“I need to take you on our first date. A place that I don’t own, a place where I have to actually pay for the food.” He grinned. “A place with a working loo would be an upgrade from the last dump.”
“Our first date, huh?” I asked him, shutting off the stereo and having him lead me out. “I liked our other not-a-date dates.”
“There will plenty of those when we get back to London,” he promised and led me out of the doors and into the sunlight.
I closed my eyes briefly for a moment, letting the sunshine wash my face the way the moon had washed over me in London, the night I met Ames. “Hey,” he said, and with both of his hands, he pulled me toward him. As my fingers dug into his, I noticed his ring was missing. When I stared at it, he held up his right hand, showing me the ring’s new place.
“I don’t want you to think you’re a replacement,” he told me. “You’re not a means to fill a void.”
I took his left hand and held it, palm up in front of me. I rubbed the callous on his ring finger in the sun, and felt the deepest sense of peace, for both of us.
I felt gratitude, for Colin loving me the way he did. And gratitude again, for Mal, for loving the man whose hand I now held.
The weight of their lives had brought ours together, and I’d never take it for granted. I wouldn’t let go.
As always, the first line in my acknowledgements belongs to my kids and husband. The real loves of my life. Thank you to my husband for all the cooking you did as I was buried in this book, and for not raising your brow when I wore the same clothes three days in a row. And to my boys, who cheered me on and fell asleep early on nights I needed to get the words down.
To Sona Babani, my best friend, my longest friend. I’m so grateful for you, and the way you never make me feel less than. For the way you make me laugh at 2 AM when I need to laugh more than I need to sleep.
Jade Eby, my beebee. You’re a miracle worker. So giving, so loving—you speak my love language. Thank you for making my books beautiful and for being the person I always need.
Karla Sorensen, thanks for being mean when I visited you, and yelling at me to write this book. Thank you for telling me the things I need to hear, even if I don’t want to hear them. And for helping me talk through the little things I’ve sprinkled in this story.
Jena Campbell, for also yelling at me and for doing everything to help me when I was floundering while writing this book. Thank you for organizing my all my promo, and for bending over backwards. And thank you for listening to me whine like a little bitch.
Whitney Giselle Belisle, thank you for being such a huge cheerleader for all my books. You’re the first person who was excited to read the pages of this book, the first person who begged me for more. Thank you for your typo help and your enthusiasm. I hope to awkwardly hug you some day.
Talon Smith, my sour patch kid. I was the most afraid to have you read this book, and you were the first person to finish it—and the first to love it. Thank you for the album of eye rolls and for keeping my head on straight. And thanks for your honesty, always. Wear your damn seatbelt.
Thank you to Lex Martin, as always, for your honest feedback and willingness to drop everything to read for me. You’re one of the kindest and most genuine people in this universe, and I wish everyone knew just how special you are. I’m so grateful for you, always.
To all the authors who have supported me through the process of writing this book: Karen Cimms, Fiona Cole, the ST girls, the Tribe girls—your support is invaluable to me.
Thank you to Lauren for the beautiful photos and Najla for the gorgeous cover design, and for having patience with my many changes.
Thank you to KP and Tracie. If I never see “too much passive voice,” it’ll be too soon. Also, sorry, for, all, the, commas. Thank you to Alexis with Indie Girl Proofs, as always, for being so thorough and helpful—your willingness to squeeze me in was everything. To Amanda Marie, with AM to PM Book Services—I’m so thrilled I got to meet you last June, and talk to you about books! Thank you for the proofread, and the bonus beta comments. You’re lovely. Ginelle Blanch, thanks for always managing to squeeze me into your schedule, and for the lovely comments as you read.
Thank you to Cassie Hanjian, my immensely supportive agent.
To my beta readers: Sharon Powell, for the thorough comments and insight—thank you for making the time for me! Emma Louise, for educating me on jelly versus jam – could’ve been a bad one! Thank you for your willingness to read and send back feedback so quickly! To Natalie Williams, thank you for squeezing me in despite the short notice and crazy scheduling conflicts! Thank you to Amy Bosica, who makes my Grinch heart expand with all those emails. Briana Pacheco, for giving me honest feedback when I need it—and positive feedback too. Thank you, Kristen Johnson for squeezing me in, and telling me your thoughts. I love our chats, and I’m so glad to know you. You’re all the reason I was able to finish this book, and I’m so grateful.
To Christina Harris, Tiffany Elain, Tina Lynne, Kimberly Dodd—for being the people I need at exactly the time I need them.
Cynthia Aponte and Samantha “SamPA” Hanson, our group chat gives me life. I wish I could easily put emojis in here to show you my feels. Thanks for our many late-night video chats, and for making me laugh when I’m having a shit day.
Mary Ruth, thank you for all the beautiful teasers you make for my books! I’m so very thankful for your talent.
Thank you to my Barbetti Babes—I love each one of you so freaking much. If I could, I’d buy all of you tacos. Thank you for traveling far and wide to meet me at signings, and for giving me all the feels.
To Debbie Snyder for margaritas and movies and being an ear when I need it. You’re an honorary aunt to my kids, and they’re so lucky to have their favorite Kevin.
I have one million bloggers to thank, for going out of their way to pimp my books AND me! I value your support and your time, so I thank you for all the times you shared my books with your followers. I know many of you also gifted copies of my books to your friends and/or hosted giveaways for my books. I truly thank each of you from the bottom of my heart. You give so much of yourself for authors like me, and I hope you know that you are so deeply appreciated.
To the storytellers who I’ll never personally know—who will never read these words—but I’d be remiss in not thanking them for the specific inspiration they gave me: Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij. Your show is the epitome of the power of storytelling, and influenced me in writing the first draft of this novel.
Also, thanks Netflix for being so bad ass in giving this platform to such epic storytellers.
Thank you to all my readers. One of the best things about being an author is the relationships I form with the readers who reach out. I love getting to know you on my Facebook fan page, in my reader group, on Twitter or Instagram and even via email. You rock my world.
Finally, thank you to my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, for giving me strength when I am weak.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Psalm 147:3
STANDALONE
Ten Below Zero
Amazon
Bleeding Hearts Series
Into the Tomorrows (Book One)
Amazon
Back to Yesterday (Book Two)
Amazon
He Found Me Series
He Found Me (Book One)
Amazon
He Saved Me (Book Two)
Amazon
Box Set (Books One & Two)
Amazon
Whitney Barbetti is a mom to two and a wife to one, living in Idaho where she spends her days writing full time and keeping her boys from destroying her house. She writes character-driven new adult and contemporary adult romances that are heavy on the emotional connection. You'll most likely find her curled up with a good book and a giant glass of wine, with Queen playing through her headphones.
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Titl
e to Come (a cowritten book with Karla Sorensen)
August 2017
Title to Come (Lotte’s story)
October 2017
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The Weight of Life Page 23
