Gil took the leash from Beth. “Thanks, Beth. I’ll take it from here.”
Beth gestured behind her. “I’ll just be out back with my other fosters if you need me. I’m going to give you two some time to discuss…things.” She winked at him and turned, leaving Moira and Gil alone.
Gil cleared his throat. “Molly’s owner ran into some unforeseen life changes. She needed to move, and she couldn’t take a pet with her. Turns out Molly here still needs a good home.”
Moira swallowed past a tight throat. “I can offer her a good home,” she said without even taking the time to consider the decision. She was leading with her heart, which she’d decided would never steer her wrong. If she’d led with her heart the first time she’d met Molly, she’d have taken this little puppy home months ago.
Gil shrugged. “The problem is, Goldie has already met Molly, and she’s grown a bit attached. You and I might have to compete to see which of us gets to take her.”
“Compete against each other?” Moira asked, jaw dropping. “Again?”
“Or,” Gil said, smile growing as he looked at her for a long moment—she could look at this man for a million years and never grow tired of his smile—“we could just join forces and raise our dogs together.”
Moira really liked the sound of that. “Dogs make us better humans, right? Isn’t that what you told me?”
“Something like that. All I know for sure is that you make me better.”
“Well, I’m not marrying you just for the sake of sharing a dog,” Moira said without thinking.
Gil tilted his head. There was a humorous glint in his gaze. “Who said anything about marriage?”
Moira felt her entire face flush. Ever since he’d said the P-word earlier, she’d had marriage on the brain. “Oh, I just…” She shook her head. “I only meant that a dog is no reason to commit to one another.”
“You’re completely right. The best reasons for committing are because you love someone and you don’t want to be without them. Because you want to wake up to that person and go to sleep with them. Because you want to share every single moment that you possibly can together.”
Moira searched his gaze. “Mm-hmm. Those are excellent reasons.”
“I’m glad you think so, because those are my reasons for wanting to share a dog with you, Moira.”
A million happy feelings flooded through her body. “Those are the reasons I want to share a dog with you too,” she said quietly. The wind tousled her hair, blowing it around her face as Molly barked and wrapped her leash around their legs.
“Just to clarify, sharing a dog means sharing a life, right?” he asked, his expression serious.
Moira laughed as more tears filled her eyes. She could blink them away as much as she wanted, but they would just keep coming, and she was too happy to care. “That’s right,” she said. Then she bent and picked up Molly, holding the tiny dog against her chest as it attempted to lick her cheek.
“The paperwork is already done,” Gil said. “She’s ours.”
Moira loved the sound of ours on his lips. “Perfect. Then let’s take her home, shall we?” She narrowed her eyes at Gil. “For the record, home is anywhere that you are.”
Gil leaned in and kissed her temple, dodging a sloppy puppy kiss from Molly. “For the record,” he echoed back, “I feel the exact same way. And I always will.”
Dear Reader,
The characters I write often introduce themselves on the page as I’m creating the first draft. I might know what they look like and a few things from their backstories, but mostly they’re a mystery to me—one that unravels as I work through the story. One thing I knew early on about this book and its hero, Mayor Gil Ryan, was that he had a younger brother who has Down syndrome.
As many of you know, I’m not only an author. I’m also an occupational therapist. In my day job, I’ve met and worked with many young people living with a variety of health challenges and syndromes including this one. When I create these fictional towns, it is important to me that I represent a world that includes and represents everyone. Gil’s brother, Doug Ryan, holds a very special place in my heart for that reason. As is the case when developing my other characters, I didn’t fully know Doug’s story until it revealed itself to me. While living with Down syndrome is not my experience, Doug’s desire to be treated as a responsible adult and to remain independent is one I think we all can relate to, regardless of our life circumstances.
Thank you for allowing me to paint a world that reflects a kinder version of the one I live in every day. And I want to take this opportunity to thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed discovering Moira and Gil and Doug, as much as I did when writing their stories!
Love and Happily Ever Afters,
Annie
Acknowledgments
It’s time to thank the endless list of people in my life who have helped me put another book into the world. I certainly could never do this on my own, and wouldn’t want to. Writing is a solo activity, but it takes a village to edit, copyedit, proofread, and critique; to design beautiful covers; and to write interesting back-cover copy. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes and so many people to thank.
First, I would like to thank my family. My husband guards my time for writing, and as my children grow older, they have started to guard it as well. My family also inspires my writing and keeps my proverbial well full of all the love and hope I need to draw from as inspiration for my books.
Thank you to my editor, Alex Logan. It is such a pleasure to work with such a talented and professional editor. You hold nothing back and push me to put out the very best book that I can. The same is true for the entire Grand Central/Forever team. A big thanks to Estelle Hallick for finding creative ways to make sure my books find the readers who will love them. I appreciate your hard work and enthusiasm, and I count myself lucky to be on your author list.
I also owe a huge helping of gratitude to my literary agent, Sarah Younger. We’ve surpassed twenty books together, and I hope that number continues to grow for many years to come.
Thanks to my critique partner, Rachel Lacey, for always being my first reader. I couldn’t do this without you. I also want to acknowledge Tif Marcelo, April Hunt, and Jeanette Escudero. Having author friends to chat with makes the journey less lonely and more joyful.
A huge thanks to my virtual assistant, Kimberly Bradford Scott. You have been a tremendous help to me this year, and I am so glad to be working with you.
I would be remiss not to express my gratitude to my readers, some of whom have read all of my books—some have read them several times! I am honored and humbled that you would spend your time within the pages that I’ve written. Thank you for reading and sharing my books with fellow readers. It means the world to me!
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About the Author
Annie Rains is a USA Today bestselling contemporary romance author who writes contemporary love stories set in fictional places in her home state of North Carolina. After years of dreaming about becoming an author, Annie published her first book in 2015 and has been chasing deadlines and creating happily ever afters for her characters ever since. When Annie isn’t writing, she’s living out her own happily ever after with her husband and three children. Annie also enjoys spending time with her two rescue pets, a mischievous Chihuahua mix and an attention-hungry cat, which inspire the lovable animals in her books.