Eve Devon - The Wedding Planner

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First published in Great Britain by Harper Impulse 2019

Copyright © Eve Devon 2019

Cover design © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2019

Cover images © Shutterstock.com

Eve Devon 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 © May 2019 ISBN: 9780008306724

Version: 2019-04-12

For Mum and all the other stars that shine so brightly in the sky.

‘When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.’

– Viktor E. Frankl

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Epigraph

Cast of Whispers Wood Characters

Chapter 1: Angry Bird Going Cold Turkey

Chapter 2: Fortuna Favours The Brave

Chapter 3: The ‘F’ Word

Chapter 4: Popping the Question

Chapter 5: Village of the Damned

Chapter 6: Treading on Toes, Financial Woes and Post-Divorce Goals

Chapter 7: Show Me The Way To Armadillo

Chapter 8: The Cow, The Bitch and the Wardrobe Choice

Chapter 9: Wedding Favours

Chapter 10: Peace Talks

Chapter 11: Close Encounters With Kitchen Counters

Chapter 12: Debate Team

Chapter 13: Chapel of Love

Chapter 14: 8 Mile Road

Chapter 15: All’s (Wedding) Fair in Love and War

Chapter 16: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Chapter 17: Ooga Chaka

Chapter 18: Out, Out, You Demons of Desperation

Chapter 19: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Chapter 20: And if One Rosé Bottle Should Accidentally Fall …

Chapter 21: Marriage is a Lot Like Marmite

Chapter 22: A Hug a Day Keeps the Attraction at Bay

Chapter 23: Ladies Who Lunch

Chapter 24: Never Work With Animals

Chapter 25: Holding Court

Chapter 26: A Riddle, Wrapped Inside a Mystery, In An Enigma

Chapter 27: Driving Miss Emma, Miss Juliet and Miss Kate

Chapter 28: Adult Education

Chapter 29: Poker Face

Chapter 30: Flower Power

Chapter 31: Drawn Together

Chapter 32: The Edge of Glori-a

Chapter 33: Carpool Crying

Chapter 34: The Birds and The Bees

Chapter 35: A River Runs Through It

Chapter 36: Don’t Look Back In Angler

Chapter 37: The Lady Isn’t For Melting

Chapter 38: A Spoonful of Sugar Helps the Medicine Go Down

Chapter 39: Model Behaviour

Chapter 40: Sliding Doors

Chapter 41: Oktoberfest

Chapter 42: Measuring Up

Chapter 43: Marvellous Night For A Romance

Chapter 44: Crafty Conundrums

Chapter 45: Lovesick

Chapter 46: Heart-shaped and Pear-Shaped

Chapter 47: It’s a Nice Day For a Themed Wedding

Chapter 48: A Good Walk Ruined

Chapter 49: The Other Vows

Dear Reader …

Acknowledgements

About Harper Impulse

About the Publisher

Welcome to the village of Whispers Wood, home of rom-com magic …

The Whispers Wood series can be read in any order, but here’s the skinny on key residents.

KATE SOMERSBY – Resourceful, impulsive, and with much to prove to the village of Whispers Wood, she swapped travelling the world for resurrecting an old dream – that of opening up a business in the clock house on the village green. Now owns the day spa, Beauty @ The Clock House.

JULIET BROWN – Lover of all things craft and vintage, super-chic hairdresser and owner of the new hair salon, Hair @ The Clock House.

EMMA DANES – Jane Austen-loving, matchmaking mixologist moved all the way from Hollywood to Whispers Wood to run the tea room/bar in the clock house, Cocktails & Chai.

DANIEL WESTLAKE – Former accountant moved to Whispers Wood for a fresh start. Owner of the co-office working space, Hive @ The Clock House. Whispers Wood gossip inferred he was the stunt-double for a certain superhero but he’s better known as: The Newcomer.

OSCAR MATTHEWS – Widowed with a daughter, he looks after the bees at the clock house and has recently found love again. Can he fix it … yes he can … because, wearing his tool-belt with aplomb, he also runs his own construction company.

JAKE KNIGHTLEY – Award-winning garden designer, runs his ancestral home, Knightley Hall, located on the edge of the village. Known for his brooding manner and Poldarklicious locks.

GLORIA PAVEY– Single mum. Works at Cocktails & Chai. Frequently turns her ‘sarcasmometer’ up to eleven. Allergic to weddings and impervious to romance … or is she?

SETH KNIGHTLEY– The youngest of the six Knightleys, back living at the Hall with his brother, Jake. His dimples, dancing eyes and gift of the gab gave him the moniker, Salesman Seth, but now he’s determined to prove he’s more substance than sales spiel.

OLD MAN ISAAC – Retired clock maker, previous owner of The Clock House and Whispers Wood’s very own Yoda (because of his age and wisdom, rather than being green and short).

CRISPIN HARLOW – Head of the Residents’ Association, and putting the ‘e’ in pedantic, one village meeting at a time.

SHEILA SOMERSBY – Kate Somersby’s mum, owner of Whisper Wood’s B&B and a demon baker (Note: not an actual demon, this is not that genre).

CHERYL BROWN – Juliet Brown’s mum and retired hairdresser. Known for her prize-winning dahlias.

TRUDIE McTRAVERS – Head of Whispers Wood’s Am-Dram Society, flies very much above the radar with her clashing Lycra and larger-than-life personality.

TUPPENCE McTRAVERS – Daughter of Trudie and Nigel McTravers. Florist, intriguingly referred to as: The Herbalist of Horsham …

MELODY MATTHEWS – Oscar and Bea Matthews’ daughter, her two besties are Persephone Pavey and whichever book she’s reading that week.

PERSEPHONE PAVEY – Gloria and Bob Pavey’s daughter, now planning on plié-ing her way through school.

GERTRUDE – Cow, as in bovine! Prefers chewing the cud with humans over her own herd and is happiest being the village’s nosiest resident.

BEA’s BEES – The honeybees housed in the hives at the clock house. Best known for producing the honey that goes into the copious honey martinis drunk at the clock house.

THE CLOCK HOUSE CHANDELIER – according to Whispers Wood folklore, it has magical properties … Fact!