Copyright

      AVON

      HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

      77–85 Fulham Palace Road

      Hammersmith, London W6 8JB

       www.harpercollins.co.uk

      Copyright © Miranda Dickinson 2012

      Miranda Dickinson asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

      A catalogue record 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 e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, 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.

      Source ISBN: 9781847562364

      Ebook Edition © November 2012 ISBN: 9780007478477

      Version: 2014-12-09

      As I write this, I am looking back at four extraordinary years of excitement, fun and lots of hard work. I would like to thank all the lovely team at Avon for everything they have done to make these the most exciting of my life so far: my fab editor Sammia Rafique, Caroline Ridding, Claire Bord, Rhian McKay and Jim Blades.

      Big thanks to my wonderful agent, Hannah Ferguson, for being one of the most positive people I know and for believing in the crazy stuff in my head (wombats included!) For crucial draft reading and confidence boosts, unending thanks to Kim Curran-Goodson. Thanks also to Kate Harrison for her expert Brighton knowledge and knowing her Laine from her Lanes.

      I love my tweethearts on Twitter who keep me going, make me giggle and occasionally make me cry. I would especially like to thank Trish Hills, Cressida McLaughlin, Gem Fletcher, Natalie Hewis, Kayla Staniland, Kath Eastman and Joanna Cannon for being wonderful friends and cheerleaders.

      As ever, real people have inspired parts of this novel. So thanks to the gorgeous Gemma Perkins for inspiring Elsie, Chris Armfield for inspiring Woody’s rock wisdom, and the lovely Cupcake Genie team in Crawley whose awesome shop and cupcakes inspired Sundae & Cher’s menu (www.cupcakegenie.co.uk). Thanks as ever to my fab Peppermint massive – watch out for your cameo!

      And finally, to my wonderful new husband Bob – thank you for being my unexpected future and for making everything sparkly again.

      Life can throw you spanners, curveballs, opportunities and surprises. This book is about going forward, regardless of what lies behind …