The Hypnotist’s Love Story

by Liane Moriarty

  We're still good friends, which is an odd experience for me. I've never been friends with an ex-boyfriend before. I don't really understand how it works, or what the rules are, but so far it's been fine, sometimes a bit awkward. We chat but avoid eye contact.

  Kate says she thinks Toby and I are destined to end up together because of some complicated thing to do with the way he looks at me (I didn't think he did look at me, but apparently he does when I'm distracted), but I don't know. She's pregnant at the moment and overly sentimental. She rang me last night to tell me that she and Lance had been for the ultrasound, and the baby was a boy, and that they'd like me to be the baby's godmother. Me. She said, "I know I haven't known you that long, so tell me if it's an imposition." Then she said, "Saskia? Are you still there?"

  My godson will be born next year.

  Speaking of babies, I saw the hypnotist with her baby today.

  It wasn't deliberate. I've never breached the terms of my AVO, and I make a point of avoiding areas where I'm likely to run into them again.

  It was early evening and I was at Circular Quay. I was meeting Tammy and Kate for a drink at the Opera Bar before we saw a play. Kate had got cheap tickets on some website. It was a beautiful evening and the Quay was crowded with people walking back and forth between the ferries and the Opera House.

  Ellen was walking straight toward me pushing a stroller: one of those big colorful contraptions. I only caught a glimpse of the baby. Patrick's baby. It was a girl. She was wearing a purple dress. Little legs stuck straight out in front of her with white socks.

  I stopped dead and someone behind me said, "Hey, watch out."

  I saw Ellen's face light up. It was as if she was looking straight at me. I smiled back, because I'd always thought we could have been friends in a different world, and I really wanted to tell her that it was the strangest thing, but since I'd broken my pelvis and ankle my mysterious leg pain had vanished.

  And then I realized that she was smiling at someone behind me, lifting a hand to wave. I didn't even turn my head to see if it was Patrick, or Jack, or someone else. I kept walking and let myself melt into the crowd.

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you so much to the legendary Amy Einhorn and all the talented people at Amy Einhorn Books for their support. Thank you also to my lovely agent in the U.S., Faye Bender.

  Writing this book gave me the excuse to learn about the amazing world of hypnotherapy. I'm so grateful to Lyn Macintosh for all the time she spent introducing me to her fascinating profession. Errors and flights of fancy are most definitely my responsibility.

  Thank you to my friends: Mark Davidson for explaining police procedures, Janelle Atkins for answering questions about town planning and Jackie Mikhael for getting herself hypnotized just so she could report back to me.

  Thank you to my father, Bernie Moriarty, for telling me about surveying and my mother, Diane Moriarty, for telling every single person she meets about my books.

  Thank you as always to my sisters, Jaclyn Moriarty and Nicola Moriarty, who read my first drafts, and Katrina Harrington, who helped proofread my last draft.

  The following books were very helpful to me in the writing of this novel: Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy (2001) by C. Banyan and G. Kein; Hypnosis: A Comprehensive Guide (2008) by Tad James with Lorraine Flores and Jack Schober; Finding True Magic (2006) by Jack Elias; The Art of Hypnosis (2010) by C. Roy Hunter; and The Psychology of Stalking (1998) by J. Reid Meloy.

  About the Author

  Liane Moriarty is the author of three bestselling novels: Three Wishes The Last Anniversary What Alice Forgot. She is also the author of the Nicola Berry series for children.

  Liane lives in Sydney, Australia, with her husband, son, and daughter. Her website and blog can be found at www.lianemoriarty.com.