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Chapters (58)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise for Abbi Waxman and her novels
  3. Berkley Titles by Abbi Waxman
  4. Dedication
  5. Epigraph
  6. Summer
  7. ONE
  8. TWO
  9. THREE
  10. FOUR
  11. FIVE
  12. SIX
  13. SEVEN
  14. EIGHT
  15. NINE
  16. TEN
  17. ELEVEN
  18. TWELVE
  19. THIRTEEN
  20. FOURTEEN
  21. FIFTEEN
  22. SIXTEEN
  23. SEVENTEEN
  24. EIGHTEEN
  25. NINETEEN
  26. TWENTY
  27. TWENTY-ONE
  28. TWENTY-TWO
  29. TWENTY-THREE
  30. TWENTY-FOUR
  31. TWENTY-FIVE
  32. TWENTY-SIX
  33. TWENTY-SEVEN
  34. TWENTY-EIGHT
  35. TWENTY-NINE
  36. THIRTY
  37. THIRTY-ONE
  38. THIRTY-TWO
  39. THIRTY-THREE
  40. THIRTY-FOUR
  41. THIRTY-FIVE
  42. THIRTY-SIX
  43. THIRTY-SEVEN
  44. Fall
  45. THIRTY-EIGHT
  46. THIRTY-NINE
  47. FORTY
  48. FORTY-ONE
  49. FORTY-TWO
  50. FORTY-THREE
  51. FORTY-FOUR
  52. FORTY-FIVE
  53. EPILOGUE
  54. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  55. Readers Guide
  56. Questions for Discussion
  57. About the Author
  58. What’s next onyour reading list?

Laura laughed. “I get that. It’s unbelievably cold in the winter there, but it would make a change from all this lovely sunshine.”

Bob smiled. “I guess I can stand anything for a year.”

“Of course,” she replied. “Hey, you want help with the application? I had a part-time student job in the admissions office at school, forms and applications hold no fear for me.” She leaned forward and waved the papers at Bob. “Honestly, Bob, it’s easy. You’re super qualified, and I’ll help you with the financial aid forms, I just went through the whole process myself.”

“Maybe,” he said, feeling shy again. Why did Laura have to be so considerate, on top of being so attractive? There was something about the planes of her face, the way the light hit her jaw, her eyelashes, her voice . . . He could even overlook the fact that she was a Yankees fan, because they were her home team, after all. You couldn’t help where you were born.

As he was about to speak again, there was a sudden jolt in the room, and pencils started rolling off the drafting table. In the distance they heard china falling and breaking, and as the shaking in the room increased, Daisy started barking, echoed by Herbert somewhere else in the house. Outside, in chorus, a variety of car alarms went off, going in and out of time with each other.

Laura realized what was happening and reached out for Bob, who was reaching out for her. They gripped each other silently as the earthquake rocked the room, causing books to tumble from the bedside table and the lamp in the ceiling to swing. With a final, hard judder it stopped, and Bob let go of Laura’s arm.

“Are you OK?” He looked at her eyes, which were still very wide. “That was a pretty good one, but not too close . . . maybe 4.0?” He stood up. “I’m going to check on the others.”

“That was my first earthquake . . .” she said, laughing shakily. “It wasn’t like I expected . . . the room actually moved.” She stood, but wobbled a little. He took her arm again, and smiled at her.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to them.” They could hear voices in the hall: Maggie, Asher, and Libby. Bob went to open the door, and found Maggie right outside.

“Bob,” she said, breathlessly. “We’ve got a problem in the garden. You’d better come and see.”

TWENTY-SIX

When they all walked out into the garden and saw that a section of wall had collapsed on the vegetable garden, taking the rose-covered arch with it, Laura heard Bob swear under his breath. Not angrily. Sadly.

“It’s kind of incredible,” said Libby, who had been consulting his phone, “that the wall fell at all, because that was not a big earthquake.”