A devoted mother outrunning a troubled childhood and adapting to an empty nest is tested in ways she never expected in this suspenseful novel by #1 On the occasion of her daughter Valerie’s wedding and her upcoming fiftieth birthday, bestselling author Halley Holbrook finds herself reflecting. Raising twins Valerie and Olivia is her proudest accomplishment. Halley has been able to give them the loving and safe home she never had, having survived a childhood so traumatic she’s never talked about it with her girls. Long ago, Halley decided to live in the sunlight of the present, not the dark shadows of the past. After Valerie moves to Los Angeles with her producer husband and Olivia follows to be close to her sister, Halley is empty nesting in her Fifth Avenue apartment. Facing her first holiday alone in years, she books a trip to Paris. Flying over, she meets charming Bart Warner, and the two become fast friends. She hasn’t dated since her partner died three years ago, yet Halley quickly begins to feel more like herself.; But when a cunning thief makes off with her handbag, and then begins to harass her, it reawakens old ghosts from her past. Vowing not to be a victim, and, with Bart’s help, she chooses a bold course of action. The moving story of a woman determined to give her daughters what she never had--a mother’s love--Danielle Steel’s gripping novel is a story of emotional resilience and truly letting go.

Autorentext

Danielle Steel has been hailed as one of the world’s bestselling authors, with a billion copies of her novels sold. Her many international bestsellers include Never Too Late, Upside Down, The Ball at Versailles, Second Act, Happiness, Palazzo, The Wedding Planner, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina’s life and death; A Gift of Hope, a memoir of her work with the homeless; Expect a Miracle, a book of her favorite quotations for inspiration and comfort; Pure Joy, about the dogs she and her family have loved; and the children’s books Pretty Minnie in Paris and Pretty Minnie in Hollywood.

Zusammenfassung
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A devoted mother outrunning a troubled childhood and adapting to an empty nest is tested in ways she never expected in this suspenseful novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel.

On the occasion of her daughter Valerie’s wedding and her upcoming fiftieth birthday, bestselling author Halley Holbrook finds herself reflecting. Raising twins Valerie and Olivia is her proudest accomplishment. Halley has been able to give them the loving and safe home she never had, having survived a childhood so traumatic she’s never talked about it with her girls. Long ago, Halley decided to live in the sunlight of the present, not the dark shadows of the past.

After Valerie moves to Los Angeles with her producer husband, and Olivia follows to remain close to her sister, Halley is empty-nesting in her Fifth Avenue apartment. Facing her first holiday alone in years, she books a trip to Paris.

On the flight over, she meets charming Bart Warner, and the two become fast friends. Halley hasn’t dated since her partner died three years ago, yet she quickly begins to feel more like herself. But when a cunning thief makes off with her handbag and then begins to harass her, it reawakens old ghosts from her past. Vowing not to be a victim, and with Bart’s help, she chooses a bold course of action.

The moving story of a woman determined to give her daughters what she never had—a mother’s love—Danielle Steel’s gripping novel is a story of emotional resilience and truly letting go.

Leseprobe
Chapter 1

It was a beautiful early October day, the weather was warm, the leaves were starting to turn in a riot of color, and the wedding had gone perfectly. Halley Holbrook sat in a quiet corner of the peaceful terrace overlooking the exquisite garden of the Connecticut estate she had rented for her daughter Valerie’s wedding. The bridal couple had wanted a daytime wedding, with a morning ceremony, a celebratory lunch, and an afternoon of dancing. By six o’clock, the couple had left and the guests had said their goodbyes and thanks to Halley for a fabulous event, and she took a moment to sit quietly and think about what an unforgettable day it had been.

Valerie was a tall, fine-­featured blonde, twenty-­seven years old, and she had been dating Seth Parker for almost three years. They had met at the beginning of the pandemic, and had gotten close quickly, sheltering together in place several times. Valerie was an attorney at a firm that specialized in entertainment law, and Seth Parker was one of their major clients, the producer of a string of hit TV series. He was thirty-­nine years old, divorced, with no children, and had a massive, successful, all-­consuming career, which was convenient for Valerie, since she was in no rush to have children and start a family. She was much more interested in becoming a partner at the law firm where she worked. They had offices in Los Angeles and New York and she had been commuting between the two cities for the past two years, in order to be with Seth. She had just moved to L.A., a month before the wedding. Most of the two hundred and eighty-­five guests and wedding party had flown in from there, several of them on private planes.

Valerie’s identical twin sister, ­Olivia, had moved to Los Angeles at the same time Valerie did. She was an artist and could work anywhere, and she had just signed a contract with a reputable contemporary art gallery in L.A. to represent her. The girls had given up the New York apartment they shared in Tribeca when Valerie was in town, and ­Olivia had given up her studio in SoHo. They were making a clean break by going to the West Coast together, which was how they had done everything all their lives. They were inseparable, had gone to school together since nursery school, and had gone to Yale because of the excellent fine arts department for ­Olivia. When Valerie went on to Columbia Law School in New York, ­Olivia was back in the city working in her studio.

Halley lived in New York on Fifth Avenue in a beautiful big apartment, where she and her daughters had lived for nineteen years, since Halley’s first best-­selling novel. The twins had been eight when they moved there from a much smaller, more modest apartment on the Upper West Side, which had been all Halley could afford at the time. Their current apartment still felt like home to the twins. Halley lived there alone now, but the girls visited often, and spent weekends with their mother occasionally. When they did, the three of them always had fun together.

It was going to change Halley’s life dramatically not to have her daughters nearby. One or both of them had always been available for a spontaneous meal, a movie, or an afternoon of shopping when she wasn’t writing. She rarely had a day without one or both of the twins in it. If Valerie was busy, Halley would drop in at ­­Olivia’s studio on her way home, to see what she was working on. ­­Olivia had a great eye for form and color, and real talent. Halley and her daughters were extremely close and called themselves the three musketeers. Now it would all be different, with the girls living in L.A.

Valerie’s fiancé, Seth, didn’t mind having ­­Olivia tag along. He enjoyed having two beautiful women with him, and teased them about it. Valerie was confident and outgoing, with determined opinions and occasionally a sharp tongue. She didn’t hesitate to go after what she wanted, and was outspoken. ­Olivia was quieter and more retiring, she had…