“What does yours say?” I ask as Cole places me back on my feet.
“Nothing. All it is is an outline. A drawing of some kind.”
I yank the card from him and study the hand drawing of a map. I burst into tears and laugh until I’m bent over at the waist.
Snatching the card back, Jett snaps, “What? What is it?”
I hold my phone out to him and watch as his eyes widen the same width as his smile.
“Fuckin’ Sicily, Italy,” he mumbles, matching the index card to my phone. “Ha! She drew the fucking map. Bloody brilliant.”
I look at Andi, wiping my face free of happy tears. Damn, my face is in pain from smiling. With everyone standing around me, my eyes move in a full circle, soaking in everyone’s beaming smiles. Goddamn, I love these people.
For the first time in six months, my heart is full. Well...almost. There’s just one tiny piece missing, but now we know where to find it.
“What the hell are we waiting for?” I shout. “Let’s go to Italy!”
THE END
Acknowledgements
Just as in life, it takes a village to put together a novel. Sure, the writer takes the cake on the imagination behind the pages and the creation of the story. Authors put every ounce of their heart and souls into the words they write, into the stories they share. You can almost taste the blood, sweat and tears each author leaves behind in each story, but our books would go nowhere if it weren’t for the people who help bring it all together to make it ready for readers to enjoy.
Brieanna, you took on this project during a difficult time. You put everything you could into editing this book, and I thank you so much for your dedication to making this book the best it can be. You’re amazing to work with, and you’re as sweet as they come. My thoughts and prayers are with you on a daily basis.
Thank you, Monika, for creating another beautiful and awesome cover. I enjoy working with you and know, whatever minimal crap ideas I give you, you nail it out of the park each and every time. You say I’m easy to work with, well that’s because I know you have mad skillz and every cover you do is a true piece of art.
Social media is one of the best tools to meeting some amazing people. From editors to cover artists, to bloggers to beta readers, I have been graced with some truly beautiful people. I love you Lindsey and Ashley. You ladies are awesome! Thank you Eris. Holy crap! I thank Goodreads for connecting us. You’re one helluva a beta reader, and I am so grateful to have gotten to know you during this process. Your comments and suggestions have been a true blessing. The feedback, encouragement and kind words you have all given me is not taken for granted.
Now, this book wouldn’t have been possible without my biatches. I need to give a huge shout out and big, fat, juicy thank you to my girls Michelle and Tonya. If it wasn’t for you skanks, this book would have gone off onto a whole other course, and I’m sure one that wouldn’t have been as fun. You two are my constant support system. When others have rained on my parade, you ladies have swooped in and saved the day, always cheering me up, cheering me on and putting a smile on my face. You make me laugh, you bless me with your friendship and my world would not be nearly as exciting without you two hoebags. You know, not everyone embraces crazy, but you two, well, you accept me for me. You get me, you don’t judge my insanity, but shit, that’s because you two are just as fucking nutty as I am! This is why we’re friends. This is why we mesh. We’re our own three ring circus, the Three Stooges...the Toxic Trio.
Even though I came up with the base of this story, I can’t take all the credit. My girls had a hand in the development of Andi and Jaz. They had say in their stories and molded these characters into the crazy cumtwats they turned out to be. Michelle and Tonya, you did an amazing job with Andi and Jaz. I can’t thank you enough for sharing parts of yourself with me in order to glorify these characters. Thank you for your input, your suggestions, and your own stories. And thank you for being no holds barred. I was afraid to allow myself to be so blunt...to write out exactly what my brain was thinking as I was thinking it. But damn, I think it worked, and I have you two to thank for that. I guess it helps we all have similar personalities. We have the same crude humor, sharp tongues and demented thought process. Much like our girls Gray, Andi and Jaz. I love you to the depths of the flowerbed and back!
About the Author
D. M. Thornton, originally from San Diego, CA, lives in Overland Park, Kansas with her three kids, husband, and her four-legged companion, Flora the corgi. She’s a creative soul who enjoys playing piano, the ukulele, singing and has an extreme addiction to old fashioned chocolate glazed doughnuts.
After fourteen years of being a nail technician, she traded in her nail polish and took a chance on an old childhood dream of becoming a writer. You can find her on Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram and on Twitter. And for more information about D.M. Thornton’s books, please visit her at dmthornton.com.
www.facebook.com/dmthorntonwriter
www.twitter.com/dmthorntonwrit1
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