by Kuhn, Sarah
“A babymoon?!” I shrieked. I pulled back and met his eyes, a huge, goofy smile overtaking my face. “Really? Like, a vacation? For you and me? Where we can just, like, have fun and be free and feel things?”
“Yes,” he said, grinning at me. “If that’s okay with you. I thought we could go to Maui.”
“Maui?” I tilted my head, giving him an amused look. “Where . . . my sister is? Are you sure you want to chance her interrupting our romantic getaway every moment she can?”
But even as I said those words, warmth was surging through me and I felt my heart lift. He’d done that on purpose. He knew.
Nate took my face in his hands, leaning in close, his eyes sparking with so much love.
“I know you need to see her,” he said softly. “And when we’re not seeing her, we’ll have plenty of time to do whatever you want. What do people do on vacations, anyway? Do you have more costumes?” He cocked a suggestive eyebrow.
“I can find some,” I said, laughing. “And I don’t know what people do on vacations, either, but I can’t wait to find out—with you. We’re gonna be wild and immature and maybe have some of those classic, carefree ‘collegiate’ experiences Aveda keeps telling me about.”
He grinned and pulled me in for a kiss—long and sweet, the kind of kiss that made me lose myself in him.
“Are you okay with us going away for a bit, though?” I said, when we finally pulled back. I touched his face, searching his eyes for any hint of something amiss. “I know we’re both still worried about . . . well. Everything. Shasta returning. And whatever her and Leonora’s plan is for the baby.”
We still didn’t know what, exactly, that plan was. Or why Leonora had thought the baby might be able to serve as a bridge between worlds. Or, for that matter, what the deal was with our baby being “the first of its kind” and what that might mean for the future. Nate hadn’t had any further dreams about Shasta, but just knowing she was out there . . .
“I am concerned,” he said gently, interrupting my thoughts. “Of course I am. If my mother wants to come after us, if she’s set her sights on our baby . . . well, she may never stop until she’s succeeded. But . . .” He hesitated, looking out at the courtyard again. “. . . I’m also confident that we won’t let her.”
“Me too,” I said, my heart swelling. “I’m not scared of the future anymore, and all the unknowns that come with it. Because I know we have an incredible family. We’re all in. We’re ride-or-die. And we’ll all fight together for this world, these people, this beautiful, imperfect, totally messy life we’ve built together. We’ll fight until we win. No matter what.”
He smiled back. “And there’s so much worth fighting for.”
I rested a hand on my stomach. “Like little Galactus Tanaka-Jones, here?”
His smile widened. “Yes—but I was thinking more along the lines of . . .” His gaze slid to the desk.
I laughed and stood on my tiptoes to kiss him again. “That’s definitely worth it.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you, as always, to all the readers for embracing my Heroines. They appreciate you, and so do I.
My superteams remain my greatest strength, and I have extra big love for all of them as we support each other through a global crisis. Thank you to the Girl Gang(s), the Shamers, the Ripped Bodice crew, Heroine Club, the incredible Asian American arts community of LA, Asian American Girl Club, the Kuhn-Chen-Coffey-Yoneyamas, the many writing sprint support threads and convention squads, Team Batgirl, and my recently reunited (virtually!) college crew. I could not have finished this one without all of you.
Thank you to my agent, Diana Fox, and my editors, Katie Hoffman and Betsy Wollheim, for working their usual magic. And thank you to Alexis Nixon, Josh Starr, Jessica Plummer, and everyone at DAW, Fox Literary, and Penguin Random House for the superhuman strength you put into getting these books out to the world. It’s always appreciated, but it’s appreciated even more right now.
Thank you to Jason Chan, who always brings my girls to life beautifully, and to Tom Wong, who helped me break this story and then break it again and again and again.
Much of this book drew inspiration from my time at Mills College (only the good parts, I swear)—which is not exactly Morgan College, but eagle-eyed sorts will recognize a few similarities. The ghost stories I heard and the friendships I made while I was there influenced a lot of my story—as did Carpet Ball, who totally exists in the real world. Thank you to all the incredible college friends and professors who changed my life—so many of you became my sisters, and I can honestly say I don’t think I’d be doing what I’m doing now if not for you. I love you as much as I used to love chicken tender night at Founders. And some of you might spot your names in this book if you look closely enough.
Thank you to Jeff Chen, for all the things that go beyond words—I think you are maybe the best person in the world.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarah Kuhn is the author of the popular Heroine Complex novels—a series starring Asian American superheroines. The first two books were 2016 and 2017 RT Reviewers’ Choice Award nominees for Best Urban Fantasy. Additionally, the first book is a Locus bestseller and one of the Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog’s Best Books of 2016. Other projects include the Japan-set YA romantic comedy I Love You So Mochi and a Batgirl/Cassandra Cain graphic novel for DC Comics. Additionally, Sarah was a finalist for the Astounding Award for Best New Writer and the CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment) New Writers Award. She has also written assorted short fiction, non-fiction, and comics about geeks, aliens, romance, and Barbie. Yes, that Barbie. You can visit her online at heroinecomplex.com or on Twitter: @sarahkuhn.
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