The Shoestring Club (41 page)

She smiles back at me, her eyes glittering with tears. ‘Does that mean we’re friends now?’

I nod firmly. ‘Of course we’re friends, best friends, you’re my sister.’

She hugs me and we stay like that for a long, long time.

Two Weeks Later

‘A rabbit?’ Arietty says. ‘Pandora has a rabbit?’

I grin. ‘It was Declan’s idea. He said Iris needed a pet. Went off and bought a hutch with them and everything. Iris called him Fluffy and he’s gorgeous, but Pandora’s still not convinced. Keeps going on about having to clean up the poos.’

‘At least they’re only small. The poos, I mean. And you mentioned Jamie. Why’s he coming to our handover dinner? He hardly wants to borrow the dress. Hang on, he’s not one of those cross-dressers is he?’ She stares at me, eyes wide.

‘How would I know?’

Her mouth flickers at the edges.

‘What?’ I demand.

‘Oh come on, you must admit you have been spending rather a lot of time together. And I’m not blind.’

I can feel my cheeks pinking up so I pick up the menu and start studying it. ‘He’s not eating with us, he’s just dropping in for a second. And we’re just friends.’

‘Do you snog all your friends?’

‘It’s not like that.’

She grins. ‘It’s written all over your face. I knew it. Ha! That’s brilliant news.’

I put the menu down. ‘OK, fine, I’m kissing Jamie. I didn’t want to say anything until I knew it was serious.’

‘So it’s serious?’

‘No! Serious is the wrong word. Look, we’re together, all right. Now stop interrogating me, you’re as bad as Pandora.’

‘You two look very cosy.’ Just then Pandora slides along the seat towards me and kisses me on the cheek. ‘And what were you saying about me?’

Arietty launches straight in. ‘Jules is snogging Jamie and she says it’s serious.’

Pandora looks smug. ‘I know. Jamie told Daphne who told Bird who told me.’

‘I hate being the last to know.’ Arietty crosses her arms huffily.

‘I even told your elephants last week,’ I say. ‘And they’re obviously better at keeping secrets than Jamie Clear.’

Arietty sticks her tongue out at me and I laugh.

‘Speaking of which,’ I add, ‘he’ll be here any second.’

‘You never answered my question,’ Arietty says. ‘Why’s he coming?’

I smile at her. ‘He’s been at his old tricks again. Found some sort of Google Earth camera outside Wicklow post office and to cut a long story short, he has a video clip of Alex he wants to show us.’

‘How do you know it’s Alex?’

‘He’s carrying a large cardboard box covered with Shoestring bags. I wrapped and posted it myself.’

‘Hang on a second, did you just say
he
?’ Pandora says. ‘Is Alex a boy?’

I smile. ‘There’s been a slight twist in The Shoestring Club tale . . .’

This book would never have made it to publication without the Trojan efforts of Peta Nightingale, my agent, and Thalia Suzuma, my editor, who both showed endless reserves of patience and empathy. Thank you both so much. Thanks also to Trisha Jackson for her support.

Thanks must also go to my family: Mum, Dad, Kate, Emma, Richard. And my own gang at home – Ben, Sam, Amy and Jago.

Martina Devlin, my writer in crime, must get a special mention for always being at the end of the phone when I need her advice (or just a chat).

To my friends Tanya, Nicky and Andrew, and to my dear friends in writing, especially Clare Dowling, Martina Reilly, Marita Conlon McKenna, Judi Curtin and Vanessa O’Loughlin, Ms Inkwell herself, thank you.

Alice Cooper, one of the Elephant Keepers at Dublin Zoo, kindly introduced me to the Asian elephants in her care, for which I’m supremely grateful. Any elephant-related mistakes are of course my own. And Stock Exchange in Dun Laoghaire, one of my favourite places to shop, gave me lots of designer swap shop inspiration.

The lovely David Adamson and Cormac Kinsella, my Pan Macmillan team in Ireland make touring the bookshops such a treat. And huge thanks to all the booksellers who continue to support my books, especially the gang in Eason and Dubray.

And finally to you, the reader. This is book ten – ten, imagine! Many of you have been with me throughout my writing journey and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Here’s to another ten!

Much love,

Sarah XXX

P.S. Do write to me – [email protected] – I love hearing from readers. Or you can catch me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/sarahwebbauthor or Twitter: @sarahwebbishere

And if you have young teens or tweens in the house, check out my Amy Green series – see www.askamygreen.com for details

If you enjoyed
The Shoestring Club
, and want to find out how the story continues, we have an exclusive preview of the first two chapters of the sequel:
The Memory Box
.

Pandora Schuster is about to turn thirty, but that’s the least of her worries. She’s just been tested for the same hereditary cancer gene that took her mum, but she won’t find out the results for six long, agonizing weeks. She tells no one about the test, not even her sister, Jules, or her boyfriend, Declan. Expecting the worst, she’s desperate to track down her ex-boyfriend, Olivier Huppert, father of her nine-year-old daughter, Iris. But there are two major problems:

So Pandora organizes a thirtieth birthday weekend with Jules and two friends – in Paris – to find Olivier and to tell him about Iris, but the trip doesn’t exactly go as planned. Back in Dublin, Declan is about to pop the question. Pandora’s head says ‘Marry him,’ but something or someone from her past is holding her back. And Pandora must decide which to follow, her head or her heart.

THE SHOESTRING CLUB

Sarah Webb worked as a children’s bookseller for many years before becoming a full-time writer. Writing is her dream job as she can travel, read magazines and books, watch movies, and quiz her friends and family – all in the name of research.

She is the author of nine novels, the most recent being
Any thing for Love
and
The Loving Kind
. She also writes the Ask Amy Green series for young teenagers, and her books have been published in many different countries including Italy, Poland, Indonesia and the United States. Sarah lives in Dublin with her partner and young family.

Find out more and read Sarah’s Yours in Writing blog at www.sarahwebb.ie

or Twitter: @sarahwebbishere

‘A wonderfully enjoyable read – no wonder

Irish eyes are smiling’

Heat Magazine

Irish Times

Also by Sarah Webb

The Loving Kind

Anything for Love

When the Boys are Away

Take a Chance

It Had to Be You

Three Times a Lady

Some Kind of Wonderful

Something to Talk About

Always the Bridesmaid

First published 2012 by Pan Books

This electronic edition published 2012 by Pan Books
an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
Pan Macmillan, 20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Basingstoke and Oxford
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com

ISBN 978-0-330-51944-1 EPUB

Copyright © Sarah Webb 2012

The right of Sarah Webb to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

The Macmillan Group has no responsibility for the information provided by any author websites whose address you obtain from this book (‘author websites’). The inclusion of author website addresses in this book does not constitute an endorsement by or association with us of such sites or the contents, products, advertising or other materials presented on such sites.

You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Visit
www.panmacmillan.com
to read more about all our books and to buy them. You will also find features, author interviews and news of any author events, and you can sign up for e-newsletters so that you’re always first to hear about our new releases.