The Promise of Summer

by Bella Osborne

Does true love exist? Florist Ruby is beginning to doubt it. She has given up on love after years of dating losers. Thirty five years old and desperate to be a mother, she is beginning to think about rather unusual means of getting pregnant!

Then one day, whilst sitting on a train she finds herself sitting opposite a rather gorgeous looking chap who makes her believe that true love really does exist. He is planning to propose to his girlfriend that afternoon,, on the London Eye and shows Ruby the beautiful ring he has chosen. With the battery on his phone running low, he borrows Bella’s to make an important call, leaving the train briefly as there is too much noise for him to concentrate. As the train pulls away, Bella quickly realises with horror that he is still standing on the platform, with her phone and the very important engagement ring has been accidentally left behind!

Ruby is determined that true love will not be denied and decides to head to the London Eye at the appointed time, but she is thwarted by fellow passenger Curtis, a rather uptight man in a business suit, who feels that she cannot be trusted to return the ring entirely on her own. Both have rather different appointments before the allotted time and as they don’t entirely trust each other they decide to attend both, with hilarious and surprising results, before heading to their destination.

Finding that there is no booking under the name they knew, they form an unlikely alliance to return the ring by other means. It is the beginning of an unusual friendship between flighty, excitable Ruby and the rather proper Curtis who is into statistics, makes a spreadsheet for everything and doesn’t understand the basic rules and cues of the dating game. Along the way they both find that they are keen to help each other find their perfect mate. As they discover more about each other, Ruby finds out about Curtis’ past and why he might be afraid to let loose whilst Curtis realises that confident Ruby is also vulnerable and might need protecting and support in order for her to achieve her life goals.

Throughout the book we also follow the story of Ruby’s florist boss Kim, back in the dating game after the loss of her husband and doing quite nicely with her new friend Adrian. They quickly bond over bouquets of flowers and her rescue dog Boomer, until his jealous daughter puts a spoke in the wheel and a surprising figure from her past suddenly reappears.

There are many misunderstandings, ludicrous situations and corny jokes along the way, but this story is funny, heart-warming and uplifting – the perfect summer read. The novel was originally published in 4 parts and was the winner of the Jane Wenham-Jones Award for romantic comedy in 2022.

It is a book that will prove that love really does exist, sometimes in the most unlikely combinations or in the most unlikely of places, and also perhaps that opposites really do attract.