“No, thank you.” Curt smiled back, having gotten used to being sociable, as a matter of necessity. He’d met more people in the past month than he’d met in his entire life. He couldn’t remember the last drink he’d bought himself and he wasn’t complaining. Everywhere he went, people shook his hand, thanked him, and wanted a selfie with him. It was forcing him to come out of his shell, and Curt was learning that he actually liked the people he had sworn to protect.
In fact, his fame was one of the reasons that he’d been granted this favor tonight. He’d asked the restaurant to close to everyone except him and Heather, because he knew that if the regular crowd were here, they wouldn’t get a private moment. He’d offered to pay for shutting down the place, but they’d done it as a personal favor, living up to their name.
Friendly’s.
Curt checked his watch. It was 6:30, and according to Jordan, this was the exact time that Heather would be coming home from her new job and heading into the kitchen to start dinner. He couldn’t look out the window so he didn’t know if she was coming. They’d closed the shades so no one would see that he was inside, and he kept them closed. He had asked Friendly’s to take down the usual promotion on their sign in favor of something special, and he wondered if Heather had read it yet:
H, PLEASE MEET ME HERE FOR DINNER TONIGHT? CURT
Curt checked the table to make sure everything was in place. He’d brought a bag of Chips Ahoy, two bottles of water, and two nice glasses. He’d also bought a bouquet of a dozen long-stemmed red roses in a clear glass vase, but when he’d gotten here, he realized that the color of the flowers inadvertently matched Friendly’s logo. He’d messed that up, but okay. He was new at romance, and it wasn’t easy. On the contrary, it was easier to hang upside down from a helo.
Curt sipped his water, trying not to be nervous, a new sensation for him. He’d met a lot of nice, smart, and attractive women in the past month, and he’d gotten plenty of fan mail, emails, and photos from them. He was red-blooded enough to look at the photos, but none of the women appealed to him like Heather. She was nice, smart, and attractive in a way that felt real to him, and he couldn’t explain it any better than that. If she felt the same way, she would be walking through the door in the next few minutes.
So far, no luck.
Curt felt his heart beat faster, giving him a tingle that he’d never experienced before. He never thought he could get a tingle from anything but his job, but that was about adrenaline. This time, it was about emotion. About feelings that went to the core of who he was, flowing to and from his heart, like the very blood that gave him life. He was only just now finding out who he really was, meeting new people and trying a new job, but he wanted to go deeper than that. He wanted to be the man he was meant to be, for himself, and for Heather and Jordan. Maybe he could be a husband and father. Maybe he could have a family, with an overweight dog of his own.
Curt looked up, and his mouth went dry when he saw the door opening and Heather walking in with a surprised smile. She looked adorable with her hair down, wearing a blue dress, and when she met his gaze, her eyes smiled at him, too. With real happiness.
He found himself on his feet and heading to the door to thank her for coming.
And to introduce himself to her, for the very first time.
Acknowledgments
Here’s where I get to say my favorite words in the English language, namely, thank you. So many people helped me with this novel because it required information that was outside my fields of expertise, which are basically law, dogs, and carbohydrates. But because this book has so many twists, I don’t want to give spoilers to those of you who read these before you finish the novel. (You know who you are, and frankly, I’m one of you, so no judgment.) So I’ll thank some people here without explaining exactly what they did to inform this novel. I owe them a huge debt of thanks, and all mistakes herein are my own.
First thank-you goes to Shane and Liam Leonard, the teenaged sons of my best friend and assistant, Laura Leonard. I have had the great privilege to watch these two young boys grow from babies to high school scholar-athletes who know everything about baseball. Shane and Liam answered all of my questions and even coached me. Coincidentally, this happened to be the year that I was asked to throw out the first pitch for my hometown Philadelphia Phillies, and Shane and Liam actually helped me acquit myself on major-league game day. Thank you so much, guys.
Thank you so much to Coach Matthew Schultz of Great Valley High School Baseball program, who also spent hours with me answering all of my dumb questions about baseball, as well as letting me attend team practices and games. Thanks to the members of the Great Valley varsity baseball team, a group of terrific and talented young men.
Thank you to Dr. Heidi Capetola, principal of Great Valley High School, for leading a truly wonderful high school and for taking the time to teach me how it works. Thanks to the amazing teachers Gerry McGrath and William McNamara, who allowed me to sit in on their Government classes. And it goes without saying that the fictional teachers, coaches, and players in this novel are completely products of my own imagination.
Thank you to Anthony Tropea and Steve Bartholomew for their expertise and time. Thanks to Mark, who taught me the chemistry behind explosives, and rest assured that I revealed nothing herein that couldn’t be found on the Internet, a fact which is both interesting as well as scary. Thank you to Lisa Goldstein, M.D., a psychiatrist who treats adolescents and helped me develop the psychology of the characters.
I’m a lawyer, but criminal law wasn’t my field, so I always touch base with my dear friend, the brilliant public servant Nicholas Casenta, Esq., chief of the Chester County District Attorney’s Office.
Also, thanks to Dan Bankoske.
Thank you to my wonderful friend and editor Jennifer Enderlin, who is also the Senior Vice President and Publisher of St. Martin’s Press, yet she still finds the time to improve my manuscripts. Thank you so much, Coach Jen! And big love and thanks to everyone at St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan, starting with the terrific John Sargent and Sally Richardson, plus Jeff Dodes, Lisa Senz, Brian Heller, Jeff Capshew, Brant Janeway, Dori Weintraub, Tracey Guest, John Karle, Sara Goodman, Stephanie Davis, Nancy Trypuc, Anne-Marie Tallberg, Kerry Nordling, Elizabeth Wildman, Caitlin Dareff, Talia Sherer, Kim Ludlum, and all the wonderful sales reps. Big thanks to Michael Storrings, for outstanding cover design. Also hugs and kisses to Mary Beth Roche, Laura Wilson, Samantha Edelson, and the great people in audiobooks. I love and appreciate all of you!
Thanks and love to my agent, Robert Gottlieb of Trident Media Group, whose dedication guided this novel into publication, and to Nicole Robson and Trident’s digital media team, who help me get the word out on social media.