Authors: Jolene Perry
“What’re you
doing?” she
asks. Her eyes are wary, scared.
She has a rig
ht to look this way. The old me
would’ve just left. “I have some loose ends to wrap up in New York.
”
Her brows pull together, like I knew they would.
“You’re…
leaving
?”
I have to get the words out.
“Come
with me
.”
Please, please come with me
.
Her head snaps up. “What?”
“Come. With me. My m
om’s…
well, I have a place to stay and s
tuff to sort. You don’t have to.
I mean, I’m sure I won’t be much fun, but it needs to be done, and…
I can’t imagine doi
ng it alone. I know I’m asking to
o much of you here. To leave, and I promise you can go home anytime—
”
“Why are you asking me?”
Her voice is still wary.
“What?”
Does it matter?
“Are you asking me because you want me there? Or because you feel like you should because you don’t want to upset me?”
Honesty.
“Because I’m a selfish jerk
-
off
,
and I
really
need
you with me.
I love you.
”
I don’t even see her coming and our lips are together. I pull her close
,
and the relief I feel at knowing she wants to hold me like this is lik
e nothing I’ve ever felt
.
She pulls away, but keeps our faces together. I keep my eyes closed, soaking up the feeling of her, in case she can’t follow me right now.
“If you want to think about it, I can bring you out to visit in a few days, or a few weeks, or—”
“How long do I have to pack?”
“
What?”
She might do this.
“How long do I have to pack?”
My heart’s thrumming. The pounding dread from a few minutes
ago
has been replaced
with something infinitely better
.
“A few minutes?”
“Wait there.”
She spins around and disappears.
I stand
on the back deck
of
her boat, feeling needy and und
eserving, but also knowing I don’
t
want to
do it alone.
I’m also wondering when or if she’ll ever see how one-sided this relationship is because I’m definitely the one who got the best deal.
In
less than
five minutes, she’s on the back of the boat with a
large backpack
over her shoulder. “Take me to New York.”
“You’re amazing, you know that?
Amazing
.”
Everything Amber and I have been through was worth it for how I feel in this moment.
“Don’t you dare forget it.”
She
kisses my cheek,
takes my hand
,
and
we leave
together.
And that’s it.
Knowing me. Knowing my f
aults and all, without question, she’s following me from her home. I squeeze her hand, promising
both of us
I won’t screw it up.
Two Months Later
…
Dad –
Thanks again for making it all okay that I took off the way I did. Mom’s apartment is sol
d
.
I hate
the thought of leaving that place, but there was no good way to live there either. I’
m moving into my new apartment
in the village tomorrow. Smaller
. The place is b
arely two bedrooms and pretty much no kitchen, which suits me just fine.
Amber
insisted she needs her own room
,
and
she’s still thinking about living in the dorms this year
.
P
lease talk her out of that.
It’s not too far
from here
for Amber to get to NYU. Which brings me to my next point. I know I said I’d get to school, but the book I
’m finishing
about Mom comes out
near the end of
this semester
(yeah, crazy rush)
and that’s going to bring all sor
ts of craziness. Your lit agent
hooked me up with another agent
he
re I really like. I sent him
the
same two books I emailed to you, and he can’t wait to get started.
I’m missing Amber so much. Y
ou can tell her I’m pathetic without her here. Sounds like she’ll be back next week.
And seriously, Dad. You
and
Lynn
need to get married already
.
Love you,
Antony
Two Years Later
…
T
he silk of Amber’s
dress is smooth under my fingertips
,
and I slide my hands up and down her back.
She fingers the lapels of my tux. “That was quite a wedding.”
“Hmm.” I breathe out next to her ear as we dance. “
I can’t believe your mom finally said yes.
Maybe we’ll be next.”
“No way, Antony. We’re twenty. I’m got getting married at twenty to some guy who didn’t even go to college.”
She looks up at me through her thick lashes
—a smirk on her face
.
“I seem to be doing okay,” I tease.
“Just because you can write best-sellers doesn’t mean you can be a slacker.” Her nose tucks undern
eath my ear. This makes my knees weak
.
She knows this just like she knows everything about me.
“You love it.”
I kiss her dimple, just like I know makes
her
crazy.
“I love
you
.”
My mouth comes down onto hers, and we kiss like we always do. Like I always
get
to do, because of all the guys who would have been thrilled to be w
ith her, she chose me. And I ch
o
o
se her, too. Every day.
Mom would be proud.
To m
y mom
who was a woman who believed in unique experiences – whether they happened in our backyard or on the other side of the word. I hope I can someday be half the person she was.
-Antony Pre
ston
Dedication
To my parents, and their love of being on the water.
Acknowledgements
Wow. Friends. Paint girl Heather, and Nyrae Dawn. Seriously. You two girls are the two who read EVERYTHING, and I adore you for it.
Suzi Retzlaff – way to go in helping me out last minute!
I wrote
a paragraph or two in this book
and then set it aside, thinking I mig
ht get to it in a year or s
o, but a short trip back to Kingston, and Point No Point Beach, changed all that.
I did not portray Kingston, Washington
,
accurately in
this book, which is simply a matter of artistic license
.
I adore Kingston.
Their little coffee shop on the main street near the ferry docks
is probably one of my favorite ever coffee shops
, and I never go through town without stopping there.
I’ve been on boats my whole life, not an Oyster (yet
– aside from at boat shows
) but many kinds of motor
yachts and catamaran sailing vessels. I’ve always wanted to write a book using that, so I did. And I’m sure I’ll do it again.
The Sun Coast
is real. The water is crystal clear, and warmer than it is
closer to
Seattle.
I’m very lucky to have grown up with such a
supportive family, and the additional
family I have now
– my husband and my kids – are equally supportive. Even when it means we have pancakes for dinner because mommy was busy writing. Actually, for my kids, that’s probably a perk.
I’m grateful all the time that my hobby is my job. It’
s a very happy place to be
.
Other Titles by Jolene Perry
LDS Fiction:
The Next Door Boys
Left to Love
Want to Be (coming fall 2012)
Young Adult Fiction:
Night Sky
Knee Deep
My Heart For Yours
Spill Over
About the Author
Jolene Perry lives in Wasilla, Alaska with her husband, two children and the cat that was supposed to be a dog. She taught middle school math with her degree in political science and French. She now writes.
You can find her at jolenebperry.com and also at her blog jolenesbeenwriting.blogspot.com
COPYRIGHT
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval systems, without prior written permission of the author except where permitted by law.
Published by
Next Door Publishing
Copyright
July
2012
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.