‘Let’s go to the ridge,’ I prompt Josie, bumping her arm.
Soon afterwards we’re in a shiny, dark, hollowed-out, frozen tunnel and, as I breathe in the cold air, I hear the familiar scritch-scratch of crampons on boots digging into densely packed snow. In the oddest way, I feel like I’ve come home.
There are three climbers ahead, preparing to set off down the ridge, and as they make their way through the gate, I move out of the ice cave and into the light. I watch as they set off down the narrow snow track, tethered together by rope.
‘Freaking nutters,’ Josie says under her breath, casting me a look. ‘And you’re a nutter as well.’
I smile a small smile. ‘It feels like a long time since I did that.’
‘You don’t really go climbing much these days,’ she observes.
‘Hardly ever,’ I reply quietly.
‘Do you miss—’
‘Yes,’ I interrupt, then smile at her properly. ‘I need to get my act together.’
She smiles back at me. ‘Plenty of time for that. What do you reckon, lunch?’
‘Good plan.’
Acknowledgements
The first person I want to thank is YOU! I truly believe I have some of the loveliest, most passionate readers in the world, so thank you to anyone who’s shared my books with their friends or taken the time to let me know what they think of my stories on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. (Find me under PaigeToonAuthor if you haven’t already.)
There are so many fantastic people working behind the scenes at Simon & Schuster, but I’ve got to know the following well, so heartfelt thanks to my wonderful editor of eleven years, Suzanne Baboneau, her awesome wing-woman, Emma Capron, and also the brilliant Jessica Barratt, Dawn Burnett, Sara-Jade Virtue, Jo Dickinson, Dominic Brendon, Joe Roche, Sally Wilks, Laura Hough, Rumana Haider, Richard Vlietstra, Louise Blakemore, and last but not least, Pip Watkins, for yet another beautiful cover design.
Thank you also to the team at David Higham and my agent, Lizzy Kremer, for her spot-on suggestions and advice.
Thank you to my friend and fellow author Ali Harris, who has always been a great sounding board for my books (in fact, I came up with the ghost writing element of this story when Ali and I were on our way to an event and another car almost crashed into us. I was writing The Sun in Her Eyes and approaching a particularly juicy scene, and thought, if anything happened to me and S&S brought in a ghost writer, I’d come back and haunt them until they got my story exactly right! Anyway, this book comes minus the ghosts – I think I’ll leave supernatural thrillers to others, for the time being. . .)
Thank you also to my lovely friends Jane Hampton and Katherine Reid for their proof reading and suggestions – your help is always deeply appreciated.
The Last Piece of My Heart is set mainly in Cornwall and Thailand, and a tiny bit in Ireland, and many of the scenes and locations are inspired by actual events.
Heartfelt thanks to our good friends, Georgie, Lewis, Betty and Wilf Barnes for our amazing Cornish camping holiday (Hermie is actually real, FYI – I penned part of this story sitting in him down the back of our garden).
And thank you to my parents, Jen and Vern Schuppan, and Kerrin, Miranda and Ripley Schuppan. I had one of the best holidays of my life at the Rayavadee Resort in Thailand, and it made me smile when my editor suggested it all sounded a little too perfect. Honestly, it was.
Thank you also to Clodagh Quinn and her family for inspiring some of the Ireland-set scenes. Such a beautiful country.
I’d also like to give a special mention to the real-life music man, Jeremy, who is not based in Padstow, but North London. The memories I have of taking my kids to his music sessions are priceless (check out Jeremy’s Music Session on Facebook if you’re local to the area).
Thank you to my husband, Greg Toon, who never lets me gush about him in my acknowledgements anywhere near as much as I’d like to. He is incredibly (controlling – ha!) supportive and creative and I am grateful to him in countless ways.
And finally, thank you to my children, Indy and Idha, who will one day read this story and realise just how much of it they inspired. I love you so much and couldn’t do any of this without you.
(Please remember though, when you are old enough to read this book, it wasn’t Mum swearing, it was Bridget.)
Also by Paige Toon
Lucy in the Sky
Johnny Be Good
Chasing Daisy
Pictures of Lily
Baby Be Mine
One Perfect Summer
One Perfect Christmas (eBook short story)
The Longest Holiday
Johnny’s Girl (eBook short story)
Thirteen Weddings
The Sun in Her Eyes
The One We Fell in Love With
Young Adult
The Accidental Life of Jessie Jefferson
I Knew You Were Trouble
All About the Hype
First published in Great Britain by Simon & Schuster UK Ltd, 2017
A CBS COMPANY
Copyright © Paige Toon Limited, 2017
This book is copyright under the Berne Convention.
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4711-6255-8
eBook ISBN: 978-1-4711-6257-2
Export Paperback: 978-1-4711-6302-9
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Paige Toon, The Last Piece of My Heart
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