A Matter of Heart (61 page)

Frieda leans her hip against
the counter. “It’s okay if you ask him to recite the alphabet. Or read the
telephone book. We’ve all done it before.” She leers. “Or wear a kilt. The
traditional way.”

“Frieda!” Ginny hisses.

Will laughs, unbothered. All
of this camaraderie makes me grossly uncomfortable, like I’m an even worse
person for actually daring to be around happy people. I’m miserable. I deserve
to be miserable.

I move away to clean the
counter for the third time in twenty minutes. Will watches me with those dark
eyes of his. “D’ya have a bit of a cleaning fetish?”

My cheeks burn. Does he
think I’m a freak? I slam the spray bottle down on the counter. “No. It’s just
. . .”

He waits patiently, like he
has nothing else to do. Which, I guess he doesn’t, what with all the customers
already served and happily eating their food. And the girls and Paul are at the
other end of the counter, laughing over some video of cats on Ginny’s phone.

“Cleaning is . . .”
Therapeutic, I’ve learned. “A good habit.”

He holds up a finger and
orates, “Cleaning is next to godliness.”

Another moment I kind of
wish I could laugh. I think my lips twitch slightly, because his own ease into
that delightful, crooked smile that could charm the panties off the Queen of
England.

My stomach contracts. Black
spots dance before my eyes.

I
turn away from Will. I don’t want him to get the wrong idea about me. I pick up
the spray bottle and thoroughly scrub down every last table in the diner.

Late that night, as I ride
the bus back to my boarding room, I spy a yellow-green streak ripple in the
sky. My heart sputters. It’s the first feeling other than misery I’ve felt in
weeks. I press my face and palms against the dirty glass and stare up, but the
lights are gone.

No matter. I have all the
time in the worlds to finally see those Northern Lights, just like I’ve always
imagined. Nothing but time and a lonely stretch of life ahead of me.

Switching editors in the
middle of a series is a terrifying experience, but luckily it morphed into an
amazing one, too. Natasha Tomic, I am so glad to have your honest input and
guidance as my editor. It’s a relief to know my books and characters are in
firm yet loving hands. I adore you. So do my characters.

Tracy Cooper and Andrea
Johnston, my go-to CP gals for brutally honest opinions, I offer my gratitude
and love. Thank you for always being there to read scenes when I need immediate
feedback or answering the question, “Is this scene hot enough?” repeatedly. I
don’t know what I’d do without you guys. Megan O’Connell, your feedback and
comments (and support) have been invaluable. Thank you so much for agreeing to
beta read for me. AMOH wouldn’t be the same without your guidance. Lori Lamb,
thank you for taking time out of your busy life to beta read for an old friend.
You really ought to looking into being a copyeditor—you totally rock at it!

Carly Stevens, once again,
you designed a cover I totally dig. That hand drawn type? To die for.
Seriously. You are ridiculously talented (and have great taste in music). I
look forward to seeing what we can cook up for the rest of the series!

Kelly Simmon of Inkslinger PR,
your belief in me and my writing means the world to me. Thank you for being the
best publicist out there.

There are so many book
bloggers who have taken me and my books under their wings and shown me so much
support and love that I can’t help but feel blessed. You know who you guys are.
I wish I could give you all gourmet cupcakes. Since I can’t, I offer you my
gratitude and love. There are a few folks I’d like to offer up additional
thanks to, who’ve made this journey extra special for me: Ana from The Book
Hookup, Heather from Once Upon a Twilight, Cristina from Cristina’s Book
Reviews, Meg from The Book Asylum, and Natasha from Natasha is a Book Junkie,
you guys continuously bring tears to my eyes with your generous support of my
work. Know you are greatly appreciated.

To my three boys, thank you
for continuing to share your mama with her computer and her stories. To my
parents and my family, thank you for your continuing belief in me as a writer.
To my husband, your support in helping my dreams of being an author come true
mean more to me than I think you’ll ever know. I love you all so much.

Finally, to my readers, I
offer you the biggest THANK YOU of all. Knowing that there are people out there
reading these stories, falling in love with the characters—it humbles me.
Thanks for going on this journey with me!

Heather
Lyons has always had a thing for words–She's been writing stories since she was
a kid. In addition to writing, she's also been an archaeologist and a teacher.
Heather is a rabid music fan, as evidenced by her (mostly) music-centric blog,
and she's married to an even larger music snob. They're happily raising three
kids who are mini music fiends who love to read and be read to.

Other Titles by Heather Lyons:

A
Matter of Fate
(Book 1)

For more information about Heather Lyons and her books, visit:

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