Sophie's Run

• Title Page
  
• PART ONE:
  
• Prologue
  
• Chapter One
  
• Chapter Two
  
• Chapter Three
  
• Chapter Four
  
• Chapter Five
  
• Chapter Six
  
• Chapter Seven
  
• Chapter Eight
  
• Chapter Nine
  
• Chapter Ten
  
• Chapter Eleven
  
• Chapter Twelve
  
• Chapter Thirteen
  
• Chapter Fourteen
  
• Chapter Fifteen
  
• Chapter Sixteen
  
• PART TWO:
  
• Chapter Seventeen
  
• Chapter Eighteen
  
• Chapter Nineteen
  
• Chapter Twenty
  
• Chapter Twenty-One
  
• Chapter Twenty-Two
  
• Chapter Twenty-Three
  
• Chapter Twenty-Four
  
• Chapter Twenty-Five
  
• Chapter Twenty-Six
  
• Chapter Twenty-Seven
  
• Chapter Twenty-Eight
  
• Chapter Twenty-Nine
  
• Chapter Thirty
  
• Chapter Thirty-One
  
• Chapter Thirty-Two
  
• Chapter Thirty-Three
  
• PART THREE:
  
• Chapter Thirty-Four
  
• Chapter Thirty-Five
  
• Chapter Thirty-Six
  
• Chapter Thirty-Seven
  
• Chapter Thirty-Eight
  
• PART FOUR:
  
• Chapter Thirty-Nine
  
• Chapter Forty
  
• Chapter Forty-One
  
• Chapter Forty-Two
  
• Chapter Forty-Three
  
• Chapter Forty-Four
  
• Chapter Forty-Five
  
• Chapter Forty-Six
  
• Chapter Forty-Seven
  
• Chapter Forty-Eight
  
• PART FIVE:
  
• Chapter Forty-Nine
  
• Chapter Fifty
  
• Chapter Fifty-One
  
• Chapter Fifty-Two
  
• Chapter Fifty-Three
  
• Chapter Fifty-Four
  
• Chapter Fifty-Five
  
• Chapter Fifty-Six
  
• Chapter Fifty-Seven
  
• Chapter Fifty-Eight
  
• Chapter Fifty-Nine
  
• Epilogue
  
• About the Author
  

“Sophie’s Run goes far beyond any expectations I had set. I did not want this story to end! Once again, the story was phenomenal, full of bits and pieces that add depth to an already delightful, hard-to-put-down story. I just plain LOVE it all!”

~Nova Reylin

“Sophie’s Run is a rollercoaster of emotions that draws you in and leaves you hanging for the 3
^rd
book! If I could, I would go higher than 5 baskets! Seriously! I enjoyed
Sophie’s Turn
but
Sophie’s Run
has surpassed it in my eyes!”

~Tobi Helton

“It’s always interesting when a sequel is launched following a brilliant debut. Did it live up to the first? OMG—it
so
did! I got so lost in this delightful, delicious story, that I had to keep telling myself that I wasn't Sophie! I love Nicky's writing style, so natural, and so funny as well as warm, romantic and adorable and you are kept guessing till the end. If the third one in the series was ready, I would have picked it up right away and devoured that one too! What will I do when this series finishes? I have no idea!”

~Kim Nash

“I was thoroughly drawn in to the continuing escapades of Sophie Penhalligan. Will the alluring rock star win her back, or did she just meet the true love of her life? I was almost as eager as Sophie to find out! Endearing, warm, and funny,
Sophie’s Run
is an utter delight!”

~Bonnie Trachtenberg, author of
Neurotically Yours

Nicky Wells

Sophie’s Run

Part 2 in the Rock Star Romance Trilogy

Copyright © 2012 Nicky Wells

This ebook belongs to vzyl at 64 70 67 72 6f 75 70 forum.
The name vzyl refers to an entity and not any registered user with the same name.

Sapphire Star Publishing

www.sapphirestarpublishing.com

First Sapphire Star Publishing trade ebook edition, February 2013

The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Names, characters, places, and plots are a product of the author’s imagination. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

ISBN-13:
978-1-938404-48-1

Cover design: Chad Lichtenhan

Cover image: Holbox

Author photograph by Deborah Smith

www.sapphirestarpublishing.com/nickywells

For my Mum.

Because you never, ever once doubted that I would write all my books, one day.

The ferry bumped gently against the pier, and I took a deep breath to steady my jangling nerves. I was here.

I arrived on this tiny, car-free island in the remote German North Sea, and I was all alone. It was strangely thrilling to think that no one knew where I was. No one was expecting me. I had made no arrangements for my stay. In fact, I didn’t even know where I would sleep, but that was fine. It suited my mood. I wanted a clean break, a fresh start. No links to the past, no connections to the mess that I left behind.

Just briefly, I wondered whether Steve would notice that I was gone. Steve, who I had thought was definitely
the one
. Would he even care, after everything that had happened? And what about my best-friend-in-the-whole-world, Rachel? Or Dan, for that matter, my other best friend, singer and rock star extraordinaire, who also doubled as my ex-fiancé —well, one of my ex-fiancés, actually. Would he notice I had run away?

While I waited for the ferry to finish docking, I drank in every detail of my chosen exile. The calm sea with little white-crested waves lapping gently against the quay. The green and white of the sandy dunes standing stark and fresh against the wide-open, deep-blue sky. The tiny harbor with only a handful of buildings and a few fishing boats bobbing on the incoming tide. Seagulls wheeling overhead, their mournful cries carrying on the gentle breeze, augmenting my sense of emptiness, newness. Fresh, clean, salty air. I took another deep breath, feeling calmer already.

Yes, I had done the right thing. I had come to the right place. Here, I would find the space and the peace to think things through. I would figure it all out, everything that had happened, and a few things that hadn’t. And I would put my life back together.

“Sanctus, sanctus dominus…” I hummed under my breath as I walked up to the church from South Kensington Tube Station. “Pleni sunt coeli…”

I was lost in the music and my heart soared. The thought of taking part in tonight’s impending choir concert—my second—was intoxicating and terrifying at the same time. Normally a rock-chick at heart, I had found a second musical home in the small choral group that I had joined on an impulse a few months ago.

I hurried my step, knowing that the orchestral rehearsal was due to begin and berating myself for being late. Why was I always late? I couldn’t even blame the Tube on this occasion. Although I
could
blame Dan Hunter, lead singer of legendary rock band Tuscq and, owing to a complicated set of circumstances, one of my closest friends. He had called me at
Read London
, the newspaper where I worked as a deputy-editor, just seconds before I was due to leave.

“Sophie,” he had drawled down the line as he always did. “Is it still okay if the band and I come to see your show tonight?”

I had giggled. He might be a rock god, but he didn’t quite ‘get’ the classical scene. “I would love it if you came to the concert tonight,” I had responded, swallowing butterflies of excitement. Singing was one thing; knowing you had a friend in the audience was another.

“Great. Looking forward to it. It’ll totally rock, I’m sure.” His enthusiasm was overwhelming. I sincerely hoped he had checked out Fauré’s
Requiem
beforehand so that he knew what was coming.

“It will,” I had concurred weakly. “In a manner of speaking.”

“See you after the show?” Dan was keen to verify this point.

“That would be lovely.” I nodded my head even though he couldn’t see me. “Oh and—” I shouted before he could hang up.

“Yes?”

“Don’t forget Rachel and Jordan are meeting us there, too.”

“Excellent.” Dan sounded genuinely delighted; he had always liked my spiky, sparky, colorful best friend and partner-in-writing at
Read London
. He wasn’t quite so keen on her boyfriend, soon-to-be-husband, although he couldn’t explain why.

Hence, by the time I left the office, I was running late. I would have to hurry to get to the church where we would perform and…

“Oomph!
”

I tripped over a paving stone and launched myself missile-style at a passing couple. The man caught me by the arm, but I still dropped my handbag and music. I bent down to retrieve my scattered belongings, muttering apologies all the while. “So sorry,” I panted. “All my fault, I was totally lost in thought and…”

The words died on my lips as I straightened up and faced my rescuer.

Tim. With Dina.

Dina beamed at me delightedly. “Sophie! So good to see you. How’ve you been? And are you all right?” She took my arm gently and inspected me for any damage. Tim said nothing, but his face had turned into an icy mask.

“Dina, hi!” I returned her greeting uncertainly. “And Tim!” I addressed my ex-fiancé. Squirming with discomfort, I didn’t quite know where to look. I forced myself to meet his eyes, which flashed with contempt.

“How
are
you?” My determinedly cheerful question didn’t yield a response. Dina stepped in quickly.

“We’re fine,” she buzzed. “We’re engaged and…” She waggled her ring finger bearing an enormous engagement ring in my face. It was certainly bigger and flashier than the one Tim had given me, and I gasped in awe.

“That’s so beautiful,” I exclaimed before I could help myself. “Congratulations! When’s the big day?”

Dina opened her mouth to speak, but Tim finally woke from his trance and took his fiancée roughly by the arm. “Nice seeing you but we must be off,” he barked, and pulled Dina onwards.

“Ouch,” I muttered to myself, temporarily rooted to the spot. Tim was clearly still bearing a grudge but I couldn’t blame him, really. I had ended our relationship in unusual circumstances, having returned from a three-week tour of Europe with Tuscq and having fielded and declined a proposal of marriage from Dan Hunter himself. I had tried to explain to Tim that I was leaving him because we weren’t making each other happy, but he had focused entirely, and quite mistakenly, on the Dan angle.
Nonetheless, it didn’t take you long to get it back together with Dina,
I mentally told him off.
You started dating her mere weeks after we broke up
.
So you couldn’t have been
that
heartbroken
.