Chapters (58)
- Cover
- Praise for Abbi Waxman and her novels
- Berkley Titles by Abbi Waxman
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Summer
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- Fall
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- EPILOGUE
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- Readers Guide
- Questions for Discussion
- About the Author
- What’s next onyour reading list?
“Sure,” said Lili, putting on a sudden burst of speed. “Can you get me an iced coffee with lots of room for cream?” She rushed up to the counter for the bathroom key and swiftly made her way across the room, navigating the crowd of overcaffeinated people in a mad, slalom-esque dash. The sales assistant looked at Laura. “I guess she really needs to go, huh?”
Laura grinned, and ordered their drinks.
• • •
Having successfully acquired ferns at the nursery, Laura and Lili returned to the house and found Clare and Bob playing hopscotch on the pathway.
Lili grinned and turned to Laura. “Clare has had a soft spot for Bob ever since he let her drive a tractor in our gardening class. That’s where I met Edward.” She watched her daughter openly cheating and Bob pretending not to see it. “Bob’s a really good guy, you know.” She turned to Laura. “It’s not his fault he looks like that.”
Laura laughed. “I know, it’s a bit distracting.”
“It is. But try not to judge a book by its cover.”
“OK.”
Lili hesitated. “Or by its tendency to blush and stammer.”
Laura smiled. “OK.”
“Or by its fondness for talking about plants.”
Laura’s smile widened. “Are we still talking about a book?”
Lili opened her door. “Yes, of course. Crap, I need to pee again—can I leave you to unload the car?”
Bob was already coming over to help, and Laura smiled at him. “Of course,” she said. “I’ll see you in the back.”
Edward had been right, the ferns and hostas looked beautiful in the corners. Lili regaled Laura with bizarre stories about her kids, her dog, her work, while Laura did most of the digging. Bending over wasn’t easy for Lili, so she mostly sat on the ground against the wall and chatted while Laura dug, loosened the ferns from their pots, and placed them in the spots Lili pointed to. Time passed easily, and Laura relaxed. She’d been worried Lili was going to pursue a line of questioning about the accident, but Lili seemed to have moved on. Or maybe she was just an astute judge of people and could tell Laura didn’t want to talk about it. Not being that astute a judge of people herself, Laura wasn’t sure.