by Emily Giffin
Dad takes the microphone first, thanking everyone. But then he steps back and Nina does the talking. She speaks about their journey together, how they both were looking for a way to follow their passion and also help others. There is a slide show of women and children, smiling, laughing, playing in tree houses and tranquil communal living spaces. She talks about how materialism can lead us astray, but that we all need beauty in our lives. And a sanctuary. A home and people who will always have our backs.
She finishes, thanking everyone again. As the crowd applauds, I feel my eyes welling up and risk a glance to my left. I’m surprised to see tears streaming down Finch’s face.
Still watching Nina, he whispers, “I’m sorry. I’m just so sorry….”
Then he tilts his chin down and looks right into my eyes, and in that instant, for the first time, I forgive him. Or maybe I don’t. I’m not sure how I’ll feel later, after the emotion of the evening has worn off.
I can sense that he wants to say more to me, but this is not the time. So before he can speak, I say, “They are amazing…aren’t they?”
“Yes, they are,” he says, as we both gaze back up at Nina and my dad. His hand is on her back again, protective, so proud.
“She saved me,” I say, putting it into words for the first time.
“I know,” he says again, his tears still flowing.
Maybe he’s thinking about his younger self—and what Nina saved me from all those years ago. But maybe, I hope, he’s simply thinking about his mother—and how she somehow managed to save him, too.
For Edward and George, with love and pride
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
While writing a novel is mostly a solitary endeavor, I have many individuals to thank for their generous contributions to this book.
I am indebted to my editor, Jennifer Hershey, for her guidance and brilliance from start to finish (especially the finish!). If you enjoy this story, it is in no small part due to her extraordinary talent.
Thank you to Mary Ann Elgin and Sarah Giffin, my mother and sister, for their chapter-by-chapter insight and endless moral support. I love our threesome, born in the seventies and still going strong.
I am thankful for Nancy LeCroy Mohler, my best friend, first reader, and most loyal copy editor. She knows these characters as well as I do, and there isn’t a paragraph in this book (or any of my nine books, for that matter) that she and I haven’t discussed together. I am very lucky to have her.
Many thanks to Bryan Lamb for providing so much Nashville flavor and manly insights (“You would never bribe someone with a check; it’s gotta be cash” and “You don’t have to specify ‘flat-screen’ TV; we know Finch doesn’t have a Magnavox.”). The Belle Meade Single Barrel Bourbon helped, too.
I am so grateful to my amazing assistant Kate Hardie Patterson; my longtime publicist Stephen Lee; and to all my friends and family who provided specific input or otherwise helped me through the birth of this book, especially: Steve Fallon, Allyson Wenig Jacoutot, Julie Wilson Portera, Laryn Ivy Gardner, Jennifer New, Harlan Coben, Martha Arias, Jeff MacFarland, Jim Konrad, Fred Assaf, Ralph Sampson, Lori Baker, Mara Davis, Ellie Fallon, Sloane Alford, Mike Pentecost, Courtney Jenrath, Lisa Elgin Ponder, Mollie Smith, Lea Journo, and Bill Giffin.
On the professional side, I thank my incomparable agent, Theresa Park, as well as Emily Sweet, Andrea Mai, Abby Koons, Mollie Smith, and everyone at Park Literary.
And to my team at Penguin Random House, including Gina Centrello, Kara Welsh, Kim Hovey, Scott Shannon, Matt Schwartz, Theresa Zoro, Susan Corcoran, Jennifer Garza, Isabella Biedenharn, Emma Thomasch, Sally Marvin, Sanyu Dillon, Debbie Aroff, Colleen Nuccio, Melissa Milsten, Denise Cronin, Toby Ernst, Paolo Pepe, Loren Noveck, Victoria Wong, Erin Kane, Cynthia Lasky, Allyson Pearl, and the entire PRH sales force: Thank you for your expertise, passion for books, and commitment to bring my stories to so many wonderful readers.
And finally, I am eternally grateful to my husband, Buddy Blaha. I couldn’t have picked a finer father for my children. Edward, George, and Harriet: May you grow up to have your dad’s grit, heart, and rock solid character. I love you all so much.
BY EMILY GIFFIN
Something Borrowed
Something Blue
Baby Proof
Love the One You’re With
Heart of the Matter
Where We Belong
The One & Only
First Comes Love
All We Ever Wanted
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
EMILY GIFFIN is the author of eight internationally bestselling novels: Something Borrowed, Something Blue, Baby Proof, Love the One You’re With, Heart of the Matter, Where We Belong, The One & Only, and First Comes Love. A graduate of Wake Forest University and the University of Virginia School of Law, she lives in Atlanta with her husband and three children.
emilygiffin.com
Facebook.com/EmilyGiffinFans
Twitter: @emilygiffin
Instagram: @emilygiffinauthor
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