by Ingrid Hahn
“That is a failing on my part, and I can only beg your forgiveness, my love.”
“I’m never going to leave you. Whatever we have, whatever we will ever have, whatever we shall come to face, it shall be together. It won’t always be easy, because life isn’t easy. But I don’t want to do it without you.”
“Nor I without you.” He squeezed her fingers. “Without you, I am nothing.”
“I have one favor from you, remember. One thing you cannot refuse me.”
“I haven’t forgotten.”
“I want to start each and every day with a kiss. And I want us never to part, ever again.”
“That’s two things.”
“Are you going to deny me?”
He faced her, taking both of her hands within his own. “You think I could?”
“Well, I suppose you could try.” She smiled as he leaned close to brush his lips against hers. “But I wouldn’t recommend it.”
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Acknowledgments
First and foremost, thank you to all the readers of my first book, To Win a Lady’s Heart, who are back for the second. I am honored and humbled to be a part of your reading life.
A big thank you to my son’s babysitter, Geraldine, who enables me to write. I especially appreciate that she holds my child when he is crying instead of trying to distract him with a toy. Her gentle presence and attentiveness makes me certain she will be an all-star nurse someday.
Thank you to Christi Barth, who generously read early chapters, called me out where I needed to be called out, and never failed to offer her unfailing support.
Thank you to Laurel Wanrow and Marta Bliese, both of whom write wildly creative stories that put my paltry imagination to shame, whose unwavering friendship, faith, encouragement, and support are invaluable to me.
Thank you to Meghan Maslow and Adele Buck who saved me from inconsistencies and helped me flesh out and deepen my characters.
Another thank you to Adele for beta reading this book quickly, thoughtfully, and thoroughly. Adele read the story with the OED at her fingertips and saved me from such anachronisms as “paranoid” (c. 1900), “surreal” (c. 1937), and “suss” (c. 1960). I gave myself the indulgence of keeping “scads” (c. 1869, for meaning a large amount or number) because I liked the word too much. Apologies to the readers who caught the anachronism.
Thank you to my beta readers whose encouragement and sometimes-brutal (Linda!) honesty made this a stronger book: Lina Perez and Kimberly Butler from MRW, and Linda E. and Nicole R. from Goodreads. Thank you all for your sharp eyes and keen insight. All the generous help you gave me with my typos and missing words—among other horribly embarrassing mistakes—and made this a much cleaner manuscript for my editor.
A huge thank you to my incredible and absolutely lovely editor, Erin, whose observations and wisdom are unparalleled. I’m so lucky to be working with her, and I hope to continue to do so well into the future.
Thank you to my Entangled team who have worked and continue to work so hard marketing me. I love working with each of them. A very special thank you for all you do.
And, of course, my most profound thanks to my husband, who supports me day in and day out, reads everything I write at least once, and has believed in my writing almost since the very earliest days.
I am delighted to have too many people to thank—so many wonderful people in my life!—and I am so very grateful to have all of you on my side.
About the Author
Ingrid Hahn is a failed administrative assistant with a B.A. in Art History. Her love of reading has turned her mortgage payment into a book storage fee, which makes her the friend who you never want to ask you for help moving. Though originally from Seattle, she now lives in the metropolitan DC area with her ship-nerd husband, small son, and four opinionated cats. When she’s not reading or writing, she loves knitting, theater, nature walks, travel, history, and is a hopelessly devoted fan of Jane Austen. Please connect with her on social media! Find her on Twitter as @Ingrid_Writer. Find her on Facebook as Ingrid Hahn.
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