I Invited Her In by Adele Parks – #TLCBookTours Excerpt

Posted 19 November, 2018 by Heather in Blog, Blog Tour, Book Excerpt, Heather / 1 Comment

If you’ve been around Bewitched Bookworms for a while, then you know that I love thrillers and mysteries. Adele Parks has a new book coming out in February, and I can’t wait to dig into what looks like a dark, thrilling book where your friends are your enemies.

Follow the tour with excerpts at each tour stop!

Now on to the excerpt from I INVITED HER IN:

“Where shall I put this?” The taxi driver startles me. He’s coming up our garden path pulling the most enormous suitcase.

“Oh, I’ll take that,” I say.

“That’s twenty-eight fifty.”

“Right, right.” Abi is already in the kitchen. I can see Lily has climbed onto her knee. It would be a shame to disturb her when she’s just got settled. I reach for my purse and pay the man.

I pull the enormous case into the hallway and leave it at the bottom of the stairs. Ben or Liam can move it later. In the kitchen, I turn to Abi with a beam. “I can hardly believe you are here, in my house,” I say excitedly.

“Nor can I.” She has a hint of an accent now. Of course she does. She’s been living in the States for over a decade but as a result I can’t quite read her tone. Obviously, the circumstances that have brought her here mean she’s not going to be feeling ecstatic. “Have you paid the taxi?”

“Yes.”

“Did you ask for a receipt?”

“Oh, no. I didn’t think.” I’m not in the sort of business that you can claim back expenses so it never crossed my mind.

“Never mind.” She bends to root in her bag and I expect her to reach for her purse to reimburse me; instead she pulls out a packet of cigarettes. I should tell her about our non-smoking policy. I don’t. I’m not exactly sure why. I don’t want to make her feel uncomfortable. I don’t want to seem unwelcoming. I rummage around in a cupboard until I find a saucer that will act as an ashtray.

“What would you like to drink?” I glance at the Krups cof­fee machine which I’m disproportionately proud of. Ben bought it for me last Christmas and it makes a mean cup: Americano, cappuccino, espresso, caffeinated, decaffeinated. It’s pretty cool. However, just in case Abi isn’t a coffee drinker anymore, I’ve also bought a variety of herbal teas: chamomile, peppermint, lemon and ginger.

“Oh, I don’t mind. I’m happy with red or white. Or a G&T, if that’s your thing. Whatever.”

My eyes compulsively slide to the clock on the wall. It’s just after four. I don’t know what to do. I have a rule that I don’t drink before seven. It’s something I introduced when Liam was a baby because otherwise there was a danger I’d start drinking at 11:00 a.m. or something. I also limit myself to just one glass during a week night.

Suddenly, these rules seem a bit shaming and provincial. I pull a bottle of white from the fridge and pour two glasses. I hope it is still OK—I think we opened it on Sunday.

I place one glass in front of her and nurse mine self-consciously. Imogen whispers in my ear, “I’m going to tell Daddy.” I bat her away.

“So, tell me everything,” I say with an expansive wave of my arms.

“Like I said in my email, I found out Rob was having an af­fair, the bastard. I couldn’t stay with him for another moment.”

I glance nervously at the girls. They are wide-eyed, agog. “Oh yes. You must tell me everything about Rob, but I meant other things, more general things.”

Abi looks confused. Clearly for her there aren’t any other conversations to be had right now. There is nothing else on her mind.

I try to give her some prompts. “What was it like living in America?” I regret the question immediately. I sound so naive. It’s not like I don’t know anything about the States. We have been there. To Orlando. Once. Although, obviously, I realise that Disney World isn’t representative. It doesn’t cover it. It’s a big place. Huge.

Abi shrugs. “I couldn’t possibly say. I don’t know where to start.”

It’s odd because I know more about her than she’s told me. Well, she hasn’t told me much. That’s the weird thing about Googling people. It forces a false one-way intimacy. I glance at Abi and am shocked to see she is pressing the bridge of her nose, dewy-eyed—she’s obviously trying to stem tears.

“Oh no, Abi. You poor thing. I’m sorry.” I want to kick my­self. I always say the wrong thing. I’m nervous. It’s odd having her here after so long, and exciting, too. My demand that she “tell me everything” was far too flip. Now she’s crying. I’ve made her cry. That’s the last thing I wanted to do. I’m embar­rassed and sad for her, yet also flattered that she’s letting her guard down in front of me. Her emotions are so real, and ex­pressing them is a true testament to our friendship. It’s as though the long years, since we last saw each other, have been swept aside.

“No, I’m sorry.”

I should have been more careful, more tactful. Just because she looks stunning doesn’t mean she’s not suffering. I sit forward in my seat. I want every ounce of my body to demonstrate that I’m here for her, that I want to help her.

 

 

 

About I INVITED HER IN

  • Print Edition: 432 pages
  • Publisher: MIRA (February 5, 2019)

Imagine the worst thing a friend could ever do.

This is worse.

When Mel receives an unexpected email from her oldest friend Abi, it brings back memories she thought she had buried forever. Their friendship belonged in the past. To those carefree days at university.

But Abi is in trouble and needs Mel’s help, and she wants a place to stay. Just for a few days, while she sorts things out. It’s the least Mel can do.

After all, friends look out for each other, don’t they?

I Invited Her In is a blistering tale of wanting what you can’t have, jealousy and revenge from Sunday Times bestseller Adele Parks.

Find I INVITED HER IN

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Adele Park

Adele Parks one of the most-loved and biggest-selling women’s fiction writers in the UK. She has sold over 3 million books and her work has been translated into 25 different languages.

1500+ 5 star reviews have kindly been written by her fans on Amazon.co.uk 🙂

She has published 15 novels in the past 15 years, all of which have been London Times Top Ten Bestsellers.

Adele was born in the North East of England, in 1969. She enjoyed a traditional 1970’s childhood, watching too much TV and eating convenience food because nobody minded if kids did that in those days. Since graduating from university, where she studied English Language and Literature, she worked in advertising and as a management consultant. In 2010 Adele was proud to be awarded an honorary doctorate of Letters from Teesside University.

Connect with Adele Park

Website | Facebook | Twitter | InstagramGoodreads

 

Adele Park’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS for I INVITED HER IN:

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Excerpt Tour Stops

Thursday, November 1st: Helen’s Book Blog

Friday, November 2nd: Chick Lit Central

Monday, November 5th: Novel Gossip

Tuesday, November 6th: A Holland Reads

Wednesday, November 7th: Broken Teepee

Thursday, November 8th: Cheryl’s Book Nook

Thursday, November 8th: The Lit Bitch

Friday, November 9th: Books a la Mode

Monday, November 12th: From the TBR Pile

Monday, November 12th: Books and Spoons

Tuesday, November 13th: Palmer’s Page Turners

Wednesday, November 14th: Girls in Books

Thursday, November 15th: A Dream Within a Dream

Friday, November 16th: Rad Babes Read

Monday, November 19th: Bewitched Bookworms

Monday, November 19th: Stuck in Books

Tuesday, November 20th: Books and Cats and Coffee

Tuesday, November 20th: The Book Diva Reads

Wednesday, November 21st: She Reads With Cats

Heather

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I'm a PhD chemist who loves sarcasm, music, and books-paranormal, mystery, thriller, suspense, horror, and romance. Most of my free time is spent at the martial arts studio these days--whether practicing Combat Hapkido or reading books while watching my son's Taekwondo classes, or even working up a sweat with Kickboxing for fun. Goodreads

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