Donna of the Dead
Page 26
“I have my moments,” I joke, embarrassed by his praise.
“You’re starting to have more and more of them.”
“Who knows?” I smile. “I may end up being a Zombie Slayer like you.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” he jokes. “We make a good team, though. Zombie Slayer and his super-smart girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend?” My pulse pounds. I lift my eyes.
Had Deke understood what I wanted to say?
I try to scoff a little. “Since when am I your girlfriend?”
“Since always,” he says. “You just wouldn’t admit it.” His tone is teasing, but his eyes are questioning.
It’s suddenly hard to catch my breath. Deke’s sitting so close. I have to make a conscious effort not to lean in to him. He glances away again, back down into the pool, and kicks his feet against the concrete. I swallow hard. It’s now or never. I reach over, my hand trembling, and gently brush the hair across his forehead, out of his eyes. He looks up, startled.
“Maybe you’re right,” I say softly, struggling to get the words out. “Maybe I am your girlfriend.”
He catches my hand, holds it against his face, my palm brushing stubble. “I’m always right,” he whispers. His gaze is frightening in its intensity, but also beautiful and so very, very familiar.
“Oh, please,” I say, noticing I’ve inched toward him, my breath still hitching in my chest. “You are not always right.”
“Yes, I am.”
“Are not.”
“Am too.”
His lips crush against mine.
End of argument.
Acknowledgements
Donna met some smart, fantastic people during her adventure, and I’ve been lucky enough to do the same. BIG thanks to:
my fun, brilliant editor Kerri-Leigh Grady, for lurve-ing the zombies as much as I do
Stacy Abrams, Allison Blissard, and Tara Quigley for funny comments and insightful edits—and for being part of the awesome that is Entangled Publishing
my agent Kristin Miller-Vincent for reading this novel more times than I can count, and for all the deep literary conversations about zombies
the legion of super smart beta readers: Cynthia Szuki, Sarah Henson, Gordon MacKinney, Angelica R. Jackson, Mike Kalmbach, Karen McCoy, Elyse Demas, Alicia Hartley and Erika Loggin
gadget/weapons advisors: Kevin Hagan, Mike Kalmbach and Philip Demas. Brilliant ideas are theirs; mistakes are mine.
Julie Golder-Alion and Brian Greenwood for encouragement at the beginning
Sherry Wrenn Wilson for actually making me look decent in the photos
Kate Larkindale for entering the Name-a-Character Contest that gave us Liam
my family (especially Matt) for understanding that sometimes I have to hang out with zombies instead of them
my friend and crit partner Brigid Kemmerer—who I’m thanking last, but certainly not least. I’m grateful she agreed to read my first chapter (even though she hates zombies) and found something that made her want to keep reading. I seriously couldn’t have done this without her.
About the Author
Alison Kemper lives with her family in a tiny town in North Carolina. Their house is scenically situated between a prison and a dust-filtration factory. Donna of the Dead is her first novel. Find her online at alisonkemper.com.
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