Praise for the work of USA TODAY bestselling author Jennifer Greene
âA book by Jennifer Greene hums with an unbeatable combination of sexual chemistry and heartwarming emotion.â
âNew York Times bestselling author
Susan Elizabeth Phillips
âJennifer Greeneâs writing possesses a modern sensibility and frankness that is vivid, fresh, and often funny.â
âPublishers Weekly on The Woman Most Likely To
âCombining expertly crafted characters with lovely prose flavored with sassy wit, Greene constructs a superb tale of love lost and found, dreams discarded and rediscovered, and the importance of family and friendshipâ¦â
âBooklist on Where Is He Now?
âA spellbinding storyteller of uncommon brilliance, the fabulous Jennifer Greene is one of the romance genreâs greatest gifts to the world of popular fiction.â
âRomantic Times magazine
âMs. Greene lavishes her talents on every book she writes.â
âRendezvous
Jennifer Greene sold her first novel when she had two babies in diapers. Since then, sheâs become the award-winning, bestselling author of more than seventy novels. Sheâs known for her warm, natural characters and humor that comes from the heart. Reviewers call her love stories âunforgettable.â You can write Jennifer through her Web site at www.jennifergreene.com.
This book is in no way a true storyâ¦except for one part. Years ago, someone I love dearly had a baby born with special problemsâand who was misdiagnosed. The original prognosis for that baby was so dire that it seemed impossible to believe the baby had any kind of future. Yet that prognosis was wrong.
The story nestled in my heart for years until I had to write a book about it. It wasnât just the baby that captured my heart. It was the crisis thrown at the parents. We all seem to grow up, very sure whatâs right and wrong, very sure what weâd do if we were tested. Yet life can throw us a curveball that throws everything we believe right out the window.
I write romance because I truly believe that love has powerâI gave my heroine that massive âcurveballâ in this story, because I think women can especially understand it.
Perhaps youâve never had a problem remotely like the situation in the story. But Iâll bet you all grew up, aspiring to be good women, striving to do the right thing, intending to play by the rules. Weâre raised with an unspoken promise that things will turn out fine as long as weâre âgood girls.â Only life doesnât always keep that promise.
Itâs so hard to break the rules and risk all the things that make you safe. Itâs so hard to find yourself alone, bucking the tide, when all you ever wanted was to be a good person and stay out of trouble.
Itâs so hard to be more than you ever thought you could be.
This oneâs for you, ladies.
Jennifer Greene
For STEPHANIE
No, sweetheart, this isnât about you, because
I only write about pretend people. But I did
write it because I love you, and because
sometimes we all need someone to believe in us.
PROLOGUE
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
D amned if her hands werenât shaking.
Kasey sighed in exasperation. A year ago, she could never have imagined this momentâbut then, a year ago, sheâd believed she was the luckiest woman alive.
Thunder grumbled in the west as she hurried into the babyâs dark bedroom. Tess was lying in her crib, gnawing on a teething ring, wearing nothing but a diaper. Michigan in August was often hot, but this intense, smothering heat just kept coming. Normally Tess would have long been asleep by now, but the looming storm must have wakened her.
Curtains billowed wildly in the hot, nervous wind. Clouds hurtled across the sky, bringing pitchforks of sterling-silver lightning and a hiss of ozone. When the first fat raindrops smacked against the windows, lights flickered on and offânot that Kasey cared. She wasnât worried whether the house lost power. She was worried whether she might.
She was born gutless. Pulling enough courage together to leave tonight was taking everything she had, everything she wasâand she was still afraid that might not be enough.
âBut youâre up for a little adventure, arenât you, love bug?â
The baby kicked joyfully at the sound of her motherâs voice.
âThatâs it. Weâre just going to be calm and quiet, okay?â Well, one of them was. The baby softly babbled as Kasey swiftly changed her diaper and threaded on a lightweight sleeper.
A short time before, sheâd stashed suitcases in the back of the Volvo, but she couldnât leave quite yet. Quickly she packed a last bag with critical itemsânot diapers or clothes or moneyâbut the things that mattered, like the jewel-colored mobile, the handmade quilt, and of course, the red velvet ball.
She juggled Tess and the bag, taking the back stairs, her heart slamming so hard she could hardly think. She grabbed rain gear on the way out. The garage was darker than a dungeon, yet Tessâwho should have been tired enough to pull off a good, cranky tantrumâsettled contentedly in her car seat. Kasey tossed in the rest of their debris and plunked down in the front.