A Year of Taking Chances: a gorgeously uplifting, feel-good read. Jennifer Bohnet

once or twice before to start my own agency but I’ve never taken her up on it. Only last week she offered again and I turned her down.’

      ‘Well, there’s your answer then,’ Maisie said. ‘Go for it. Ring her and arrange it. Then you can give Kirsty notice first thing Monday morning.’

      Tina laughed. ‘I love your optimism. I’ll think about it a bit more and maybe ring Jodie later and talk to her. See what she thinks.’

      When there was no reply from Jodie’s mobile that evening she wasn’t sure whether to be disappointed or to take it as a sign not to do anything impetuous.

      Over the weekend, in between trying to speak to Jodie, she mapped out a business plan, sketched out a trade announcement, started to design a website and doodled on pages and pages of her notebook, trying to come up with a catchy name for the agency before settling on the simple, obvious one. Tina Matthews Literary Agency All this before she’d taken a definite decision to go it alone – and before she’d asked Jodie about a loan. But she was certain Jodie, having offered it more than once, would lend her the money without question. And the more she sketched out an agency plan, the more convinced she became that it would work.

      Which was why, among all the scheming and planning, she’d also written her letter of resignation from Kirsty’s agency. At first she’d kidded herself, pretending she was just writing a draft – practising the phrasing for when she wrote the real thing. But as she rewrote the letter for the umpteenth time, deleting certain words, adding others, she realised she truly didn’t want to continue working with Kirsty and Leah. She wanted out, come what may. After reading her latest draft Tina decided it was word perfect, switched on the printer and pressed print. First thing Monday morning she’d hand it to Kirsty and begin working the month’s notice she’d given her.

      If Jodie couldn’t lend her the money to help kick-start her business, she’d be in trouble, but at least she’d have a month to find a stopgap job. Whatever happened, in a month’s time she’d be free of Kirsty and Leah. And starting to climb out of her rut.

Chapter Thirteen

      Jodie smiled happily as she placed the tray of almond cantuccini biscuits, fresh from the oven, alongside the madeleine cakes already cooling on the rack. Annette had rung earlier and asked if she could come over for coffee – if she wasn’t too busy?

      ‘I’m having a morning in the kitchen,’ Jodie had said. ‘I thought I’d have a go at making some madeleines – Ben seems rather fond of them.’

      She hadn’t added that baking had currently become her favourite occupation as a means of passing the time. ‘You can test them for me.’

      ‘See you about eleven then,’ Annette said.