Maybe Someday(126)

curled up into a soft smile as I lower myself

down beside her. I slide my arm beneath her

shoulders, then lay my head on her chest and

close my eyes.

I love the sound of her.

I love her. Everything about her. I love that she’s never judged me. I love that she understands me. I love that despite everything I’ve put

her heart through, she’s done nothing but support

my decisions, no matter how much they des-

troyed her at the time. I love her honesty. I love

her selflessness. Most of all, I love that I’m the

one who gets to love all these things about her.

“I love you,” I feel her say.

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I close my eyes and listen as she continues to

repeat the phrase again and again. I adjust my ear

until it’s directly over her heart, savoring every

single thing about her. Her smell, her touch, her

voice, her love.

I’ve never felt so much at once.

I’ve never needed to feel more.

I lift my head and look back down into her

eyes.

She’s a part of me now.

I’m a part of her.

I kiss her softly on the nose and mouth and

chin, then press my ear against her heart again.

For the first time in my life, I hear absolutely

everything.

Acknowledgments

So many people to thank and so few words to do

it in. First, not a single book I’ve started writing

would ever reach the end if it weren’t for those

who encourage me and give me feedback along

the way. In no particular order, these people de-

serve a huge thanks for always tagging along dur-

ing the writing process.

Christina Collie, Gloria Green, Autumn Hull,

Tammara Webber, Tracey-Garvis Graves, Karen

Lawson, Jamie McGuire, Abbi Glines, Marion

Archer, Mollie Harper, Vannoy Fite, Lin Reyn-

olds, Kaci Blue-Buckley, Pamela Carrion, Jenny

Aspinall, Sarah Hansen, Madison Seidler, Aestas,

Natasha Tomic, Kay Miles, Sali-Benbow Powers,

Vilma Gonzalez, Crystal Cobb, Dana Ferrell, the

ever-supportive Kathryn Perez, and everyone else

I’ve bugged along the way.

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Thank you to my girls of FP. There are no

words. Except these seventeen words, I guess.

Thank you, Joel and Julie Williams, for being

amazingly supportive.

Tarryn Fisher, for being my confidence and

also my reality check.

My husband and boys, for being the best four

men on the planet.

Elizabeth Gunderson and Carol Keith McWil-

liams for your feedback, knowledge, and support.

You are simply beautiful, and I couldn’t have

done it without either of you.

Jane Dystel and the entire Dystel & Goderich

team for their continued support.

Judith Curr, publisher of Atria Books, and her

team for going above and beyond their duties.

Your support is unmatched.

To my editor, Johanna Castillo. To say I was

nervous about delivering my first stand-alone to

you is an understatement. I should have known

better than to be nervous, because the two of us

make a great team. I am so lucky to have you.

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A HUGE thank-you to the Maybe Someday

team: Chris Peterson, Murphy Fennell, and

Stephanie Cohen. You guys rocked it.

And last, but definitely not least, Griffin

Peterson. Thank you. A million times thank you.

Your talent and work ethic can’t go unmentioned,

but your support and enthusiasm go above and

beyond. There isn’t even an emoji worthy

enough.

Oh, and to Dave and Pooh Bear, just for the

heck of it.

About the Author

Colleen Hoover is the number 1 New York Times

best-selling author of Slammed, Point of Retreat, Hopeless, This Girl, Losing Hope, and Finding Cinderella. Colleen lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys. Please visit

www.ColleenHoover.com.