After a couple of hours of laundry and folding, EJ was finally able to put her packed suitcase in the hall closet. She then heard a truly alarming car horn. When she got outside to the driveway, she had to laugh. Will, apparently sick of the rented Winnebago, rolled up in a shiny chrome Airstream trailer. He leaned out the window.
“Ready to rough it?” he asked, unashamed.
She climbed in the passenger side and leaned over for a kiss. “You did say you weren’t much of a camper, but at least you’re an honest man.”
They arrived at the campsite in the early evening. As they set up, Will following EJ’s patient instruction, he asked about the gazing conditions. She looked at the cloudless sky.
“Perfect darkness, perfect clarity.” Both smiled at the familiar words.
To think I didn’t even like you last fall, and now . . . She stopped that line of thinking. Things were hard enough.
At sunset Earth’s star was large and red, spreading fire across the sky that went pink and purple at the edges. EJ gasped at the sight of it and called Will to watch with her. He slid his arms around her waist, and they watched the sun disappear. The fire in the sky transformed into a cool blue sea. EJ turned to face Will in the twilight. She was unusually sentimental.
“That sunset was us,” she began. “These past few months have brought so much color and light to my life, even in the very last moments.”
Will had to kiss her, even though he contradicted her with his response.
“You really like the finality of the sunset metaphor, but I feel the need to remind you: the sun sets every day.” He kissed her forehead. “All that to say: I’m not letting you go until I have to.”
“What do you mean?” she asked hopefully.
“I mean I finally made a choice for my future. I’ve accepted a role on the next season of Doctor Who. The part is almost a sidekick, but it was written with me in mind. I get to do a British accent—”
“Which you love—”
“Which I love, and I’ll be kicking down another door. East Asian actors are even less visible in the UK than they are here. Also, I’ll be able to keep an eye on the first shows for PakMan Productions—but that’s not the best part. Want to know what is?”
“Yes!” she said, full of hope.
“The best part is that the show films at Pinewood Studios . . . in London.”
“Same time zone!” EJ cried in realization.
“Same time zone. I get to take a big step in my career, and I get to keep the woman I love.” He looked at her tenderly. “I love you, Ella, and I’m not ready to imagine a future without you.”
“I love you, too!” EJ replied. Then, giddily, she threw her arms around his neck. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy!”
Will spun her around. Finally able to say the words, for some time after, they said little else. Throughout the evening they whispered them in each other’s ears or shouted them until they echoed across the cooling sands. Eventually breathless, and happy, they took each other’s hands and lay back to watch the stars come out.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First, thanks to my mom, who read me Jane Eyre, Little Women, and the many other books that gave me a lifelong love of classic literature.
Thanks to Prince George’s County Public Schools for your Write-a-Book competition. It meant more than you know.
Thanks to Mrs. Mullan, who published my short story “The Power of Mentos” in our school newspaper.
Thanks to Hill Hall, fourth floor, my freshman year. (Go, Jumbos!)
Thanks to Milady for always being willing to read what I write.
Thanks to Rosalyn for telling me to keep going.
Thanks to Lacey for introducing me to the concept of writing groups and inviting me when she started her own.
Thanks to every incarnation of the Writing Group of Awesomeness. This book would not exist without you.
Thanks to Ashley for reading each revision, through my many typos, and always offering generous critiques.
Thanks to Adele Buck for introducing me to romance-author Twitter, explaining how pitching competitions work, and helping me take myself seriously as a writer.
Thanks to the folks behind #DVPit, who helped my agent find me.
Thanks to the wonderful, kind, patient, diligent, dogged, and again wonderful Michelle Richter at Fuse Literary.
Thanks to Alison Dasho and Lindsay Faber for the energy and enthusiasm you brought to the novel.
Thanks to the amazing team at Montlake.
Finally, thanks to my wonderful husband, who proofread every draft, consoled me after every rejection, listened to every idea, and never stopped believing in this book. You were the first person to call me an author. I love you, and I’ll never, ever stop.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Eden Appiah-Kubi fell in love with classic novels in fourth grade when her mom read her Jane Eyre, chapter by chapter, as a bedtime story. She’s an alumna of a small New England university with a weird mascot (Go Jumbos!) and a former Peace Corps volunteer. Eden developed her fiction writing through years spent in a small Washington, DC, critique group. Today she works as a librarian and lives in the DC suburbs with her husband and hilarious daughter.
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