It Had To Be You – A Cracks Novella Read Online L.H. Cosway

Categories Genre: Contemporary, Novella Tags Authors: L.H. Cosway Advertisement1

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At twenty-seven, Yvonne Flynn never knew her eighteen year old neighbour had a secret crush on her. At least not until he kissed her one night and she had to let him down gently.

Now thirty-nine, that awkward boy has walked back into her life a man. And he’s certainly not the bookish, shy teenager she’d once known. Conor Abrahams is the thirty year old COO of a multi-million dollar company. Yvonne is happy to see he’s thriving but she has no clue that he still considers her the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen.

Despite the feelings bubbling between them, Yvonne convinces herself she’s not right for Conor. And Conor is more determined than ever to prove to her they’ve been perfect for each other all along.

It Had To Be You is a 33,000 word novella featuring characters from L.H. Cosway’s Cracks Duet.

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

“I came here tonight because when you realise you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”

- When Harry Met Sally.

For my readers who wanted more of Conor and Yvonne.

This is for you.

1.

Yvonne

It had been a long day at work. Strike that, it had been a long week.

First, two members of staff at the nightclub I managed called in sick. Then there was a mix up with a vodka order that left me with a migraine. Even worse, I had to deal with an impromptu health inspection, which did a number on my nerves waiting for the results. Thankfully, the club passed, but still, the entire thing wedged a ball of stress right in the pit of my stomach.

All this to say, I was looking forward to letting my hair down tonight with my niece, Evelyn, and her old friends, Dylan and Conor. By pure serendipity they all happened to be living in New York at the same time, with Evelyn coming to stay with me a little over two months ago.

I’d known both boys when I was in my twenties and acting as Ev’s guardian. Now I was thirty-nine and I couldn’t tell you where the years had gone. Seriously, they’d flown by in a blur.

Since I’d already caught up with Dylan, who was now a successful perfume designer and certainly no longer a teenager, I was interested to see how Conor was doing these days.

He’d been such a clever, earnest lad. Completely adorable and sweet. I remembered his crush on me, one I’d been unaware of until he’d gotten drunk on his nineteenth birthday and tried to kiss me. At the time I’d been shocked and taken off guard. I’d always imagined Evelyn’s friends saw me as a mother figure, especially since I was almost a decade their senior. I’d been flattered, of course, but I had to let the boy down gently. I had my ambitions to focus on, and besides, I hadn’t needed everyone in St. Mary’s Villas gossiping about Yvonne Flynn going out with a teenager.

Not that the thought struck my mind. Conor was adorable but far too young for me.

Anyway, I was certain he and I would be able to laugh about his silly teenage crush now that eleven years had passed. He’d be a man now, probably with a wife and children of his own. It warmed my heart to think it, because if he was anything like the sweet, goofy boy I’d known in the Villas then he deserved a happy life.

I, sadly, had never excelled at relationships. I’d had a few boyfriends since moving to New York but none of them lasted longer than six months. It was my own fault, really. I was married to my work and whoever was with me tended to come second. I knew it wasn’t a healthy way to be, and I’d tried to change but…well change was hard. Especially since I thrived on keeping busy. Some people might call me a workaholic.

And those people would be correct.

I had to be one though. I’d started with very little when I moved to New York, renting a small apartment in Queens and working as a barmaid until I eventually started doing some managerial courses at night. I slowly moved my way up the ladder to eventually get hired at my current position. I was proud to be the manager of FEST, which was one of the most popular clubs in Manhattan. The salary also afforded me to rent a slightly nicer two bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. At work I prided myself on running a tight ship, and there was nothing more satisfying than doing my job well and having the respect of my staff and customers.

I’d even been able to hire Ev to work the bar, since she needed a job when she arrived. It felt good to be able to help her find her feet, especially since she’d given up the better part of the last ten years to care for my ailing mother back home. If it weren’t for Ev, I would’ve been stuck in Dublin caring for Mam. I never would’ve gotten to fulfil my dreams of emigrating.

I’d always be grateful to her for that, which was why I was perfectly happy for her to live with me rent free for as long as she needed.

As soon as I got home I ran myself a bath, poured a glass of wine then enjoyed a long soak before climbing out to get ready. With a little encouragement from Ev, I decided to wear my red dress, the tight fitting one that made my arse look great and always gave me an extra pep in my step.

I was just finished curling my shoulder length blonde hair into soft waves when the buzzer to the apartment went. I hurried over and picked up the receiver.


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