Oh…
“That’s not a bad idea…”
“Emma, I was kidding.”
I sat up in my chair. “No, listen, it’s perfect. We can find some guy here in the city, there are plenty to choose from, and offer him some sort of compensation to have him go to the wedding as my date. After the wedding, we can ship him off to wherever he wants to go and I’ll never have to hear from him again. Done, done and done.”
“So let me get this straight. You’re going to pick out some random guy who you think would be perfect for all of this and have him and pay him to be your date,” Kate repeated hesitantly.
“Well, no…”
“Oh, thank God. You had me worried for a second there, Emma. You actually had me believing you were going to go through with this.”
I grabbed a water bottle out of the mini fridge and took a sip. “No, Kate, what I meant was I’m not going to find someone. You are.”
“Whoa, no way. I love you Emma and you know I value our relationship, both as professionals and friends, but there’s no way I’m going out to find you a guy to be your pretend boyfriend, boy toy or whatever. It will only end badly.”
“No it won’t. Besides, there’s no way I can go out and find someone. The media knows I am here in the city and the second they see me talking to someone…”
“They will use it as their next cover story, I know.”
There was silence, besides the jazz music playing in the background, and I knew Kate was contemplating doing this. She knew I would win; it was only a matter of time before she realized it.
“Brown hair or blond?”
Acknowledgments
__________________
There are so many people I want to thank and simply not enough room here to do it properly. But, I’ll try. To my mom who has inspired me ever since I can remember. Without your encouragement, support and your “Go get ‘em” attitude, who knows if this book would have been possible.
To my dad, I hope you know that all of those little moments mean the world to me, always.
To my brother who took a walk with me one day on Tybee Island Beach in Savannah, GA and listened to this idea from beginning to end, telling me to go for it, thank you. There’s a reason you have a character named after you.
To my Grandma who I hope is smiling down from heaven. I did it! I love you to the moon and back and when I see a butterfly, I’ll know it’s you. Thank you for always believing in me.
To my family who have been such amazing supporters and cheerleaders. You’ve made my heart smile. Thank you; you’re words mean a lot.
To my friends who have always stood by me and those I have gained through writing and reading, I love you all.
To Stephanie, I am so thankful to have been able to spend countless chats bouncing ideas off of you. We are each other’s fan girls.
To the authors J. M. Darhower who inspired me with her beautiful words and Christie AC Gucker for virtual hugs and encouragement. I will, too, pay it forward.
To Rose, who, three years ago helped conceive this idea.
To Cassie who has always been such a great supporter and friend.
To Joe, Gina and Kat. With your help, I was able to see Tyler and Bryn for a couple of hours during the photoshoot for the original cover. Thank you.
To my friends at work and everyone who has asked me almost every other day when this would be published since I announced I was going through with this. You helped make me feel like my writing was important.
Last but not least, to everyone who has had their hearts broken but known deep down that their love story is anything but over. To those who have loved times infinity and plus two, this is for you.
The Author
Alexandria Rhodes is a first time novelist from the good old state of Ohio. She is a recent college graduate with a degree in English and Creative Writing. Alexandria has always known she needed to write and has been doing so ever since she bought a typewriter at a garage sale when she was nine. With hundreds of pages of plot ideas, scripts and character descriptions, it is no surprise that she finally came around to writing novels.
Alexandria enjoys reading, writing, reviewing, spending time with family, tweeting (a little too much) and traveling, especially to Savannah, GA and New York City.
Her writing is heavily influenced by her surroundings and the people in her life. She hopes that her stories will touch the hearts of her readers.
Twitter:
@A_L_Rhodes
Website:
www.alexandriarhodes.com
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/morethanyouknowbook
More Than You Know Page 27