Infinite thank-yous to Farjana Yasmin for designing yet another beautiful, perfect, eye-catching cover. I can’t even believe I’m lucky enough to have it on my book.

One of the biggest joys of the past year has been visiting independent bookstores both near and far. Thank you to the stores that have hosted me, and thank you to the stores I haven’t yet visited but who have championed my books, put them on display, and hand sold them to customers. I already loved bookstores as a reader, but as a writer I can truly see how much care and love you put into your jobs. Special thanks to Joseph-Beth Booksellers for the support and also the life-size Tom Hanks.

I wrote and revised a large part of this book at Columbus Metropolitan Library branches, and I’m incredibly grateful to have an extraordinary library system in my city.

Giant, heart-shaped thank-you GIFs to the bookstagrammers and bloggers who post about my books. It is such a joy to hear from you.

Thank you to librarians everywhere for supporting my books and also books in general.

The biggest possible thank-you to Lauren Dlugosz Rochford and Emily Adrian for reading early drafts of this book, giving me invaluable feedback, and pointing out when I used the same word fifteen times on one page (a slight exaggeration, but only slight).

Thank you to Tess Malone for taking the time to read this book, even though it was on a computer, and giving me such immensely helpful feedback.

As always, thank you to my weird, wonderful family, especially to Mama Winfrey, the one who takes care of everyone else.

To my readers: I’m so glad you read my books, recommend them to others, and buy copies for your moms/sisters/grandmas/etc. I very literally couldn’t do this without you and I’m grateful that you care about these characters.

Thank you to Hollis for taking time off work whenever I need to get on a plane and visit a bookstore or go to the library and stare at a computer. People frequently ask how I get work done as a stay-at-home parent, and here’s how: I have a supportive partner who shows up and values my career.

To Harry, who always wants to look for my books when we visit the library: I love your curiosity, your imagination, and the fact that you’re downstairs screaming as I write this. You make everything better.

And to anyone out there who cares for anyone else—a child or a parent, for family or for work, in any capacity—thank you for doing such hard, important, and undervalued work.

Kerry Winfrey writes romantic comedies for adults and teens. She is the author of Love and Other Alien Experiences, Things Jolie Needs to Do Before She Bites It, and Waiting for Tom Hanks. When she’s not writing, she’s likely baking yet another pie or watching far too many romantic comedies. She lives with her husband, son, and dog in the middle of Ohio.