“Of course it’s a yes. I—” She pulled back, a crucial thought popping into her head. “Judy can move in too, right?”
Dan shot her a look that said duh, and Harper beamed at him, happiness radiating from her as she hugged him again.
“Are you sure?” she asked, because it all felt too good to be true. Granted, it wouldn’t change much of how they’d been living, but it still felt monumental to take that next step with him.
“Of course I am. I want to fall asleep next to you every night. Wake up to your smile every day. Have both our names on the utility bills. I’m not sure there’s anything more romantic.”
“I’m not sure there is either,” she said with a laugh, a few tears forming at the corners of her eyes.
She kissed him, savoring the moment fully. His smell, his warmth, his energy. Him.
“Ask me who my favorite person is,” she said, pressing her hands to his cheeks, every cell in her body vibrating in radiant happiness.
“I thought questions like that make your brain melt,” he teased, running his hands up and down her rib cage.
“Ask me.”
“Who’s your favorite person, Harper?”
Harper leaned in, pressing a smiling, happy kiss to his lips before answering.
“You.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In so many ways, writing this book saved me. It was my space to pour emotions onto a page and discover that vulnerability is a superpower. It was written in the backs of lecture halls and during stolen moments between patients, words filling the pages at three a.m. when I was supposed to be studying. It was my brightest spot in a dark season of my life. But this book wouldn’t exist without the support of countless people, and I’m humbled to have so many to thank.
Ben. My dime piece. My bae-goals with the bagels. Thank you for loving me exactly as I am. Your endless belief in me makes writing romance possible. I remember being on the subway to Dim Sum Garden that cold January night when you waved your hand in front of my eyes and asked where my brain had wandered off to. I looked up and told you I had an idea for a character. Three years later, you’ve let me disappear into my mind more times than I can count, and you’re always there, cat and pizza in hand, to welcome me home. It’s life’s greatest gift to be in love with my best friend.
An endless, screeching thank-you to my editor, Eileen Rothschild. Thank you for taking a chance on me and helping make this dream come true. You challenge and push me to become the best writer I can, and I’m a better person for it. Thank you for embracing my voice, for your keen eye, and for championing my characters. Working with you is a humbling privilege and I still pinch myself regularly that this is my real life. Lisa Bonvissuto, my fellow Clevelander! Thank you for being so kind and helpful and answering my endless questions. You’ve made this process such a joy.
Kelli Martin. I could fill an entire book with gratitude for you. Thank you for believing in my book. Believing in Harper and Dan. Believing that this is a story that needs to be told. My heart lives in these pages and so much of that is thanks to you. Thank you to the superstar team at Wendy Sherman Associates for cheering me on in the background; I feel so lucky to be represented by such an agency.
Hamda. Having you as a friend is better than winning the lottery （although, if I did win the lottery, we could finally escape this cruel life and live on a beach with nothing but romance novels and cats）。 Quite simply, this book wouldn’t exist without your tireless support and encouragement. I love you.
Helen Hoang, thank you for welcoming me into the world of authorhood with open arms and a shoulder to worry on. Your work never ceases to inspire me and to call you a friend is an honor.
Chloe Liese. My angel. My neurodivine partner in crime. You get me in a way few ever have. There aren’t words for what you mean to me, but my world is a brighter place for having you in it. I hold you close to my heart always.
Megan Stillwell, I’ve never met someone as fiercely loyal as you. You make me laugh till I pee, pick me up when I’m low, and cheer me on so loudly I can hear it across the country. I’m so lucky to know someone as wonderful as you.
Mama, thank you for our Friday night dates at Borders and for my love of reading. Thank you for seeing my struggles with anxiety and getting me help, instilling in me that doing so is a radical act of bravery.
Dad, thanks for giving me just enough trauma to make me funny.
Kristen, Katie, Ash, Mien, and Tara, thank you from the bottom of my heart for being early readers of this book. I will never be able to convey what your gorgeous, screaming kindness and love means to me. Hannah, thank you for being an invaluable sensitivity reader and an all-around wonderful soul. Gigi, thank you for giving me so many excuses to laugh and sip wine. （Sebastian St. Vincent sends his sincerest regards. From my couch where he’s cuddling me. Because he’s desperately in love with me. Katie and Mien, that goes for Rhys Winterborne too. It’s published, so it’s official.） Thank you to Eliza for reading the first pages I ever wrote of this book. You truly are my writing fairy godmother.