A Year and a Day (Paperback)

Stella knows visiting a fortune teller is a stupid idea. It's just one more daft thing her best friend Daphne persuades her into. Orphaned Stella doesn't believe a word of the fortune teller's claims the family she longs for and a tall, dark handsome man are coming her way. The gypsy produces a letter, to be read in a year's time, which will prove the predictions true. Stella knows Daphne's fortune will be a self fulfilling prophesy. She's happy to encourage the part about Daffers working in an Italian Restaurant owned by the delicious Luigi. She's less keen on Daphne's attempts to manipulate both their lives to fit the promised fortunes. This starts with an attempt to pair up Stella and her boss Yes, Luigi introduces her to truffles, names cocktails after her and serenades her on the river. And yes, he only uses 'would you like dessert?' as a rhetorical question, but she isn't going to fall in love just because some gypsy said so. At least John, Daphne's incredibly annoying brother, is so unlike anyone's romantic hero image that Daphne's no longer trying to push him and Stella back together. So irritated is she, by her friend's determination to make their fortunes come true, Stella's even nice to John. Well nice-ish. That includes sharing her chocolate and dressing as a schoolgirl. When Daphne suffers a horrible accident, Stella changes her mind about the gypsy's promise which included a threat to her friend's safety. The only way to save Daphne, as foretold, seems to be to make the whole thing come true. That means stopping herself falling in love with the wrong man. Difficult, but that's the only way they'll both be healthy, happy and best of friends at the end of 'A Year and a Day.'