Acknowledgments

First, I want to thank Katie and the entire team at Avon for believing in my story and for giving it a place to call home. I am so fortunate to work with an amazingly supportive, dedicated, and talented team. I feel truly blessed to call myself an Avon author.

Thanks to my husband, Chad, for challenging me to chase my biggest dreams and for supporting me along the way. I am so thankful we met at such a young age. I am so lucky to have you in my corner. I love you so much.

Thanks to my parents for stirring my love for reading and writing at an early age. You have always encouraged me to go after my biggest goals, and I am so lucky to have both of you in my life.

I want to thank all of my family and friends who have supported my writing from the very beginning. Thanks to Tom, Diane, Jamie, Christie, Kristin, Alicia, Kay, Lynette, Ronice, Deborah, Grandma Bonnie, Kelly, and Maureen for being there for me since the beginning of this journey. Thank you also to Audrey Hughey for helping me find my confidence as an author. I couldn’t do this without all of you.

A special thank-you goes to Jenny for being one of the first to read and believe in this story. You’ve been such an amazing friend throughout this process, and I don’t know where I’d be without all of our treadmill gossip sessions.

Thank you to all of my readers for taking a chance on a small-town writer with big dreams. I am so grateful to every single one of you.

Last but not least, thanks to my best friend, my mastiff Henry, for showing me what unconditional love looks like and for being right by my side on all of the days I’m writing away.