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Mike reached around Zoey in a playful attempt to catch Hazel, who jumped back with a squeal of laughter. He looked at Zoey. “Your daughter is a menace.” He kissed Zoey’s cheek. “Just like her mom. Here, I’ve been saving this one up for today. What did the sculptor say to his girlfriend?”
Vickie and Maura had finally made it through the crowd around them. Vickie heard Mike’s riddle and sighed to Maura. “Oh, no, here we go with the jokes...”
Zoey turned in his embrace, sliding her arms around his neck. “I don’t know—whatdidthe sculptor say to his girlfriend?”
“I love you with all of my art.”
Everyone groaned except Zoey. She knew he meant it. He loved her. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips, then drew back. They were in public, after all. She settled against his arms and grinned.
“I’ve got one for you, too. Why did the notebook marry the pencil?” she asked. There were more groans around them. Mary called out, asking if they’d always be this disgustingly mushy.
Mike ignored them all, his gaze fixed on her face.
“I don’t know. Why?”
“Because she finally found Mr. Write.”
He didn’t laugh, and neither did she. There was no one in the room but them. No sound but their two hearts beating in perfect rhythm. Together again. Forever.
“Yes,” Mike finally said. “She did. Think I can convinceyouto marrymesomeday?”
Zoey nodded, rising on her toes to kiss him again before whispering...
“I do.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
THISBOOKWASput on hold for a bit after we lost my mom, and it was a relief to have such a funny, touching, best-friends-to-lovers romance to come back to. It’s a bit odd to say that this book was inspired by my own friendships with guys through the years thatneverincluded anything more than friendship, from high school to today. I say it’s odd since, naturally, in the book Mike and Zoeydomove out of the friend zone because, you know, it’s a romance novel! But as a woman who was a bit of a tomboy growing up, whose father taught her how to change a spark plug by the time she was ten, who repaired Himself’s toilet after we’d been dating for all of two weeks and who has always felt more comfortable with “guy talk” than “girl talk”... Well, I wanted to honor women like me, and thank the strong, secure men who are our friends. From Glenn to Kevin and more, those friendships have lasted and have added to my life in many funny and meaningful ways.
I thank my editor at HQN, Michele Bidelspach, for her wise guidance. And a huge thank-you to a constant and invaluable member of my writing team: my agent, Veronica Park, who always tells it like it is and has my back no matter what.
And most of all, thanks and so much love to my very own best friendandhero—my husband of twenty-six years, John.
Can’t get enough of Rendezvous Falls?
Please keep reading for Jo McNally’sLost in Love,
a Rendezvous Falls novella.
Lost in Love
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
