Highland Heart - an uplifting chick lit book (SAMPLE ONLY)

A not very supportive girlfriend

"Hey, what a coincidence! I was about to call you! There's this totally amazing, beyond awesome announcement the Blissful Beauty board made today at work—"

Katya zoned out, mouthing the all-too familiar words to herself. Beyond awesome. Totally amazing. When she'd first met Dexter, she found his hyperbole irritating. Then it became cute and now it had zinged back to making her want to scream.

She put the phone on speaker and opened her laptop, deciding to finish a blog she'd been working on for a client. Dexter multi-tasked all the time, anyway. Doubtless while he phoned her, he was checking his emails, updating his Outlook calendar and making an appointment with his over-worked dental hygienist. Those super-white American teeth didn't stay that way by accident.

"So what do you think? Isn't it the most exciting thing ever?"

Whoops. Caught out not listening and with Dexter, the 'most exciting thing ever' could be anything or nothing. The man was an enthusiasm machine, ratcheting it up to levels so high she often worried about his blood pressure. Mind you, Dexter also tempered his enthusiasm with plenty of suggestions. He could declare anything as awesomely amazing and add ten ideas for changes which would make the said thing 'beyond brilliant'. And Katya believed you should use hyperbole sparingly. If a person routinely came out with the words 'amazing', 'fantastic' and 'utterly brilliant', where were they left to go?

She let out a sigh. "Sorry, the phone cut out there. You know what the reception is like in this place." Fine most of the time, seeing as Great Yarmouth had its fair share of masts. The reception excuse was the one everyone used when they pretended they'd been listening all along.

"What were you talking about?"

Go to the bottom of the supportive girlfriend list, she told herself. And do not leave there until you are a much nicer person. He sighed back, or it might have been a harrumph. Had he put her on FaceTime and spotted the lack of attention? In case there was a sneaky tech way of spying on someone she hadn't worked out, she turned her phone face down. And to be doubly sure in case he could still see her, she plastered on a smile so wide her jaw ached.

"Blissful Beauty's UK launch was such a success," he said. Work talk once more. "Caitlin wants to conquer Asia and specifically South Korea. South Koreans spend $13 billion on skincare and make-up every year. I mean, man—what potential. It'll be super-amazing if we crack that market."

Amazing, she said to herself. Do not say 'super amazing'. It's up there with beyond awesome in terms of phrases I loathe. When they make me the Prime Minister—and any like-minded person would agree it's a position I'm overqualified for—I will make it death by firing squad to anyone who ever adds qualifiers to amazing, awesome, brilliant and all those other words that are fine on their own.

Even though the thoughts remained unsaid, Katya guilt-tripped. Was she too horrible to be someone's girlfriend? Her best friend Gaby was the sweetest person in the world. As someone with the aforementioned dislike of hyperbole the opinion served as proof she didn't use the words lightly. Which was why Gaby was loved up and blissfully happy, and Katya sour and discontent, too busy picking holes in her relationship and quibbling about other people's use of language.

Katya knew her friends envied her too. Dating the UK-based marketing manager of reality TV star Caitlin Cartier's Blissful Beauty make-up and skincare company did that to girlfriends. "The freebies!" they said, followed by, "Um, so can you get us that glow serum/sparkle bronzer/lip plumper? I tried online and it's sold out at the moment."

Her handbag, propped on the desktop next to the laptop, spilled its contents—said glow serum and lip plumper among them. The bright pink and silver packaging, stars and all, seemed to wink at her—a sign the products themselves realised how desirable they were. Every single twenty-something wanted them in their handbag, beside their bed and tucked away safely in a locked bathroom cabinet. When the glow serum first came out, it crashed the Blissful Beauty website.