Poppy had offered to drive Sophie from bookstore to bookstore for her release day. And they planned to have dinner with their family—Dash, Jasmine, Nina, Leo, Baby Olive, Sophie, and Poppy—at Pink Metal that night to celebrate. Dash was still working through issues with his parents and Reece, but they’d formed their own little found family, which was more than enough.
“Sorry!” Sophie made a show of cringing. “I got distracted by all of the shiny new mugs in the window.”
“If you see something good in there, tell Dash I need it for the spa!” Poppy had started selling Dash’s jewelry dishes before his store ever opened. When they’d sold out within a week, he had the motivation he needed to finally open his own place. But he still gave Poppy exclusive items that only Glow could sell.
“On it.” Sophie saluted her. Then she took her phone out of the pocket of her dress and started to record.
SOPHIE’S TIKTOK
Relationship Status: Taken
Occupation: HEA Author
Days until book publishes: 0
Sophie opened the door to Seize the Clay, and as she walked in, she inhaled deeply. “Ah, gotta love that fresh scent of clay, and mud, and whatever else it is that makes a pottery studio smell so good. It’s almost as good as the smell of a new book.”
Sophie held up a copy of her book, which had an illustrated cover of a man and woman in spa robes. She smelled it to emphasize her point. “Happy pub day to my latest book baby, Second Chance Summer. I hope you all grab a copy from your local bookstore or library. I’m just dropping one off here to my favorite person in the world.”
She panned the camera slightly, and there was Dash, waving a clay-covered hand while he smiled back. “Happy pub day!” He made an effort to jump excitedly, though he was in the middle of working on something.
“What’s that in your hand, Dash?” she asked.
“This old thing?” He held up a wet piece of clay. “I’m pulling a handle for a jug.” Dash pointed to the clay jug just behind him. He went back to stretching the line of clay the way you might some dough, pulling down on the end until it was long. The way that he had his hand at the top of the clay, then pulled down over and over again reminded her of, well, a different kind of hand job.
“This is like craft porn, right?” she said softly to the camera.
“I heard that!” he called out to her. “And yes, there’s a fetish for this. Which I get.”
“Well, that’s a perfect segue for me to announce that my next book will be about a potter! They say you should write what you know, and what I know is that pottery is wildly sexy. And so is my next book. You can preorder it now at the link in my bio.”
“I’ve read it. Twice. It’s awesome.” Dash nodded a warm and genuinely proud smile to the camera.
“Isn’t he the best?” Sophie’s eyes stung with happy tears, but she blinked them back. “And remember, you can follow Dash on TikTok at @tokcrafty2me, and Seize the Clay studio @SeizetheClay on Instagram.”
Then she ended the video, pocketed her phone, and moved toward her man. “How was that?” she asked.
He wiped his hands on a nearby towel, took off his apron, and closed the space between them. “I definitely liked when you told everyone I was the best.” He pulled her into him. “You should keep doing that.”
His lips met hers, and those jittery flutters she’d felt so many months ago for him were still there. He loved her, and he made sure she knew it every day.
She pulled back from him and said, “Keep on kissing me, and maybe I will.”
“We can do more than kiss, you know.” He raised a brow. “The stockroom in the back has a lock on the door. I can put up the Closed sign, lock the front, and then we could…”
A loud honk interrupted him, and they both turned to see Poppy glaring from her car window.
“My carriage is about to turn into a pumpkin.” Sophie sighed.
“We can be quick.” Dash walked to the front door, put the Closed sign up, and locked it, as he’d promised. “Come on, Soph, let me give you a proper celebratory kiss. It can be anywhere you want.”
Then he winked at her as he took her hand and led them to the back room, and she knew that no matter what they went through, he was the person who would make her happy for the rest of her life.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I approached Dash and Sophie’s journey with the utmost care and empathy, consulting with others to make sure this felt as authentic as possible. Thank you to the sensitivity and beta readers who helped me along the way. And if any of Dash’s journey resonated with you and you feel you may need help, there are invaluable resources and support groups available.
Writing Dash and Sophie’s love story has not only been a true joy, but also a personal journey for me. This book has helped me acknowledge so many parts of myself and explore my own identity. Thank you to everyone who came along with me on this ride and took the time to read my book!
And I wouldn’t have this book without the support of those who read For Butter or Worse. If you read my debut, posted about it on social, wrote a review or reached out to tell me your thoughts—thank you so much. There are truly no words to describe how meaningful that launch was to me, and how much that support has meant.
I need to thank Brittany Lavery, who encouraged me to pursue writing this story in the first place. It was the book I was most terrified to write—the idea was kind of complicated!—but I’m so glad I did.
Lynn Raposo has been a truly fantastic editor and champion of my writing. Thank you so much for your continued encouragement, guidance and being an advocate for my work. I totally adore you!
Jessica Errera is, without a doubt, the absolute best agent. I am obsessed with her. Thank you for tirelessly working to help me make writing a career—please don’t ever leave me!
I really also loved writing Richard （“Dick”）， the squirrel, and must thank fellow romance author, Allison Ashley, for coming up with the name!
One of the best parts of publishing For Butter or Worse was the great excuse to meet fellow romance authors, and it’s been so deeply helpful to talk about writing this book with Amy Spalding, Courtney Kae, Kate Spencer, Lacie Waldon, Taylor Hahn, Bridget Morrissey, and Noué Kirwan.
And finally, to my Eoghan: I love you very much and can’t thank you enough for building a life with me that allows room for my creativity, our family, and dreams. I write books to try to impress you. Is it working?!