THE PROMISE OF HAPPINESS. Erin Kaye

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      Copyright

      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.

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      THE PROMISE OF HAPPINESS. Copyright © Erin Kaye 2011. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable 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 ebooks

      Patricia Gibb asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

      HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication

      Source ISBN: 9781847562012

      Ebook Edition © JUNE 2011 ISBN: 9780007340415 Version: 2018-06-26

      To Mary Clare, my eldest sister

      Contents

       Title Page

      Copyright

      Chapter One

      ‘Nearly there, Oli!’ said Louise McNeill brightly to her three-year-old…

      Chapter Two

      With Joanne’s help it didn’t take Louise long to organise…

      Chapter Three

      Sian stood on the step at the back of Joanne’s…

      Chapter Four

      A week later and Louise surveyed the table in front…

      Chapter Five

      It was early, but the day was already hot and…

      Chapter Six

      Louise was looking forward to the night out with Joanne,…

      Chapter Seven

      Sian, who had been awake since dawn, stood looking out…

      Chapter Eight

      ‘Bye, Oli. Mummy’s going to work now,’ said Louise, standing…

      Chapter Nine

      ‘If you don’t hurry up, Holly, I’m going to be…

      Chapter Ten

      ‘So how are things with you, Gemma?’ said Joanne. She…

      Chapter Eleven

      Andy lay sprawled lifelessly on the sofa, in a T-shirt…

      Chapter Twelve

      ‘She says she doesn’t want to go out,’ said Sian’s…

      Chapter Thirteen

      Sian stood in the doorway to Louise’s small kitchen wearing…

      Chapter Fourteen

      On Sunday morning Joanne struggled into the kitchen with the…

      Chapter Fifteen

      The taxi dropped the girls off and Joanne ran out…

      Chapter Sixteen

      Sian stared out the shop window decorated with paper snowflakes…

      Chapter Seventeen

      ‘The nurse tells me you’ll get out tomorrow,’ said Andy…

      Chapter Eighteen

      Sian stood barefoot on the beach at Ballygally, the cool…

      Read on for an exclusive reading guide to Promise of Happiness

      Reading Group Questions

      Read on for an interview with Erin Kaye

      In Conversation with Erin Kaye

      About the Author

      Other Books by Erin Kaye

       About the Publisher

      Chapter One

      ‘Nearly there, Oli!’ said Louise McNeill brightly to her three-year-old son, Oliver James.

      Somewhere in the bowels of the ferry the engine growled and a shudder ran through the ship. Louise put her hand on her belly and her stomach lurched – though not with nausea. She’d spent her youth sailing on these waters – in the sheltered safety of Ballyfergus Lough or, sometimes, venturing out into the choppy waters of the Irish Sea – and not once had she been seasick. And she wasn’t pregnant. No, her nausea was caused by nerves. Louise took a deep breath, glanced at Oli and wondered – panicked suddenly – if she was doing the right thing by coming home.

      Oli, restless, banged the fleshy pads of his palms against the sloping window, leaving smudges on it. ‘Now, now,’ said Louise, fretting that he might pick up germs from the glass. Instinctively, she reached out and caught one of his hands in her own. Oli’s olive skin tone came from his father’s side – it certainly hadn’t been inherited from the pale, Celtic-skinned and fair-haired McNeills. She touched a dimple on the back of his hand with her thumb – he was losing his baby fat rapidly, moving on to another stage of development.

      Oli was a constant source of fascination to Louise – every new word was an achievement, every task accomplished a source of wonder. Each step along the long, slow road СКАЧАТЬ