The house that Jack built - Catherine Barry

Jack Joyce loses her virginity at the age of sixteen and finds the experience a crushing disappointment. But more than a decade on - living in a tiny flat, as a single mother with a dead-end job - she still dreams of Matt, Thin Lizzy, and those days of old.
So bumping into Matt unexpectedly one Christmas, she feels she has met with her destiny. Okay, so he's married, he has kids, but surely divine intervention must count for something? If she can just shift some weight and stop drinking so much, who can say what might happen?
When Matt invites her to join an evening class he's teaching, Jack's fantasies soar to new heights. She soon finds that Matt has set her on the first step of a journey that will change her life. Only it's not quite the journey she had in mind.