The Suite Spot (Beck Sisters #2)(71)
“The envelope please,” Mason says, reaching out a hand to help me onstage. It’s low enough that I don’t really need the help, but any chance to hold his hand is fine with me.
Mason slips his arm around my waist as Matt tears open the flap and pulls out an index card. “And the winner is…” He turns the card, revealing a big black letter B, and sighs heavily. “This is like back in the day when I took the Pepsi Challenge at the Cuyahoga County Fair and picked Coke. The winner is Limestone.”
The crowd cheers and whistles, and the two old friends embrace, slapping each other on the back.
“Well done, man,” Matt says. “It’s good to have you back.”
“It’s good to be back.”
As Mason and I move through the room, people pat his shoulder and offer their congratulations. He says thank you dozens of times, the grin never leaving his face. We go outside, leaving the noise behind, and walk hand in hand to the house, where we sit together on the side steps. Maisie runs over from where she’s been playing in the sandbox with Leo, and we shift to make room for her between us. The brewhouse is lit up and buzzing with life. We look at this place that we created together, so different from where we started. Our eyes meet over the top of Maisie’s head. And as our lips touch, we smile.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Had 2020 not been such a traumatic year, The Suite Spot might have turned out to be a different book, but I found myself needing to tell a story that was warm and gentle. If you’ve just turned the last page, my first and biggest thanks is to you. I hope you felt as much comfort reading as I did while writing.
Thank you to my editor, Vicki Lame, for her patience, guidance, and encouragement. And to the whole team at St. Martin’s Griffin, especially Angelica Chong, Vanessa Aguirre, Meghan Harrington, Marissa Sangiacomo, Kejana Ayala, Brant Janeway, Chrisinda Lynch, Adriana Coada, Kaitlin Severini, Katy Robitzski, and Omar Chapa. And a huge shout-out to Olga Grlic for that gorgeous cover!
I am so grateful for my agent, Kate Schafer Testerman. The Suite Spot is our seventh book and we’ve been together so long that I truly can’t imagine doing this without her.
Suzanne Young, Cristin Bishara, and Erin Hahn were there when I needed a writing sprint, an objective opinion, or just an email declaring, “I heart Mason!” There is nothing greater than having the best critique partners.
I owe a special thanks to Elissa R. Sloan for her reading and guidance with Mason and his Japanese American experience. And thank you to Shelly Beach for answering my questions about family law. Any inaccuracies or creative liberties are mine.
Andrea Soule, Gail Yates, Stephanie Pierce, and Ginger Phillips have been my early readers for nearly a decade. I can always count on them to let me know when an idea has legs, for cheerleading along the way, and—particularly Ginger and SJP—for music recommendations for my writing playlists.
A toast to the staff at Coastal Dayz Brewery in Fort Myers for answering my brewing questions and for making very tasty beers. Prost! Cheers! Sláinte!
Thanks to my family—Caroline, Scott, Mom, and Jack. Sometimes they listen when I’m talking about books, sometimes they don’t, but they always love me, and that’s the only thing that matters.
Finally, always, Phil. I love you best.