Acknowledgments This book is so special to me for so many reasons and there’s no way it could have gotten out into the world without some amazing people by my side To my wonderful hardworking agent Nicole Resciniti who believed in Oakley’s story and who continues to believe in me To my editor Nicole Frail whom I adore Thank you for loving this story as much as I do and for helping me shape it into something beautiful Thank you also to everyone behind the scenes at Sky Pony I sincerely appreciate everything you have done for me To my fabulous critique partners and best friends Katie Dodge and Ruth Josse Thank you For everything I don’t know where I would be without you two To Jessie Humphries for giving me surfing lessons through Facebook messages and for always making me laugh at your inappropriateness Haha Thank you to the rest of my awesome and hilarious writing group Peggy Eddleman Erin Summerill Kim Krey Taffy Lovell Jeigh Meredith Shelly Brown Donna Nolan Julianne Donaldson Jamie Thompson and Christene vii
Houston for the writing retreats sprints get-togethers and road trips To my beta readers Megan Park and Michelle Argyle for your fabulous critiques to make this book better To my parents Robert and Cheri Wardleigh for always believing in me and supporting me ever since I was a kid even if my dreams and ideas seemed a little crazy To my brother Braeden Wardleigh for being my Lucas To my sisters Chaleese Leishman and Chakell Wardleigh for being my best friends and for reading every single draft of everything I write even when it sucks A huge thank-you to Daniel Sedgwick for answering all of my random medical questions And the rest of my family who have supported me on this journey I’m truly grateful And finally to the loves of my life My husband David who told me to chase my dreams and has supported me so much since I started writing so many years ago I love you To my four beautiful and crazy kidlets Caden Kinley Brooklyn and Beckam who keep me on my toes and brighten every single day And last but not least to my readers Thank you for taking a chance on me and Oakley’s story I hope you love Lucas as much as I do viii
