While a writer’s life sometimes feels like a solitary one, wrestling the characters in my head onto the page, the reality is far different. This book would not have been possible without an entire team. As always, a huge thank-you first to my amazing editor, Gail Chasan. We have worked on sixty-one books together now and I hope for sixty-one more!

Everyone at Harlequin works incredibly hard to get my book into the hands of readers and I am deeply grateful to every single person who worked on this book, from the art department to the sales team to everyone in editorial.

Thank you also to my literary agent, Karen Solem, for her wisdom and guidance through the years.

For this particular book, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my friends and fellow beachside plotters, Marina Adair, Skye Jordan and Jill Shalvis, who helped me shape a nebulous idea into one with bones and especially heart. I dearly miss all the laughter, creativity and peanut brittle and can’t wait until we can meet again.

I could not have written this book without my family, especially my wonderful hero of a husband, Jared, who has been my biggest cheerleader and supporter for thirty-five years. I love you dearly.