Truly Madly Famously
Page 21
“They’re not us,” I say. “I don’t want to live my life based on some public idea of who I am. I want to live it based on what I want. And right now, Jordan, and since the moment I met you, that’s you.”
“I see.”
I cross my arms. “That’s it? You see? That’s all you have to say?” Have I been wrong about this last month? Thinking we were headed somewhere, that our ending up here was inevitable?
“That’s all I have to say.”
I open my mouth to start up again, to launch into more reasoning, to possibly yell, but my words are lost on his lips. He pulls me toward him and kisses me with an intensity that lifts me straight off my feet. In his arms, I’m flying. I see the beach below us. The million kernels of sand that used to be rocks, some billion years ago. I think, in the speck of space I have for thoughts with Jordan’s hands in my hair like this, that everything changes, everything becomes something else. It’s not our job to be true to who we were—it’s our job to be true to who we are, right now. And if we don’t allow ourselves this, this infinity of expansion, then we might as well not be alive at all. There is only one way to go in life, and that’s up. Growth, evolution, forward. I want to keep moving.
“I love you, too,” he says. “And I want to be with you. For as long as you’ll have me.”
Jordan takes my hand and leads me back to the condos, and when he undresses me this time, there is nothing separating us. Not what has happened, not even what will. I know we will change. I know we may not always feel the way we do right now. But I also know that none of that really matters. Because there is no way to predict life. If two years ago someone would have told me that I’d be August, that I’d be starring in Locked, that my face would be on the cover of Vanity Fair, and that I’d be the number one Googled celebrity on the planet, I would have never believed them. But that’s just it. Life isn’t meant to be believable. It’s meant to be magical. Haven’t you heard? Truth is stranger than fiction.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A very special thanks…
To my incredible editor, Farrin Jacobs, for pushing me to make this the best book I could, and for continuing to respect my vision for Paige, Rainer, and Jordan. You are the smartest. That’s a word, right?
To my agent, Mollie Glick, for getting on board with whatever harebrained scenario I’m coming up with next, and for letting me focus on this world, and its inhabitants, so completely the last few years.
To my friend and manager, Dan Farah, for the countless text messages, voice mails (mine), and emojis (only the calm ones). Thank you for challenging me to set the bar so unbelievably high, and for reminding me that all is well… most of the time.
To Marlene King, who, for reasons I still don’t totally understand, decided to inhabit this world with me. Thank you for making Paige’s journey bigger than I ever could have imagined. I am so grateful to work with and learn from you.
To Tara Sonin, for teaching me how to be a boss, for taking care of me, and for allowing me to pay it forward the way I always dreamed I would, and could. Tara, I am so proud of you. Just remember: Gan Mao Ling.
To Rachel Petty, my wonderful UK editor, for her continued enthusiasm, brilliant guidance, and all-around awesomeness. I am so lucky to work with you.
To Leila Sales, for filling in whatever needs filling in in my life, whenever it needs filling in. I love you, wacky buddy. Thank you for your guidance and example and for letting me share this ever-evolving dream with you.
To Lexa Hillyer, for teaching me so much about what it means to be a woman and an artist. Lexa, I am proud of us, and how far we have come. May we continue to inspire each other with kindness and compassion (and prosecco).
To Lisa Moraleda, for being the best publicist ever, and for putting all my crazy ideas in motion—this world is so much fun to explore with you.
To Tina McIntyre and Jane Lee, for making Parker Witter live online. She appreciates it, even though she’d never say it.
To Leslie Shumate, for help keeping Paige in line on the page (and at LB).
To Janet Ringwood, friend and publicist extraordinaire. Thank you for being there for me always, for our wine-fueled afterlife discussions, and for reminding me to smile and be present.
To Kat McKenna, UK fairy and marketing genius. Thanks for helping Famous in Love travel in such style.
To Hannah Brown Gordon, for continuing to be the best of the best.
To Liz Casal and Maggie Edkins, two of the world’s greatest designers, for keeping Famous in Love looking smokin’.
To Brad Gendell, who knocks my novels to the top of his to-be-read pile every time there’s a new one. As far as brothers-in-law go, I’d say I won the chosen jackpot.
To Guy, India, and Fox Gendell for being my biggest (and littlest) champions. Watching you grow up is one of the great joys of my life.
And finally, to my parents—I love you more today than yesterday but less than tomorrow.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Welcome
Dedication
Epigraph
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Acknowledgments
Copyright
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 by Rebecca Serle
Sparks © ElenaShow / Shutterstock
Cover design by Liz Casal and Maggie Edkins
Cover © 2015 Hachette Book Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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First ebook edition: October 2015
ISBN 978-0-316-36637-3
E3