“What was the probability of that?” he asked, smiling.
“Less than ten percent.”
Spencer shook his head. “Maybe it’s time to lay off the numbers?”
Maybe he was right. “But I’ve made you so miserable.”
“You’ve made me better.”
“I have?”
“That manic-pixie-dream-girl thing isn’t total crap, you know. You can inspire someone without sacrificing yourself in the process. You were right about my art—I needed to be more confident. And if Cassilyn was good for anything, it was that.”
“I don’t deserve you,” I said.
“Bullshit.” He took my hands in his, squeezing them gently. “I’ve been a total dick to you. Angry. Bitter. You were right the other day—I’ve been a bad friend.”
“No worse than I’ve been.”
Spencer placed his hand on my cheek. “Beatrice Maria Estrella Giovannini, I love you. You and Trixie, if that’s who you want to be. But you don’t have to. Not with me.”
And then he kissed me. It wasn’t the first time our lips had touched, wasn’t the first time I’d felt that unnerving thrill deep in the pit of my stomach, but it was the first time I’d allowed myself to enjoy either of them. I closed my eyes and leaned into him. Spencer wrapped his hands around my waist, pulling me close as he kissed me more deeply. I could have stayed like that forever, his lips against mine, our hearts pounding together. I felt vulnerable and alive and scared and excited all at the same time, and I never wanted that feeling to end.
“Spence,” I said, breaking away. “Do you know what this means?”
He nuzzled my cheek. “I’m going to have to find an art school in Boston?”
I snorted. “Yes, but that’s not what I’m talking about.”
“Okay.” He cupped my face with his hands. “What does this mean?”
I smiled, feeling wicked. “It means the Formula worked.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To the smart and insightful Ginger Clark, who saw the pitch for this quirky, “off-brand” book and said, “You need to write this. NOW.” She knows me so well.
To the supportive, inspiring Kristin Daly Rens, who always believed I could write a book without murder, even when I wasn’t so sure.
To the Wolfpack, hands-down the sexiest critique partners around: Jennifer Bosworth, B. T. Gottfred, Nadine Nettmann, and James Raney.
To the team at Curtis Brown: Holly Frederick, Jonathan Lyons, Sarah Perillo, Tess Callero, and Nicholas J. L. Beudert. You make what I do possible in every way.
To the amazing folks at Balzer + Bray: Alessandra Balzer, Donna Bray, Kelsey Murphy, Elizabeth Ward in marketing, Caroline Sun in publicity, Kathryn Silsand, my long-suffering copy editor, and Sarah Kaufman for the drop-dead gorgeous cover.
To Dr. Robert Boostanfar, Katie, Maribel, Leticia, Claudia, Ivy, Dr. Alison Peck, and everyone at HRC. You didn’t know you were a part of this process, did you?
To Simone Baud, Jkena Davidson, Keanna Eady, Jo Finlay, Lisa Middleton, and Talia Weingart Wilson, the strongest women I know.
To John Griffin, without whom none of this means anything.
And special thanks to Nathan Rabin, who—for better or for worse—coined the phrase “manic pixie dream girl.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PHOTO CREDIT PIXIE VISION PRODUCTIONS
GRETCHEN McNEIL is the author of the standalone YA horror novels Possess, Ten, 3:59, and Relic, and the Don’t Get Mad series. Gretchen is a former coloratura soprano and the voice of Mary on G4’s Code Monkeys, and she sings with the LA-based circus troupe Cirque Berzerk. You can visit her online at www.gretchenmcneil.com.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
BOOKS BY GRETCHEN McNEIL
Possess
Ten
3:59
Get Even
Get Dirty
Relic
I’m Not Your Manic Pixie Dream Girl
CREDITS
COVER ART © 2016 by Amanda Lanzone
COVER DESIGN by Sarah Nichole Kaufman
COPYRIGHT
Balzer + Bray is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
I’M NOT YOUR MANIC PIXIE DREAM GIRL. Copyright © 2016 by Gretchen McNeil. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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ISBN 978-0-06-240911-9
EPub Edition © September 2016 ISBN 9780062409133
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FIRST EDITION
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