My mom didn’t kill herself in the technical sense. One needle of heroin with her tolerance wouldn’t do it, but the other three I stuck in her arm would. She was killing herself a little every day, I just helped speed up the process. I’ll never put my daughter in that position.

“What’s in there?” Summer points at the building I just came out of.

“Nothing, sweetheart… Absolutely nothing.”

We drive back to the lake house in Prince William County. It’s not just a lake house anymore though, now it’s our permanent home. Bob and I didn’t want to raise Summer in the middle of Washington D.C. and to be honest, this place is lovely. I never saw it the same way Adam used to, but maybe that’s just because I always associated it with him. His insecurities and infidelities had coated a patina of filth across what is really a little slice of paradise.

My life is back to being exactly what I wanted it to be… and I intend to keep it that way.

Acknowledgments

First, I’d like to thank the Bloodhound Books team for taking a chance on me and believing in The Perfect Marriage. Thank you to Betsy Reavley for plucking this book from the submission pile and helping me to achieve my dream of publication. Thank you to my editor, Clare Law, for refining this book and making it the best it could be.

My publishing journey took nearly five years and fortunately none of them was spent alone, as like any author, I had a family and a group of close friends behind me. They endured the highs and lows of pursuing publication, they sympathized with the rejections, celebrated the successes, and encouraged my pursuit. They put up with endless hours of me staring at a computer screen and rambling on about characters as if they were real people. A massive thank you to my family, my closest friends, and my in-laws for supporting me during this journey.

Special thanks to Noel Scheid, Austin Nerge, James Nerge, Kapri Dace, Hannah Willetts, Andrea Willetts, Mary Weider, Stephanie Diedrich, Emily Lehman, Rosemary Cariello, Kayla Cariello-Becker, and Bri Becker for reading my first draft, i.e. my worst draft. A special thank you to my father-in-law, Kent Willetts, for not only reading it once, but also reading it a second time and providing editorial feedback.

Thank you to Matt Eckes for being the inspiration behind the character of Matthew Latchaw. Thank you to John Latchaw, Bari Weissman, and Katrina Nerge for reading more polished versions of The Perfect Marriage.

Thank you to my dad. You built me the writing desk I’ve now written two books at – a place where I plan to write many, many more.