you check out my notes. Then we can go from there.”
Good idea.
I swallowed hard, then opened the journal and started skimming the pages from the beginning. I couldn’t help but smile when she added a smiley face in a few places, putting arrows that directed to parts she seemed to like. I had originally intended to let Josie type up the rest on the computer, but now I wasn’t sure I wanted her to see what Presley had added. There were a few questions regarding placement of body parts, which were to be expected from a beta reader, but mostly, she had pointed out the parts that she recognized—the parts that resembled all that she and I had been through together, although she wasn’t referring to the actual events.
As I continued skimming the pages, I realized she really had given the book her full attention, but I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d been able to see that there was so much of me in this book, so much of what I was feeling for her. The whirlwind romance, the overwhelming emotions… It wasn’t about the baby shower or the cheating ex. It was about one single day and how everything could change.
I didn’t stop reading until I got to the very last page, which ended after chapter eight. That was when I saw there was a long note in her handwriting. I peered over to see that she was still reading, moving right along. I didn’t expect it would take her long to finish.
I planted my arms on the table and started reading what she’d written.
Never in my life have I believed in happily ever after. Not since I was a child and I realized that the world was not perfect, that not all mothers loved their children, that not all wives loved their husbands. But I’d never really thought about it, never even considered that other people hadn’t experienced what I had. I’ll be the first to admit—at least to myself—that I’m a pessimist. The glass isn’t half full; it is always half empty. I’ve come to expect the worst.
I have never met anyone who has found the perfect relationship with the perfect person and created the perfect family, so I figured it couldn’t possibly exist.
Only I was wrong.
I think I’ve idealized what perfect is supposed to be in my mind, come up with a definition that isn’t appropriate, or perhaps I was merely looking for something that didn’t really exist in the first place.
Then I met you in the perfect coffee shop on that perfect day. It probably hadn’t started out that way, but it had ended on that note. And every day since, every time I had the pleasure of being in your company, I realize now … those moments were perfect. Perfect for me.
I won’t lie and try to convince you that I’m the easiest person to get along with. I’m terribly flawed, but none of that matters when you look at me. Seeing myself through your eyes … in this book … has been something I never expected. At first, I was angry that you seemed to know so much about me, but then I realized you do know me. Maybe you don’t know all the details, but you know me.
And you like me anyway.
I swallowed hard. I didn’t just like Presley. I loved her. But instead of saying as much, I kept reading.
So, at this point, I don’t know how the story ends, but for the first time in my life, I’m hoping for a happy ever after.
For Kora and Donovan.
But mostly…
For you and me.
For a minute, I continued to stare at the paper, fighting the blurry vision. This woman undid me in so many ways. And this note, these heartfelt words … they were the single most incredible words I’d ever read in my entire life.
I looked up to see Presley still reading, tears sliding down her cheeks. There was so much I wanted to say to her, but I needed her to keep reading.
So I settled for watching her.
Chapter Seventy-Two
Presley
As I read the final piece of Kora and Donovan’s love story, I couldn’t hold back the tears. Not only because the story gripped me and I was happy with the way things worked out, but also because I saw so much of me in this book, so much of Jake.
I’d never considered the fact that when an author wrote a book, he relied on experiences that had shaped his world to