Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge the Wangal people of the Eora Nation, who are the traditional custodians of the land on which this book was written. I would also like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, whose language includes the word ‘merindah’. I would also like to acknowledge the Taungurung people of the Kulin Nation, where the farm Merindah Park is fictionally located. I pay my respects to the Elders past and present.

Thank you to the team at Escape, particularly Kate Cuthbert for continuing to believe in me, Chrysoula Aiello for her edits, and the rest of the team at Harlequin who pulled this novel into a book. Thanks, as always, go to my sister and beta reader, Caro—you are a star.

Thank you to Uncle Hilton Donovan for his sensitivity read of Jacob’s character (and naming Jacob), to Jack Hockman for his delightfully honest writing about depression (#doingcartwheels) to Jakalene and the rest of the Ashfam crew, and to Annelise Monte’s blog on writing bisexual characters. Also to the Kinsey Scale for helping me figure out a bit more about myself.