The Perfect Marriage(85)

My agent, Scott Miller, has also been with me since day one, and I’m grateful for his guidance and friendship. Scott’s colleague Logan Harper has always been just an email away.

As I write this, a narrator for the spoken version of The Best Friend has not yet been selected, so I cannot thank anyone by name now, but I know many of my readers are really listeners, and that couldn’t happen without all the great people at Audible.

My friends and family who read drafts and provide valuable insight are also almost unchanged since my first book a decade ago, and I continue to owe them more than I could ever repay, not just for their help in making my writing better but for making my life better. A heartfelt thank-you to Jessica and Kevin Shacter, Jane and Gregg Goldman, Bruce and Marilyn Steinthal, Margaret Martin, Lisa Sheffield, Jodi (“Shmo”) Siskind, Ellice Schwab, Lilly Icikson, Bonnie Rubin, Clint Broden, and Matt and Deborah Brooks.

A special thank-you to my colleagues at Pavia & Harcourt, especially George Garcia and Jennifer Fried.

You cannot write a book about a blended family without spending a lot of time thinking about your own blended family. And though I assure you that the characters you just read about are not me or my family, my children—Rebecca, Emily, Michael, and Benjamin (who offered his usual spot-on constructive complaints)—are perfect in every way and have enriched my life beyond my wildest dreams.

And, of course, you cannot entitle a book The Perfect Marriage without thanking your lucky stars every day that you are in such a marriage. To my wife, Susan: a thank-you in the acknowledgments is all I can do in this format, but I’m trying every day to be worthy of your love and bring to you the happiness you’ve brought to me.