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Chapters (77)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. A Series of Screw-ups: The Chisaki Joan Katsuyama Story, Part I
  6. 3
  7. The History of My Beef with Brynn Foer-Preston
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. The History of the Katsuyama Family, Part I
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part I
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part II
  20. 13
  21. The History of the Katsuyama Family, Part II
  22. 14
  23. 15
  24. 16
  25. 17
  26. 18
  27. 19
  28. The Complicated History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Imaginary Relationship with Her Nonexistent Dad
  29. 20
  30. 21
  31. 22
  32. A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part III
  33. 23
  34. 24
  35. 25
  36. A Brief, Backward History of the McAllister Family, as Paraphrased from the San Jose Mercury News
  37. 26
  38. 27
  39. 28
  40. A Quick and Eerily Relevant History of Asians in America
  41. 29
  42. 30
  43. 31
  44. 32
  45. 33
  46. 34
  47. 35
  48. 36
  49. A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part IV
  50. 37
  51. 38
  52. 39
  53. 40
  54. 41
  55. 42
  56. 43
  57. 44
  58. A Series of Screw-ups: The Chisaki Joan Katsuyama Story, Part II (Or Maybe It’s a Prequel)
  59. 45
  60. 46
  61. 47
  62. 48
  63. 49
  64. 50
  65. 51
  66. 52
  67. 53
  68. The History of the Katsuyama Family, Part III
  69. 54
  70. A Note from the Author
  71. Index of Flowers and their Meanings
  72. Acknowledgments
  73. About the Author
  74. Praise for This Time Will Be Different
  75. Books by Misa Sugiura
  76. Back Ad
  77. About the Publisher

A COUPLE OF BLOCKS LATER, OWEN SLOWS DOWN and backs into an unpaved alley between two properties, bound on one side by a high redwood fence and on the other by an oleander hedge, all of it sheltered by a large Monterey pine. How ironic. He cuts the engine and turns off the lights. Rain drips onto the windshield of the car. My heart is still thundering in my chest.

“Do you think they called the cops?” I ask. “Do you think they saw the van?”

“God, I hope not.” He takes a deep breath. “Let’s wait ten more minutes, and then we’ll bring our ill-gotten gains back to the shop.”

“Sounds good.”

Owen looks at me and grins. “You’re a mess.”

I can’t help grinning back. “So are you.” I’m feeling a little euphoric after that narrow escape, if you want to know the truth.

“When that ladder fell, I thought for sure I was going to plunge to my death,” he says.

“Oh, I know.”

“No, seriously. My hands were slipping off the branch.”

“Holy shit.” I shudder. How awful would it have been if he’d fallen? I don’t even want to think about it.

“Yeah.”

“I kinda saved your life, then, huh? Doesn’t that mean you have to serve me forever until you repay the debt, or something?” I smile at him, and then I wish I hadn’t. I don’t know if it’s the close quarters, or the adrenaline, or even the rain, but this is starting to feel like flirting, and I don’t want him to get the wrong idea.

“Does saving your ass when you got stuck under the fence count as repaying the debt?”

It doesn’t, not if we’re being literal. But I’m glad for the opportunity to kill the flirty joke about how he owes me a lifetime of service, so I say, “I suppose. I guess we’re even, then.”

“Even.” He nods, then says, “You know, we make a good team.”

“Or a terrible one.”

“None of that, none of that. We make an excellent team. Put ’er there, partner.” Owen extends his muddy hand, and I shake it, despite how incredibly corny this feels, and then I have about seventeen feelings at once, among them: Wow, he has really strong hands. But he is such a dork. But he is kind of cute, though, Emily’s right. What the fuck; where is all of this coming from? Stop, it’s just the adrenaline from the chase. But what if it’s not? It totally is. But what if it’s not?