It’s like you said at that time at Cotillion practice—you want to be a good woman who chooses the right thing for everybody. Well, so do I. (Minus the woman part, obviously.)

Have a good life, Pres. I love you. Always.

D

I read the note two more times before closing the document and turning away from the computer.

Bee sat on the edge of the bed, watching me, her long blond hair caught in a braid over one shoulder.

“Well?” she asked.

“You did the right thing,” I said, even though the words hurt, hitting my heart like broken glass. “You were the Paladin I couldn’t be, I guess.”

At that, Bee stood up, her skirt swishing across her knees as she crossed the room to stand in front of me.

“No,” she said, shaking her head vehemently. “I wasn’t his girlfriend, so it was an easier choice to make.”

When I didn’t say anything, Bee sighed, folding her arms across her chest. “So what do we do now?” she asked me.

I got out of David’s chair, picking up his bag, but leaving the jump drive in his computer. When I walked out into the hall, Bee followed me, and we stood there, looking back into David’s room. There was a steady ache in my chest, and I had no idea if it was some residual Paladin thing—if David was in danger, but too far away for me to feel that normal crushing, burning sensation—or if it was just my heart breaking all over again.

I wrapped my fingers around the doorknob and turned back to Bee.

“We go back to normal,” I said, letting the door click shut.

Bee gave a little snort at that, looking around at Saylor’s house, still strewn with books about Oracles and magic and history, all these weird, incongruous things tucked alongside the china figurines and ugly paintings.

“Can we do that?” she asked, and I made myself walk down the stairs, my eyes on the front door.

Have a good life, Pres.

“We’re going to try.”

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

WRITING A BOOK involves a fair amount of mayhem, and I’m lucky enough to have a bunch of fabulous mischief-makers on my side.

Thank you to my amazing editor, Ari Lewin, who gets me and my books so very well, has been such a champion for me and Harper, and never minds when I send her pictures of People I Find Attractive. You are a rock star, and I love making books with you!

Thanks, too, to the amazing Katherine Perkins, who is so smart I’m a little afraid of her, and whose notes on this book were insightful and encouraging and sharper than Harper’s favorite high heel.