Acknowledgments

Those familiar with Old Town may be surprised to learn that Sophie and her friends reside on Duchess Street. Throughout the series I have taken pains not to pinpoint the exact location of Sophie’s house because I don’t want to inconvenience any residents of Old Town. According to The Connection Newspapers, citing Walking with Washington by Robert Madison, the street now known as Oronoco Street was originally called Duchess Street, completing the procession of Queen, Princess, and Duchess Streets. Apparently, a tobacco inspection warehouse was located on Duchess Street. A favored tobacco called Oronoco was processed there and it became Oronoco Street. As I searched for a name appropriate to Old Town but not currently in use, I stumbled upon Duchess. And so, after all these years, Sophie and her friends live on Duchess Street, but I’m still not telling exactly where it is! I also made up a high house number for Natasha that I don’t think exists as well.

I also took some liberties with the “quiet” fireworks. They do exist and are mandatory in some places around the world. I have no idea what fireworks regulations are in Old Town, but this is fiction, so I get to make up that part!

Many thanks to Susan Smith Erba, who assisted me with information about my athletic characters and their muscle cream in this book. And special thanks go to Amy Wheeler, who so kindly set me straight on many restaurant details. Thanks also to Betsy Strickland, who has informed me that she looks for thanks in each of my books and expects to see her name! So thanks for being a great friend, Betsy.

Also heartfelt thanks to Karen Hines, Tammy and Bill Nash, and Kim and John Edwards for patiently taste testing endless cheesecakes!

As always, this book wouldn’t exist without my editors, Wendy McCurdy and Elizabeth Trout. And most special thanks to my agent, Jessica Faust, who always sees the bright side and keeps me going.

And last, but most certainly not least, thanks and kudos to my cover artist, Teresa Fasolino. I always think she can’t possibly top the previous cover, but amazingly, she does.