by Mary Kubica
“I’ve done that.”
“She’ll show up, Ayanna. This is all just a misunderstanding. There could be a million reasons for this.”
“Mrs. Dennett,” Ayanna says and it’s then that it hits me: something is wrong. It hits me in the stomach and the first thought I have is myself seven or eight months pregnant with Mia and her stalwart limbs kicking and punching so hard that tiny feet and hands emerge in shapes through my skin. I pull out a bar stool and sit at the kitchen island and think to myself that before I know it, Mia will be twenty-five and I haven’t so much as thought of a gift. I haven’t proposed a party or suggested that all of us, James and Grace and Mia and me, make reservations for an elegant dinner in the city.
“What do you suggest we do, then?” I ask.
There’s a sigh on the other end of the line. “I was hoping you’d tell me Mia was with you,” she says.
Copyright © 2014 by Mary Kyrychenko
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Writing can be a solitary task. We sit behind a computer screen or lock ourselves in a room with a notebook and pen, and obsess over fictional characters. Some days, we find ourselves talking to imaginary people more than any real human beings in our lives. While the rest of the world is asleep, our characters are tormenting us in the middle of the night, demanding that we make them say this or do that.
Writing is a solitary task, and yet book publication is anything but. I feel so fortunate to have so many amazing people on my book publication team: my extraordinary literary agent, Rachael Dillon Fried, my brilliant editor, Erika Imranyi, my publicist, Emer Flounders, and all the other dedicated, hardworking and all-around wonderful people at Harlequin and Sanford Greenburger Associates—the editorial, publicity, sales and marketing teams, and various other literary agents and assistants I’ve had the privilege to meet (and those working hard behind the scenes who I have yet to meet)! I’m so proud to be part of the Harlequin and Sanford Greenburger families.
And then, of course, there are the incredible authors I’ve met throughout the journey, those who have reached out to me, offered mentoring and guidance, an ear to listen and all the emotional support an author needs and, on top of it all, have helped generously promote each other’s work as if it is their own. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’m so honored to be a part of this amazing writing community.
Although I wrote my first novel in private, it was wonderful being able to share Pretty Baby with family and friends throughout the process. While writing this novel, I was also busy promoting my first, and so a huge thank-you to family and friends who helped hold my life together for me this past year or so: my parents, Lee and Ellen Kubica, and my sisters, Michelle Shemanek and Sara Kahlenberg, and their families; the entire Kubica and Kyrychenko families; my dear friends, who I won’t name individually for fear of leaving someone out, but I hope you know who you are (special shout-out to Beth Schillen—you are awesome)! I’ve been humbled by the way each and every one of you has shared in all the excitement of book publication, whether helping promote my books, spreading the word to family and friends, inviting me to speak at your book clubs, watching my children so I could attend out-of-state conferences and book tours, or just reading my books and asking the best questions about the writing process. I wrote The Good Girl in secret, but with Pretty Baby I had a cheering squad! I can never thank you enough.
And lastly, for my husband, Pete, and my children—thank you for the patience, the support, the encouragement. I couldn’t have done it without you!
I love you all like x’s love o’s.
ISBN: 978-1-474-03087-8
PRETTY BABY
© 2015 Mary Kubica
Published in Great Britain 2015
by Harlequin MIRA, an imprint of Harlequin (UK) Limited
Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
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