I laughed and elbowed his stomach. “Whatever.”
“Don’t ‘whatever’ me, Sour Patch. You know you’re sexy as hell.”
I rolled my eyes and turned to kiss him before whispering against his lips, “Liar.”
“Never.”
He captured my lips and I moaned into his mouth when his tongue caressed mine.
“Naked baby!” Maddie called and I let my forehead drop onto Kash’s chest.
“Homeschooling those girls, woman.” He kissed me again before taking off after a squealing Kennedy.
I walked to the front of the hall and scooped up a tired-looking Kira as I enjoyed the view.
Maddie and Aaron were talking quietly in a corner. Close friends were gathered in clumps around the living room and kitchen—some talking to their group, others laughing at the circus that was my family. Richard and Mr. Gates were wiping back tears as they laughed over Mrs. Gates, Marcy, and Kash chasing after Kennedy and looking for her clothes. Soon Mason and this mystery girl would be here, and she would get the crash course in meeting everyone while we all individually interrogated her.
I loved my family, and I loved our life. Kash and I had gone through rough times at the beginning, but life was good and I prayed it would stay that way. There was never a dull moment—there were plenty of laughs, and plenty of happy and sad tears. He and I still fought like there was no tomorrow, and pancakes were made a few times a week . . . but we loved each other fiercely, and we helped each other through everything. Most importantly, there were never any lies.
Acknowledgments
AS ALWAYS, a huge thank-you to my husband, Cory! You keep me sane, you don’t make fun of me when I start crying, or screaming, about whatever my characters are doing. (Don’t worry, I know you think I’m crazy, but I love that you hide those thoughts and just smile, like my reactions are completely normal!) And if it weren’t for you, I’m pretty sure we would have starved by now. You’re amazing, I love you!
A big, big thank-you to my editor, Tessa Woodward, and my agent, Kevan Lyon. You two mean the world to me, and I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have you to talk to about my crazy—and sometimes really horrible—ideas for my books. Kevan, I love that you gag over Kash’s lip ring, and, Tessa, I love that you stop me from trashing my books.
Kelly Elliott, um, I just love you. Plain and simple. What would I do without our weekly lunches? I love that I’m usually crying throughout most of our lunch from laughing so hard, and I love that we rush to claim a name for one of our characters! Like I said, I just love you.
Amanda Stone! I love my Sef! There’s no one else I can sit on the phone with for hours while talking about nothing . . . or just not talking at all, and I love that I can sit there and whine about something I just wrote, and you just tell me to get over it. I will always make sure you approve my posts before I post them. I will always make you pick out my teasers, even if you haven’t read the book yet. And I will always send you snapshots of songs that we’ve listened to a thousand times, just to make you want to listen to it again. Love yewwww.
Jennifer L. Armentrout a.k.a. J Lynn (a.k.a. JL Armentrout when I start mixing your names together! Ha!). I love you and your hilariousness. I love our conversations and appreciate how honest you are with me when it comes to my work. You have no idea how much I love that you aren’t afraid to tell me if something is awful, or demand that a certain character should get his own book. Watch out for the zombies in your backyard!
A.L. Jackson, Kristen Proby, and Rebecca Shea, thank you all for our daily sprints, which keep me motivated, and always start my writing day off with a bang! I love all of you! Kishes!
To all the authors, bloggers, and readers that support me, promote me, and pimp out cover reveals and teasers . . . I love you all so so much. You have no idea how much I appreciate each and every one of you!