by Marie Force
He cradled her face in his hands. “Am I?”
“It’s just a year, right?”
“One year.”
“It’ll be a total mess. You know that, don’t you?”
“I love a good mess,” he said with a teasing grin. “In fact, I live for messes.”
She smiled. “We’re really going to do this.”
“We really are.”
“I love you, Senator Cappuano.”
“I love you, Lieutenant Holland. Merry Christmas.”
“Same to you.” She leaned her forehead against his and looked him in the eye. “It’s gonna be one hell of a New Year.”
“I can’t wait.”
Acknowledgments
When I first began work on the book that became Fatal Affair, I quickly realized that I couldn’t begin to replicate the District of Columbia’s complex Metropolitan Police Department. So the department portrayed in Fatal Affair is my version of the MPD and is in no way intended to mirror the real thing.
I want to thank my husband, Dan, who loves a good excuse to surf the Internet. He did tons of research for me, and I appreciate his help. My children, Emily and Jake, put up with me when I’m writing and have learned not to ask me any important questions when I’m lost in thought.
To the rest of my home team: Christina Camara, Paula DelBonis-Platt and Lisa Ridder, thank you for reading, critiquing, editing and proofreading. To Julie Cupp, thank you for braving the cold to take me to Eastern Market, for answering my many questions about Washington and for your help, as always, in naming characters. The shed is set for you to move in whenever you’re ready to become my full-time assistant.
Thank you to Newport, RI, Police Lt. Russell Hayes for reading the book, providing critical input and taking me on a memorable ride-along. To my friend, Newport Police Sgt. Rita Barker, thank you for reading and introducing me to Russ. Thanks to my WIP buddy Theresa Ragan for coming up with the perfect name for the book.
Special thanks to my agent, Kevan Lyon and my Carina editor, Jessica Schulte. Both of you helped to make this a much better book than it would’ve been otherwise, and I’m grateful for your contributions. To Angela James and everyone on the Carina team, your energy astounds me, and I’m delighted to be a part of this grand new adventure.
About the Author
Marie Force is the author of Line of Scrimmage and Love at First Flight. Of Line of Scrimmage, Booklist said, “With its humor and endearing characters, Force’s charming novel will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers, reaching far beyond sports fans.” Wild on Books said, “Love at First Flight by Marie Force is most definitely a keeper. It is an astounding book. I loved every single word!” A third contemporary is due out in the spring of 2011. Since 1996, Marie has been the communications director for a national organization similar to the Romance Writers of America. She is a member of RWA’s New England, From the Heart and Published Author Special Interest chapters. While her husband was in the Navy, Marie lived in Spain, Maryland and Florida and is now settled in her home state of Rhode Island. She is the mother of two children and a feisty dog named Brandy. Find her at www.mariesullivanforce.com, on her blog at http://mariesullivanforce.blogspot.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Marie-Force/248130827909 and on Twitter at twitter.com/MarieForce. Marie loves to hear from readers. Contact her at [email protected].
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ISBN: 978-1-4268-9026-0
Copyright © 2010 by Marie Sullivan Force
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All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
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