Nothing will ever be the same again…
Evie Grant has spent two years hidden away in a quiet French village, longing to escape her beautiful villa with its blue-shuttered windows. Maybe this summer, the father of her child will keep his broken promises and return to whisk her away to another life. One way or another, Evie’s determined to stop feeling like his dirty little secret…
Yet when a mysterious stranger almost knocks Evie off her bicycle early one morning, her world begins to change in ways she never expected. Embarking on a painful journey of self-discovery, Evie begins to face her darkest fears and rebuild her fragile dreams. But can she ever truly break free from her gilded cage and learn to love again?
Escape to the south of France with One Moment at Sunrise, an irresistibly compelling new story from Karen Aldous – the only book you’ll need this summer!
The Vineyard
The Chateau
The Riviera
One Moment at Sunrise
Karen Aldous
HQ
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2016
Copyright © Karen Aldous 2016
Karen Aldous 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.
E-book Edition © April 2016 ISBN: 9781474049634
Version date: 2018-09-19
KAREN ALDOUS
enjoys village life on the edge of the North Downs in Kent with easy access to the buzz of London. Not only does she love the passive pleasures of reading and writing but also craves the more active pursuits of walking, cycling and skiing – especially when they involve family, friends, food… and wine!
Much of Karen’s inspiration comes from her travels. The UK, France, Switzerland and the USA are just some of the places you’ll be transported to in her books, but wherever she goes, new characters invite themselves into ‘Karen’s World’ screaming at her to tell their stories; strong independent women who are capable of directing their own lives – but struggle to control them… especially when temptation strikes!
As a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and The Write Place, Karen feels she owes so much of her success to the love and support of her fellow writers.
You can follow Karen on Twitter at: @KarenAldous_
From a few simple words on the internet, the obsession grew to tell the French-Pyrenean peasant women’s story and how they became involved in Pierre-Paul Riquet’s vision for the beauty that is now the Canal du Midi. For all her meticulous research, I heartily thank Chandra Mukerji for her academic work Impossible Engineering; a theoretically significant study which provided such insight and knowledge so as to allow me to spread further recognition for the peasant women’s genius and involvement in such a monumental project.
For Mike and George Slee, a special mention and thanks for kindly taking time out to read and offer expertise. I’m just sorry you didn’t get the whisky before having to suffer that first draft.
And of course, to my lovely editor, Charlotte Mursell, and the team at HQ Digital, HarperCollins – a huge, huge thanks for all your patience and support.
With love Macy, Hayden, Spencer and Penelope
Contents
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19