Sophia Money-Coutts: The Wish List

‘So funny. And the sex is amazing!’

Jilly Cooper

‘Hilariously funny – I couldn’t put it down’

Beth O’Leary

‘As fun and fizzy as a chilled glass of Prosecco’

Daily Express

‘Fast and furious, funny and fresh’

Daily Mail

‘Howlingly funny’

The Sunday Times

‘I started reading this book on the 3.48 from Waterloo and by 4.15 I was crying with laughter. Brilliant’

Sarah Morgan

‘Wonderfully rude’

Red

‘Fizzy, fun and some seriously saucy shenanigans’

Mail on Sunday

‘Perfect for fans of Jilly Cooper and Bridget Jones’

HELLO!

‘Fizzes with joy’

Metro

‘Surprisingly saucy and distractingly funny’

Grazia

‘Hilarious and uplifting’

Woman & Home

‘Does it earn its place in your beach bag? Absolutely’

Evening Standard

‘Cheerful, saucy and fun’

Sunday Mirror

‘Sexy and funny’

Closer

‘A hilariously funny debut’

Woman

‘Fans of Bridget Jones will love this romcom’

Sunday Express S Magazine

‘A thoroughly modern love story’

Woman’s Weekly

‘This saucy read is great sun-lounger fodder’

Heat

‘The perfect book to escape with’

The Sun

‘Bridget Jones’s Diary as interpreted by Julian Fellowes…a classy read’

Observer

‘Marvellous…a juicy read to romp through’

i

SOPHIA MONEY-COUTTSis a journalist and author who spent five years studying the British aristocracy while working as Features Director at Tatler. Prior to that she worked as a writer and an editor for the Evening Standard and the Daily Mail in London, and The National in Abu Dhabi. She’s a columnist for the Sunday Telegraph and the Evening Standard and often appears on radio and television channels talking about important topics such as Prince Harry’s wedding and the etiquette of the threesome. The Wish List is her third novel.

The Plus One

What Happens Now?

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2020

Copyright © Sophia Money-Coutts 2020

Sophia Money-Coutts 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.

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, 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.

Ebook Edition © July 2020 ISBN: 9780008370558

Version 2020-07-15

This ebook contains the following accessibility features which, if supported by your device, can be accessed via your ereader/accessibility settings:

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Page numbers taken from the following print edition: ISBN 9780008370565

For Vix, my brave friend.

Cover

Praise

About the Author

Also by Sophia Money-Coutts

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Acknowledgements

Extract

Prologue

Chapter One

About the Publisher

‘Be careful what you wish for, you may receive it.’

THE SORT OF THING YOUR GRANDMOTHER SAID BUT, ACTUALLY, IT’S ANONYMOUS.

THE LIST

LIKES CATS.

INTERESTING JOB. NOT GOLF-PLAYING INSURANCE BORE LIKE HUGO.

BOTTOM AND SEXUAL ATHLETICISM OF JAMES BOND.

NICE MOTHER.

NO POINTY SHOES.

NO HAWAIIAN SHIRTS.

NO UMBRELLAS.

READS BOOKS. NOT JUST SPORTS BIOGRAPHIES.

NO REVOLTING BATHROOM HABITS. E.G. SKID MARKS.

AMBITIOUS.

ADVENTUROUS.

GOOD MANNERS. E.G. SAYS THANK YOU IF SOMEONE HOLDS THE DOOR OPEN FOR HIM.

ISN’T OBSESSED WITH INSTAGRAM OR HIS PHONE.

FUNNY.

ACTUALLY TEXTS ME BACK.

DOESN’T MIND ABOUT MY COUNTING.

‘TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT, ten …’ I muttered, taking the steps two at a time. Shit. Eleven steps. An odd number meant that dinner was going to be bad.