Emma blew out a shaky breath and nodded.
“It’s the first book launch in the history of Amberwick.”
“I’ve been told. I’ve already signed twenty copies.”
“You did give them away for free.”
Emma laughed. “They earned them. Your family, our friends, this whole town, I couldn’t have done it without them.”
“Not true.” Brogan put her hands on Emma’s shoulders and turned her until they faced each other. “You wrote this book. You had it in you all along.”
“Maybe,” she admitted with a half-smile, “but having you by my side helped bring out the best in me. And if in return the locals want to throw the first book-launch party, who am I to begrudge them that?”
Brogan kissed her forehead. “First of many. I know your publisher is going to host receptions in New York and LA next month, and then London, and who knows where.”
“Life is about to get busier,” Emma said with a little shiver, “for both of us.”
“Yes,” Brogan said, “for both of us, together. I’ll be right beside you every time you tug your ear.”
“Have I mentioned lately how much I love you?”
Brogan smiled because she had indeed mentioned it many times. “I never get tired of hearing it.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“And we all love that you love each other,” Charlie called from the doorway. “Now, get your arses in here and read to us while we eat.”
Brogan stepped back and rolled her eyes at her brother before turning to Emma with a shrug. “No one promised your first book launch for this book would be the most formal.”
“No, I can assure you, it’s not, but it’s by far the best.”
Then, before Brogan could argue, Emma kissed her again, this one lingering a little longer, and laced with the promise of more to come.
About the Author
Rachel Spangler never set out to be an award-winning author. She was just so poor during her college years that she had to come up with creative ways to entertain herself, and her first novel, Learning Curve, was born out of one such attempt. She was sincerely surprised when it was accepted for publication and even more shocked when it won the Golden Crown Literary Award for Debut Author. She also won a Goldie for subsequent novels Trails Merge and Perfect Pairings. Since writing is more fun than a real job and so much cheaper than therapy, Rachel continued to type away, leading to the publication of The Long Way Home, LoveLife, Spanish Heart, Does She Love You, Timeless, Heart of the Game, Perfect Pairing, Close to Home, Edge of Glory, In Development, Love All, and Full English. She is a three-time Lambda Literary Award Finalist and the 2018 Alice B. Medal winner. She plans to continue writing as long as anyone, anywhere, will keep reading.
Rachel and her wife, Susan, are raising their son in Western New York, where during the winter they make the most of the lake-effect snow on local ski slopes. In the summer, they love to travel and watch their beloved St. Louis Cardinals. Regardless of the season, she always makes time for a good romance, whether she’s reading it, writing it, or living it.
For more information, visit Rachel online at www.rachelspangler.com or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Bywater Books
Copyright © 2019 Rachel Spangler
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Ebook ISBN: 978-1-61294-156-1
Bywater Books First Edition: February 2019
Cover designer: Ann McMan, TreeHouse Studio
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This novel is a work of fiction. All characters and events described by the author are fictitious. No resemblance to real persons, dead or alive, is intended.
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