seven days in which the inspiration for this book was born. I fell in love with Chicago then and I hope to go back soon! Thanks also to Anna Hodapp for being on the end of emails to answer all my queries about Chicago chocolate brands and department stores. Finally, thanks to Jason Hill for his Lake Paw Paw inspiration and information — that was a well-timed weekend away, Jason!

  Many thanks to my early-reading team for sweeping your eyes over this one and catching all the typos before they skidded through — you’re the best. Particular thanks to my super-early reader Iris Faulkner, along with my US Authenticity team who made this book an American all-star, especially Diana Augustoni and Katie O’Neil.

  Huge thanks to my cover designer Rachel Lawston for making this a standout success; thanks to my story editor Laura Kingsley for telling me what to fix; and to Gabriella West for her copy help. Also, a tip of the hat to my typesetter Adrian McLaughlin for his silky skills with words and pages.

  As always, huge props to my wife Yvonne for reading this late at night and giving it the thumbs-up — she really is the best.

  And last but not least, thanks to you for reading and supporting. I get to call myself a writer because you bought this book, and that means more than you’ll ever know. Now, go and buy copies for all your friends, too!