You Deserve Each Other(99)
He’s worth it.
Nicholas’s eyes glimmer with unshed tears and his smile is luminescent. Like me, I know he’s not taking any of this for granted.
How great would it be, to get a second chance?
The sun descends over the curve of the earth and plunges the sky into a brilliant spectacle of blues and purples that play off the snow like the northern lights. He takes my hands in his, examining my icy red fingertips. He blows gently across them to warm them up, then pulls me closer to share his heat. He’s got a sprig of evergreen in the utilitarian front pocket of his coveralls, like a boutonniere, which makes me laugh.
The thing about a wedding is: you don’t remember the vows. You forget them the second after your mouth utters the sacred words, because your brain needs the room to catalog every detail of your partner’s face. All of my concentration is on him. Everything is wonderful. Every day is the same. Every day is like our wedding day.
Mr. Howard’s words are so quiet in my ears, it’s like they’re coming from another world. Nicholas’s mouth hitches at the corners, just a little, before he leans in. His gaze rises from my lips to my eyes, and whatever it is about the way I’m looking at him gives him pause. Makes him kiss my forehead softly before dropping to impart the kiss that will make me his wife.
Diamond twinkles of snow tumble around us as I tug my fingers through his hair and kiss him again and again, this man who belongs irrevocably to me.
How did Nicholas and I meet?
We met in a house called Ever After, the second time we were strangers. And I am one hundred percent in love with the transformation of us.
It takes a village to give a book a pulse, and my village is incredible. To my literary agent, Jennifer Grimaldi, who changed my life in a nanosecond: thank you, thank you, thank you for championing my story, for helping me polish it until it gleamed, and for connecting me with my film agent, Alice Lawson (another genie who makes magic happen), and the publisher of my dreams, Putnam. If you’d told me when I started writing this novel that I was going to end up here, I would have laughed myself out of a chair. When I think of all the people who have said yes (and enthusiastically!) to this book, I still want to pinch myself.
To Margo Lipschultz, superstar editor: I offer thee a figurative garden of camellias, which according to one site means gratitude (but according to another means “longing” and “flawless beauty,” so take your pick). I’m so lucky to have you on this ship with me, making my days brighter with your emails, your passion for this story and these characters, and your fabulous expertise. Thank you also to my lovely UK editor with Piatkus, Anna Boatman, and high fives all around to the wonderful Putnam team: Sally Kim, Tricja Okuniewska, Ashley Mc-Clay, Alexis Welby, Brennin Cummings, Tom Dussel, Ashley Tucker, Mia Alberro, Marie Finamore, Bonnie Rice, Ivan Held, Christine Ball, Amy Schneider, and the art team: Vikki Chu, Christopher Lin, and Anthony Ramando.
Enormous, eternal gratitude is owed to Marcus, my husband and dashing, dependable hero. I wouldn’t be able to write a single word were it not for your support, which has never wavered. It’s been my lifelong dream to be an author, and because of your hard work and sacrifices I get to stay home every day and write stories with the silliest, sweetest children on earth. Lillie, Charlie, and Baby Number Three: I love you all to the moon and back. You bring so much fun and joy to my life. Also, this is definitely the only part of the book you’re allowed to read.
Something else: I think it’s important to be transparent about what comes before the good news. While You Deserve Each Other is my official debut and my experience with it so far has been out-of-this-world amazing, it is far from being the first novel I’ve written. To my fellow writers in the querying trenches—worrying, revising, and starting over for the umpteenth time: never give up, no matter what anyone says. If you keep writing and keep trying, you’ll uncover the story that’s meant to be. Those are simply the odds.
Thank you to the lovely authors who agreed to read this book in advance, and who have generously spread the word about it online. Your support has been amazing! Thank you to Skypeland, my first readers, whose friendship, cheerleading, and caps lock feedback encouraged me to keep writing. You talented ladies have all been massive inspirations and I cannot wait to line my shelves with your books!
One last thank-you goes out to you, the reader, whoever you may be. You took the time to read my story, and for that I am forever grateful.