There’d been one evening, a few months ago now, when Robyn had seemed edgy, unable to sit still. She kept getting up to fetch more wine, open bags of crisps, check her phone. ‘D’you want to tell us what’s going on?’ Bella had asked impatiently.
Robyn had cleared her throat, pressed her hands at her sides as if she were about to deliver a school presentation. ‘Fen and I are engaged.’
Bella had waited a beat, employing the technique her counsellor recommended of simply taking a breath or two before speaking. Eventually she’d smiled. ‘I’m really happy for you.’ She said those words and, as she did, she realised she meant them. She was happy.
As they’d raised their glasses to toast the wedding to come, Bella had to say it, didn’t she?
‘Shall I organise the hen weekend?’
Author’s Note
Over the past few years, I’ve been lucky enough to visit several Greek islands, which have shaped and influenced this novel. However, I chose to set One of the Girls on the fictional island of Aegos, because I wanted the hens to have full artistic licence to explore a setting that arises from imagination.
Acknowledgements
Firstly, thank you to Charlotte Brabbin and Kim Young, who are everything I could want in an editor and publisher. I am so grateful for your creativity and thoughtfulness, your passionate vision for my books, and your smart editorial input. I am incredibly lucky to work with a team of talented people at HarperCollins, including Jaime Frost and Alice Hill in Publicity; Hannah O’Brien, Maddy Marshall, Katy Blott, and Jeannelle Brew in Marketing; Sarah Munro and Izzy Coburn in UK Sales; Alice Gomer in International Sales; and Claire Ward in Cover Design. I’m so thankful for everything you do for me and my books.
Thank you to my beloved agent, Judith Murray at Greene & Heaton, who heard the idea for One of the Girls when it was no more than a one-line pitch and said, ‘Yes! That one! It’s given me goosebumps!’ Your instincts are as sound as the great care you take of each of your authors. Thank you also to the brilliant Kate Rizzo for handling my international rights, and to Sally Oliver for her continued support.
Thank you to my US agent, Grainne Fox at Fletcher & Co, who has found me my dream publishing home in the US at Putnam Books. Danielle Dietrich and Sally Kim, your vision for One of the Girls has blown me away and I’m so excited to see where this journey leads.
Thank you to Hannah Turner for the laughter-filled video call about your role as a BSL interpreter; thank you to Alex Hixson for the saves on the professional dancing front; thank you to Sandra Gamper for her medical expertise discussed while sitting two-metres apart on a sunny spring morning.
Thank you to all the people who have read early drafts of this novel, including Faye Buchan, Laura Crossley, Becki Hunter, Heidi Perks, Emma Stonex and of course, my first reader: my mum!
Thank you to the booksellers, librarians, bloggers, and readers who champion my novels, cheer me along via social media, and press my books into the hands of people they hope will enjoy them, too. It means so much and is at the heart of why I keep writing.
Thank you to Mimi Hall. This book is dedicated to you because you’ve lived every step of this novel alongside me. Your daily voice notes （limos!） bring so much joy and richness to my writing life. I love journeying across the page together.
Thank you to my parents, brother, in-laws, and friends for your ongoing support in all the forms it takes, whether that’s reading manuscripts, helping with the children, rearranging the shelves in every bookstore you visit（！）， or riding the highs and the lows alongside me.
Thank you, finally, to James, Tommy and Darcy for making this life bright and beautiful and wild.
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