The Friends We Keep

The Friends We Keep
Susan Mallery

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR‘Warm, witty and romantic. The perfect feel-good read’ – Sarah Morgan on You Say It FirstGabby is more than ready to return to work after her stint as a stay at home mum. But when her plans are derailed, she must find the strength to fight for a life of her own.Hayley is desperate to become a mother. With the costs of fertility treatments mounting up and the strain on her marriage beginning to show, she must ask herself if it is worth risking everything to fulfil her dream.Nicole is ready to move on after her divorce. But when the perfect man appears in her life can she trust herself to recognise true love?As their bonds of friendship deepen, Gabby, Hayley and Nicole will have to rely on each other to navigate life’s toughest challenges.Praise for Susan Mallery:‘Susan Mallery never disappoints…. She is at her storytelling best.’ -Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author‘Heartfelt, funny, and utterly charming all the way through!’ Susan Elizabeth Phillips‘Mallery returns to Mischief Bay with another set of friends dealing with dramatic yet relatable turmoil, which she treats with compassion, discernment, and subtlety’ Kirkus Reviews on The Friends We Keep‘An engaging read to be savoured all the way through.’ Publishers Weekly on The Friends We Keep‘ highly original and fascinating page-turner you may lose sleep over. Mallery brings our inner lives to the surface and evokes deep emotions from her readers. You will fall in love with the girls of Mischief Bay.’ -RT Book Reviews on The Friends We Keep‘Mallery, a best-selling romance writer, can write a believable love story. But what makes this story remarkable is how strong and relatable the friendship between the characters is. This is a welcome return to Mischief Bay.’ -Booklist  on The Friends We Keep‘Once again, Susan Mallery has created an inviting world that envelops her readers' senses and sensibilities… Fans of Jodi Picoult, Debbie Macomber, and Elin Hilderbrand will assuredly fall for The Girls of Mischief Bay.’ -Bookreporter‘Fresh and engaging…the writing is strong, the dialogue genuine and believable. There's a generational subtext that mirrors reality and the complexities of adult relationships…filled with promise of a new serial that's worth following.’ -Fort Worth Star-Telegram on The Girls of Mischief BayPerfect for fans of Debbie Macomber, and Jennifer Joyce, the second instalment of Susan Mallery’s Mischief Bay series will move you to laughter, tears, and an appreciation of the enduring power of friendship.

In this insightful and compelling story from book club favorite Susan Mallery, three close friends test the boundaries of how much a woman can give before she has nothing left

After five years as a stay-at-home mom, Gabby Schaefer can’t wait to return to work. Oh, to use the bathroom in peace! No twins clamoring at the door, no husband barging in, no stepdaughter throwing a tantrum. But when her plans are derailed by some shocking news and her husband’s crushing expectations, Gabby must fight for the right to have a life of her own.

Getting pregnant is easy for Hayley Batchelor. Staying pregnant is the hard part. Her husband is worried about the expensive fertility treatments and frantic about the threat to her health. But to Hayley, a woman who was born to be a mom should risk everything to fulfill her destiny—no matter how high the cost.

Nicole Lord is still shell-shocked by a divorce that wasn’t as painful as it should’ve been. Other than the son they share, her ex-husband left barely a ripple in her life. A great new guy tempts her to believe maybe the second time’s the charm…but how can she trust herself to recognize true love?

As their bonds of friendship deepen against the beautiful backdrop of Mischief Bay, Gabby, Hayley and Nicole will rely on good food, good wine and especially each other to navigate life’s toughest changes.

The Friends We Keep

Susan Mallery

THE FRIENDS WE KEEP

© 2016 Susan Mallery

Published in Great Britain 2016

by HQ Digital, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, 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 publisher..

HQ Digital is a registered trademark of Harlequin Enterprises Limited, used under licence.

ISBN: 978-1-474-04939-9

Version: 2018-01-17

To Marla—May we always be the friends we keep. xoxo

Contents

Cover (#u766f8c02-97af-51e6-87c9-73beafb785da)

Back Cover Text (#u79354c56-9ad7-5500-9fa5-610a8aa3639b)

Title Page (#ub0300127-5154-5f78-ae18-3e199aee8c76)

Copyright (#u2650f888-24a9-5557-b6a0-42c8c084d8ea)

Dedication (#u7951095f-393c-5d77-a38c-1972aaa8a494)

Chapter One (#ulink_7f5cf7e2-36cd-54d8-a75a-6ebcf46e0abb)

Chapter Two (#ulink_7935167e-d8fa-5e8d-b905-2de4a512f3f4)

Chapter Three (#ulink_004c6eaa-f67c-5e48-a65a-0368456aa1be)

Chapter Four (#ulink_bb4eede0-fdc9-5a68-860f-fd56f5560188)

Chapter Five (#ulink_e8d362f2-ce19-5a0c-af6f-ef2a27fee25d)

Chapter Six (#ulink_fc2767bb-b3e0-5bba-9cf6-06346fc8e698)

Chapter Seven (#ulink_6240c826-38ca-59ad-a837-5d8a387269f9)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-One (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Two (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Three (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Four (#litres_trial_promo)