The Place I Belong
Page 32
Quiet laughter rose from the gathered guests, but Hannah knew he was only partially joking.
Adam turned to look at Matt and raised his water glass. “I’d like to thank my son for doing me the honor of taking my last name on this happy occasion of his legal adoption. Please drink a toast to Matthew McNally Bosch.”
“Dad,” Matt muttered under his breath, but he was smiling, one hand buried in Satchmo’s mane. “I guess it sounds pretty cool when you say it out loud.”
Applause swelled to fill the tent as Adam pulled his son into a hug for a long moment. Hannah felt a happy constriction in her chest while she swiped at the tears spilling down her cheeks.
Adam slid his glass onto the buffet table before snaking his arm back around her waist.
“Don’t make a speech about me,” she pleaded in an undertone. Her press conference in Chicago had convinced her she wasn’t cut out to be in front of an audience.
When she tried to step back, his arm became a steel barrier. “Humor me,” he murmured before he raised his voice. “Hannah is the other most important person in my life. She believed in me when I no longer believed in myself, and she had the courage to tell me the truth I didn’t want to hear.”
Little murmurs of approval rose from the spectators. Hannah felt a blush climb her cheeks. She was torn between the love she felt for the man saying these wonderful things about her and her embarrassment at having everyone else hear them.
He wasn’t finished though. “I’m a lucky man to have someone who loves me enough to do that, and I want to make sure I have her forever.”
Hannah’s nerves gave a jolt and her gaze flew to his face. He was looking down at her with such intensity she forgot about the guests. She thought he was going to kiss her, but then he dropped his arm and went down on his knee in the spring-green grass.
She gasped as he took one of her hands between both of his. “Hannah, I love you with every fiber of my soul. Will you make Matt and me the happiest men alive and stay with us for the rest of our lives?”
She wanted to laugh and weep at the same time. She looked down into the deep pools of his eyes, and what she saw made her rush out her answer. “Yes! Yes! Of course, yes!”
Applause and whistles reverberated through the tent.
Wrapping her other hand around his wrist, she tried to pull him up so she could sink her fingers into his thick, black hair and lean into his strong body.
“I’m not done yet.” He freed his hands but remained at her feet, reaching into his pocket and retrieving a black velvet jeweler’s box. Pressing the spring that opened it, he took out a ring with a blue stone that caught and threw glints of sunlight like sparkling confetti.
She gasped again as he took her hand and slid the ring onto her finger.
“It’s too beautiful!” she breathed.
Finally rising to his feet, he pulled her against him and bent his head to find her mouth. She stopped him with the tips of her fingers against his lips, still not quite believing he had just proposed to her in public. “Did you ever worry I might say no in front of all these people?” she murmured.
“No,” he said. “I was afraid you might slug me.”
She smiled up at him. “The amazing thing is I’m glad they’re all watching us right now because I want everyone in Sanctuary to know how much I love you.” With that, she cupped her hand behind his head and met his lips with hers. As her body melted into his, a heat that both scorched and soothed blazed to life inside her. The whistles began again.
“Dad?”
Adam lifted his head and Hannah glanced sideways to find Matt tugging at his father’s sleeve with a grin. “I’d like to kiss my mom-to-be too.”
Hannah thought she would explode with joy.
Discussion Questions
1) Adam’s struggle with his alcoholism is an ongoing fight against a disease that threatens to consume him. The negative aspects are obvious, but does anything positive come from his battle? Is it true that what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger? Do you know anyone who is an alcoholic and has overcome it?
2) Hannah and Adam are both running from their past when they meet. Is that why they are initially drawn to each other? Do you think their relationship could have worked if they didn’t have the shared understanding of a dark past that affected their present?
3) Food plays a major role in the novel as Adam expresses his feelings towards Hannah, Matt, and the Sanctuary community by cooking for them. Do you think he uses food in lieu of making actual connections with people, or does it enhance his interactions with others? Do you have a nonverbal way of communicating your feelings to other people? What is it?
4) Matt forms a unique relationship with Hannah even though she is not his blood relation. Why is it sometimes easier to open up to a stranger than to a family member?
5) The animals in the book are as much a part of the plot as the human characters. Satchmo and Trace play important roles in getting their human companions to communicate with each other about feelings that otherwise might have remained unspoken. Do you have any experience with animals breaking down barriers? Do you believe Satchmo faked his injury in the climax in order to bring Hannah, Adam, and Matt together?
6) The town of Sanctuary is a character with a personality all its own. How do you think the setting affects the storyline? Would it be possible for the story to have taken place elsewhere, such as a city? How would that have affected the characters and their relationships?
7) Matt is upset when he thinks Adam is going to send him off to live with his distant relatives. Why do you think it was so important to him that he stay with the father he barely knew? Is it that Adam is a connection to Matt’s lost mother, or does the fact that Adam is Matt’s biological father mean something more than just shared genes?
8) Do you enjoying reading about recurring characters like Julia, Paul, Claire, and Tim, who appear in earlier books in the Whisper Horse series? Which couple is your favorite, and why?
Acknowledgments
WRITING APPEARS TO be a solitary pursuit, yet I could not create my books without the help of a whole battalion of talented, terrific people. Any errors are entirely my own. My heartfelt thanks to:
JoVon Sotak, my brilliant and lovely editor, who guides my work through the complex process of turning a manuscript into a book.
Jessica Poore and the Author Relations team, an incredible group of professionals who provide every kind of support for this lucky author.
Jane Dystel and Miriam Goderich, my extraordinary agents, who are always in my corner. You don’t know how much that means to me.
Andrea Hurst, my superb developmental editor and fellow animal lover, who applies both sensitivity and a tough eye to make my books better, faster, and stronger.
Michael Ryder and Tara Doernberg, my copyeditors, who devote their keen and meticulous minds to making sure I get all the details right while not repeating myself.
Heather Mann, my proofreader, who polishes my galleys to a diamond sparkle.
Laura Klynstra, my cover designer, who perfectly captured all the romance and atmosphere of my book with her stunning design. Thank you for the horse on the back!
The staff of Barcelona Wine Bar in Greenwich, Connecticut, where area director Herman Allenson, assistant chef director Adam Greenberg, and sous-chef James Burge allowed me to interrupt them in the middle of their dinner rush to ask my endless questions. Adam and The Aerie owe you a great debt of gratitude.
Rebecca Theodorou, who helped me with all things veterinary and gave my readers the provocative discussion questions at the end of this book.
Lynn Scott, who loaned Adam her black German Shepherd, Trace, and who always believed in my dream.
Jeff, Rebecca, and Loukas, whose support and love keep me sane, even when I’m on deadline. I couldn’t do this without you.
About the A
uthor
Phil Cantor, 2003
Although she now lives in the suburbs of New Jersey, Nancy was born and raised in the mountains of West Virginia. A graduate of Princeton University, she majored in English Literature and Creative Writing. Her senior thesis was a volume of original poetry.
Her contemporary romances have won several awards, including the Golden Leaf, the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, and the Aspen Gold.
She enjoys vacations to exotic locales (like Niagara Falls and Philadelphia) and shares those with readers on “From the Garret,” her own personal blog. She loves animals, having grown up with five dogs, three cats, a pony, and various wild creatures the cats brought home. She has a phobia about driving across bridges and flying.
Nancy lives in a Victorian house with her husband and two mismatched dogs, and cheers loudly for the New Jersey Devils hockey team.
To read excerpts and find out about upcoming releases, please visit Nancy’s website: www.NancyHerkness.com. Nancy also loves to connect with fans online:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nancyherkness
Blog: http://fromthegarret.wordpress.com/
Twitter: @NancyHerkness