The Plot Twist: BookTok Made Me Buy It! The BRAND NEW second-chance romantic comedy from Victoria Walters for 2024

By Victoria Walters

An utterly gorgeous second chance romance, perfect for fans of Emily Henry

One new boss, one ex-boyfriend, one big dilemma…

Stevie Phillips has just landed her dream job working for a publishing company and it seems like this is page one of her new, improved life.

But her first day throws more curveballs than she thinks she can handle: there’s been a takeover and the whole publicity team has been fired. And her new boss is the last face she expected to see.

Because Noah Anderson also happens to be her ex-boyfriend.

Thrown together on a campaign for a book the rest of the staff don’t want to touch with a barge-pole, Stevie resolves to make the best of a bad situation. This is her chance to prove herself, and she’s not going to let the man who broke her heart ruin it for her.

When Noah starts hinting that there was more to their break up than him just not loving her, Stevie’s resolution starts to wobble. Getting back with your ex is never a good idea, is it? Especially not when your ex is also your boss…

A sexy second-chance-romance story that will delight fans of Emily Henry and Christina Lauren

Praise for Victoria Walters

‘...the perfect romance for a Sunday morning’ Sarah Turner

'Clever, quirky and swoonsome ... will tick all your Book Boyfriend boxes' Holly Hepburn

'A must read for romcom lovers - fresh, funny and utterly charming' Sandy Barker

'An absolutely gorgeous romance novel with a swoon-worthy hero to die for ... I was kept guessing right to the end and had a great big smile on my face' Kim Nash

'I loved it! The delicious chemistry between Liv and Aiden kept me up way past my bedtime' Leonie Mack

'...so much fun and utterly swoon-worthy... a gorgeous concept, with an abundance of charm and wit' Laura Carter

'a beautiful ode to romance loving bookworms ... Walters shines with this amazing read' Rachel Dove

• Language: English
• Publisher: Boldwood Books
• Release date: Jun 19, 2024
• ISBN: 9781835189610

Victoria Walters

Victoria Walters is the author of both cosy crime and romantic novels, including the bestselling Glendale Hall series. She has been chosen for WHSmith Fresh Talent, shortlisted for two RNA novels and was picked as an Amazon Rising Star.

Book preview

PROLOGUE

It was a rainy night in London and I took cover in a bookshop called Book Nook that I saw was still open. The name suited the shop. It was small and tucked away in a cobbled alley. It was dimly lit, warm and dry, and books lined the walls in a haphazard fashion.

Enjoying the cosiness, I took my time looking around. I noticed there was only one other customer in there with me – a tall, dark-haired man wearing a shirt with his sleeves pushed up, his nose literally stuck in a book. I had to weave past him to get to the romance section, my favourite, when he looked up and saw me.

‘Oh, sorry, I always end up lost in my own world in here,’ he said.

‘I can see why. I can’t believe I’ve never found this place before. It’s a real gem.’

‘One of my favourites in the city.’ He smiled and showed off a dimple in his cheek, and I felt a weird need to make it appear again.

I carried on looking but he had my attention as much as the books. I saw him peeking at me over his book too. Then the owner called out to say he was closing so I picked up the book I’d been looking at – an old romance I’d never seen before in a gorgeous gold hardback edition – and followed dimple man to the till. He had a pile of nine books.

‘Let me get yours,’ he offered.

I raised an eyebrow. ‘Why?’

I’d wrongfooted him. ‘Um… why not?’

‘I’m an independent woman who can buy her own books,’ I said, but I couldn’t help but smile at his panicked expression.

‘Of course you are, but…’ He looked around wildly then met the eyes of the bookshop owner behind the till. ‘There’s a discount if we buy ten books, right?’ He gave the man a pleading look.

The owner laughed. ‘Okay, I’ll give you guys a ten per cent discount.’

They both looked at me expectantly.

‘Unbelievable,’ I said, shaking my head, but I handed the book over and got a winning smile from my fellow bookworm, flashing that dimple again.

God, he was cute.

After he’d paid, we left the shop. When we stepped outside, the rain had eased and the glistening pavement reflected the bright full moon above us.

‘Thank you for my book,’ I said, clutching it to my chest. ‘You really didn’t need to do that.’

‘You’re welcome.’ There was that dimple again, but then he turned around, and the mystery man walked away before I could say anything else.

I sighed with disappointment and went home alone.

It wasn’t until I opened up the book he had bought me that I saw he’d scribbled something on the first page. He must have done it when I’d been waiting for him to pay.

Dinner?

Then he’d written his name, Noah, and his phone number.

Breaking into a wide smile, understanding then why he’d wanted to pay for my book, I realised I’d just had a real life meet-cute. In a bookshop! It was what a romance book lover’s dreams were made of.

I grabbed my phone and messaged him just one word.

Yes.

1

SIX YEARS LATER…

I was determined that my first day at Turn the Pages publishing company would be as good as possible.

I had no idea that it would be a spectacular disaster.

Everything started out smoothly enough. I woke up before my alarm as usual and got ready in the outfit I’d bought specially – a striped jumper, black trousers and ballet pumps, which made me feel smart and chic. Grabbing my handbag and my black blazer, I left my flat. I had plenty of time to make the journey from Islington to my new place of work and for once, the London weather was playing ball.

Autumn had wrapped itself over the city like an orange and gold blanket, and I was very relieved I was starting my new job in this season. I hated the stifling heat of summer in London. Autumn with its crisp sunny mornings like this one and the way the city became lit up with colour, the sounds of leaves crunching under my shoes, and the promise of evenings curled up with a book, hot chocolate and scented candle, always made me happy.

As I walked through the park near my flat, I could see in the distance the university that I had, until recently, worked at. My good mood improved further when I saw my best friend Liv waiting at the edge of the park, as we’d arranged last night, waving two takeaway coffees at me.

‘The nectar of the Gods,’ I said gratefully when I reached her and took the iced latte. I didn’t know how anyone could function in the morning without one.

‘You need it for your first day,’ she replied with a smile.

If we were both book characters then Liv looked like Elizabeth Bennet, with her dark hair and hazel eyes, whereas I resembled Alice in Wonderland, with my long blonde hair and blue eyes, and the fact that I always wore some kind of headband to keep it off my face. Today, I wore a pearl one.

‘Stevie, you look lovely. Perfect first day outfit.’

Liv was much more of a fashionista than me so that made me smile. ‘Why, thank you.’

‘So, how are you feeling?’

We walked together towards the university where we had worked together. But for the first time since we met, Liv would be opening up the library and I would be heading in the opposite direction across London to where my new office was.

‘Excited but nervous. It feels really strange to not be coming in there with you,’ I said, nodding at the historic university building.

Liv grimaced. ‘I’m going to miss you like crazy.’

‘You won’t be here for much longer though,’ I said after I had taken a sip of the coffee. Liv had written a fabulous romance novel and had landed a literary agent for it so I was confident she’d have a book deal before long.

‘I’m so proud of you for going after your dream,’ she said as we paused by the stone steps that would take her into my former place of work.

‘Thank you for encouraging me to do it,’ I replied. I had been inspired by her writing her novel to finally apply for a job in publishing, something I had wanted pretty much ever since I’d walked into my first library as a child and read Matilda. I wanted to help bring new stories into the world, stories that would bring people the same joy they brought me. I checked the time on my phone. ‘I better head for the Tube; you never know if there will be delays or not.’

‘Okay, good luck – not that you need it,’ she said, pulling me in for tight hug. ‘It will be fabulous! As soon as you can, let me know how it’s going, even if you have to sneak into the loos.’

‘Of course. Try not to miss me too much today.’

‘I’ll have no one to gossip with but I’ll try to survive,’ she said with a heavy sigh, but she bucked up to give me a cheerful wave. ‘Knock ’em dead!’

‘I don’t want to commit murder on my first day but I will try to channel that energy,’ I told her with a laugh.

I watched Liv walk inside and I shook off the momentary urge to run in after her and stay where I was comfortable. I needed to do this – for past Stevie, who’d always dreamed of this day.

Metaphorically pulling up my big-girl pants, I took a deep breath and another sip of coffee, and set off for the Tube to start my new chapter.

After making my way across the city, I soon stood in front of my new place of employment. It was opposite The Shard in a sleek, glass building which, after the cosy library, was a little bit intimidating. Thankfully, the Tube had run smoothly and I had arrived much earlier than I needed to. It had been just over a month since I interviewed, but finally, my first day was here.

I walked around the block three times and then it was close enough to the time my new manager Annie had told me to come in for so I went through the revolving doors and up to the reception desk. I was directed to the tenth floor so I climbed into the lift and did that automatic thing of turning to look at myself in the mirror. I was never sure why lifts had to have mirrors because the lighting was always terrible and you always left them worried your make-up looked clown-like. My cheeks were definitely flushed but hopefully that was just down to the autumn breeze and not too much blusher.

Stepping out of the lift, I found myself across from the Turn the Pages reception. Through double doors to the side of the reception desk was the office, which was open-plan with big glass windows, and those grey carpet tiles that offices always seemed to have. But what had thrilled me when I first walked in for my interview, and what made me smile all over again today, was the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves packed with all the titles they published here.

Gazing up at the titles, my eyes instantly went to the ones I had read or wanted to read. Mostly romances. Anything with a pastel cover was right up my street. I couldn’t wait to be able to read the new ones before anyone else.

As I was looking at the shelves in awe, I wasn’t paying attention to the group of people hurrying past me, but when I decided I better stop gawking at books and go over to the desk, there didn’t seem to be anyone manning reception. I leaned against it, wondering whether to just go on through to the office and find Annie myself, when a loud, urgent voice rang out.

‘Mind!’

I quickly pulled my arms into my body as a man in a suit barged past carrying a cardboard box filled to the brim with books.

More people filed past me.

‘Unbelievable – can we go to a tribunal, do you think?’ a woman asked the group of people following her towards the lifts. ‘After all our hard work…’

‘The Shark was worse in person than his reputation…’

‘He loves the power; you could see it on his face…’

‘Can we sue?’

I was starting to get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Then, relief shot through me as someone familiar came out from the main office floor.

‘Annie!’ I called, waving to the tall, grey-haired woman who had interviewed me. I straightened up and threw on what I hoped was my most competent smile. ‘I’m so excited to…’

I trailed off as she stopped suddenly, her mouth falling open in horror at the sight of me. That was not a good sign.

‘Oh God, Stevie, I’m so sorry,’ she said, shaking her head.

‘What’s wrong?’ I asked, nervous at the sad look on her face.

Annie gestured to another group of people stalking out of the double doors behind her. ‘We’ve just all heard… the company has been bought by an American firm and they’re restructuring. We’ve all been made redundant. Me included.’

I swallowed the huge lump that had appeared in my throat with difficulty. ‘You’re… leaving?’

‘I just can’t believe they’ve done this.’ She started to walk towards the lifts again. ‘I’m sorry. You should go in and see what they want to do with you.’

‘What? But Annie, you hired me and you ran the department and…’

She shrugged bitterly as she joined the queue for the lift. ‘That evidently means nothing. Good luck, Stevie.’

‘You’ll need it,’ a man added darkly.

I turned to the double doors, unsure whether I wanted to even go in and see what my fate was to be. I couldn’t be fired on my first day, could I? Would the library take me back if I was? I looked back and saw Annie getting into the lift with her colleagues, all wearing expressions varying from devastated to pissed off.

As I summoned up the courage to find out what this new company wanted to do with me, I pushed open the double doors and surveyed an office in utter chaos. People were putting belongings into boxes, phones were ringing incessantly, doors to offices slammed and reopened, someone was crying in the corner, and outside, I could see it had started to pour with rain.

This had to be the worst first day of all time.

I didn’t know in that moment it was about to get even worse.

2

‘Excuse me,’ I said loudly over the noise in the office to a woman leaning against a desk sipping a coffee. She didn’t look upset or furious so maybe she hadn’t been made redundant. ‘I’m supposed to be starting today and I have no idea what’s going on.’

She grimaced. ‘Bloody hell, talk about the worst day to join us, eh?’ She came over and held out her hand and gave mine a firm shake. ‘I’m Gita. I’m editorial director here. You’re joining us in publicity?’

I nodded. ‘Annie Leon hired me. I’m Stevie.’

She clucked her tongue. ‘Poor Annie, she’s been here years. They’re joining up marketing, sales and publicity so I think they want some new blood on board. Until they sort everything out, the new boss is running everything and…’ She leaned in close. ‘His nickname in the industry is The Shark so we’re all pretty shaken up.’

‘The Shark?’ I gulped. That did not sound at all promising.

Gita nodded towards a door at the end of the open-plan office. ‘He’s been calling us in one by one. I made the cut, thank God, but I can’t believe how many haven’t. If you can handle it, I’d go in there straight away so you know where you stand.’ Someone called her name. ‘Good luck,’ she said and headed off to talk to a group of her colleagues.

I turned towards the ominous office door ahead of me. I was half inclined to make myself a cup of coffee and wait a few hours but I knew that was a bad idea. If I was going to be told to leave, it was better to know straight away and save myself a nervous wait. Like most things in life, ripping off the plaster was usually the best option so I walked across the floor towards The Shark’s office, singing the Jaws theme in my head, which actually diffused the tension in my body a little bit.

The door burst open as I approached and I stopped as a woman rushed out, her mascara smudged from tears. God. This really was awful. Did I even want to work here any more? The woman hurried off and left The Shark’s office door open so I supposed I had no excuse not to find out my fate.

I exhaled and started walking again up to the door. Even though it was open, I knocked anyway and heard a gruff ‘enter’.

As I rounded the door, I saw a tall figure with his back to me staring out of the window at the rain. The office was bare expect for a desk, chair and an empty bookcase. It looked like it had been stripped for him to take it over. I wondered who had had to vacate it for him, and whether The Shark felt guilty at all about it.

When he still didn’t turn around straight away, I cleared my throat.

‘Hi, this is my first day here and I’m wondering whether I should just turn around and go home or not?’ I asked in my boldest tone, because I had a sense that someone called The Shark didn’t do BS. ‘Oh, and I’m Stephanie Phillips but everyone calls me⁠—’

‘Stevie,’ he supplied for me.

I frowned, wondering how he knew that. Then he turned around.

It was like it was happening in slow motion. But not like a sexy slow-motion music video featuring a shirtless man drizzled in oil, but in a this is so huge, it has to happen in an excruciatingly slow way so you know that everything in your life is about to change, way.

Finally, the turn was complete and my mouth fell open.

‘Oh my God,’ I said as I recognised The Shark. And not because of his so-called fearsome reputation in the industry. This recognition was personal. Very personal.

He met my gaze. ‘Hi, Stevie,’ he said calmly.

‘Hi, Stevie?’ I repeated, not at all calmly. ‘This… can’t be happening?’ I asked, addressing the universe as much as him.

He sighed. ‘It is. I joined this morning. I am your new boss.’

A dun dun dunnnnnn sound rang out in my head as my eyes flicked to the name on the desk which I hadn’t noticed when I came in. Noah Anderson. I looked back at the man in front of me as he waited patiently for me to get my head around this situation. But I doubted that I ever would.

Realising I couldn’t yet speak, Noah shifted on his feet and put a hand in his pocket then took it out again. ‘I know this is a shock…’

‘That’s an understatement,’ I was able to cough out. My pulse was speeding up by the second. I wondered if there was any part of my body that hadn’t turned red or sweaty. I doubted it.

He nodded. ‘I know. It all happened so quickly and I didn’t even know you’d been hired until I got here this morning. HR here has been dealing with everything directly with HR in New York.’ He cleared his throat. ‘You’re not on the redundancy list. The plan is to get a sense of what is needed here so in the meantime, you will need to step up and take over publicity. It would be great for your career, of course, but you need to think about it. Because obviously, I will now be your manager. So, I understand if…’ His coolly delivered speech faltered ever-so slightly. ‘…you’d rather not.’

My eyebrows shot up. If I’d rather not? I wanted to scream at him, Hell no, I would very much rather not! and turn and run out of this office, leaving a cartoon character-shaped hole in the wall. But this was my dream job. And here he was telling me that I almost had a promotion straight away. I couldn’t believe this was happening.

‘I don’t know what to say,’ I admitted.

‘Think it over tonight. Go home now and come and see me in the morning with your decision.’ He turned around to look out at the rain again, signalling that our conversation was over.

I was able to really look at him then, now his eyes were no longer on me. Noah with his tall and slim frame, his short jet-black hair, his dark-rimmed glasses that shielded eyes the colour of chocolate, that dimple in his right cheek when he smiled, the sleeves of his shirt that were always rolled up, the line of stubble around his chin – he looked the same. A tiny bit older and rougher around the edges, and he’d always been clean shaven when I had known him, but annoyingly, the stubble… it looked good. He looked good. He even smelled good. It was a new scent. Deeper. Muskier. Sexier…

Without warning, my body reminded me of the nights I’d been in his arms. How his body had felt next to mine. The way his touch made me…

Quickly, I shook my head to clear it of those kinds of thoughts. Noah might have been the best sex of my life. We might have been that close once but we sure as hell were not now.

And this sexy appearance of his was all a lie. He was good-looking on the outside but not on the inside. I knew the space in the centre of his chest was empty where his heart should have been.

Because he might be The Shark to everyone in this office, but to me he was the man who had broken my heart.

I swallowed and turned to go, shook to my very core that I was seeing my ex-boyfriend again. After all this time. And that he was now my boss. The universe really did have a sick sense of humour.

I walked out and closed the door behind me, and then I kept on walking. Out of the office and through reception, into the lift, like I was in some kind of trance, my legs moving of their own accord. I walked out of the main revolving doors into the rain and I kept on walking. My mind wouldn’t focus on anything. I had honestly never been so shaken by something before in my life.

No, that was a lie. It had happened once before.

The day Noah walked away from me.

And now, five years later, he was suddenly back again.

Fuck my life.

3

When I realised where I had walked to, I pushed open the doors and leaned against the wall, taking a breath. I had trekked all across London back to the place where I felt most like myself. Probably because seeing Noah again had made me feel suddenly lost.

I walked down the university corridor and through the double doors of the library and breathed in the smell of old books. There was nothing I loved more. I’d worked in libraries since I left university and took this job two years ago. I had really enjoyed working here but now finally, I had made the move I’d always wanted to, into publishing, and it had so far gone completely wrong. Was I cursed or something?

‘Stevie, what are you doing here?’ Liv poked her head around a stack of books as I walked in. ‘You’re soaked. Are you okay?’

‘Not really, no. Don’t suppose you’re due a break? I need a coffee with about four extra shots in it,’ I said hopefully. I brushed my fingers across the shelf and spines of the books that I knew better than the back of my hand.

‘Definitely,’ Liv said. She went over to the desk to tell Jamal she was taking a break then she hooked an arm through mine and steered me towards the university cafeteria. Instructing me to find a seat, Liv went off to the coffee stand. I walked to the corner table, hoping no other ex-colleagues would spot us and try to join, and waited for her to return. She came back with two ice coffees and when I took a sip of mine, I gratefully tasted the extra shots she’d added.

After I had taken another sip, I could face speaking. ‘I walked in and the office was in chaos. The company has been taken over and they’re restructuring so loads of people have been made redundant including Annie, the woman who hired me and who I thought was going to be my boss.’

Liv grimaced. ‘That’s awful. Have they let you go?’

‘They told me to think about whether I want to come back and to tell them tomorrow. Tell him, I mean. My new boss.’ I looked at Liv across the table. ‘Who also happens to be my ex-boyfriend.’

She gasped. ‘What? No! Which one?’

‘You remember me telling you about the boyfriend I had before I started working here, the one who took a job in New York and who I never heard from again? Noah Anderson. Who, I might add, is nicknamed The Shark in publishing. Which is pretty damn perfect, if you ask me.’

‘I can’t believe it. Oh, Stevie, I’m sorry. That is… shit.’

I nodded. ‘Shit is right. He just stood there saying they wanted me to stay, to think it over, no apology, no explanation, nothing, waltzing right back into my life like nothing happened. Like he hadn’t broken my heart!’ I cried.

Now the shock of Noah standing in front of me in that office was wearing off, anger was taking its place. He had hurt me so much. We’d been together for just over a year after meeting in a bookshop. I had thought it was the perfect romantic meeting. And not only did he love books, but he worked in publishing too. I thought I’d finally found the man of my dreams. Turned out, he’d been a nightmare instead.

‘So, what, am I supposed