Girl in the Moonlight (30 page)

Silently, I offered up a prayer for Cesca, thanking her for all she had given me and all I had taken from her. Remembering her as a child, a girl, a woman. The swell of her. The sounds she made when she slept. Laughter. The unprovoked kindnesses. The knot in my stomach whenever I saw her. The shock of her beauty. The first time I had gazed upon her naked body. On the beach. That summer many years ago now. In the moonlight. She was never mine, but I would always be hers.

In the end she achieved greatness, the only kind that really matters.

When I returned home late that night, Kate was waiting. Our son asleep in his room. “Are you all right?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said, kissing her on the cheek, thankful for her presence. “Never better.”

All that remains is a sacred memory.

I
AM FORTUNATE THAT SO MANY OF THE PEOPLE WHO SUPPORTED
and encouraged the writing of my first novel,
Indiscretion,
were there for this book too. First and foremost was my editor Henry Ferris. Like all great editors, he combined the traits of an indulgent parent, a skeptical teacher, a boon companion, a skilled boxer, and a learned physician. He knew when to coax, when to question, when to laugh, when to knock me to the mat, and, most important, when to make things better. I have now had the privilege of writing two books for him and know always to trust him because he is always right. Thank you, Henry.

I am very grateful not only to work with Henry but also with the rest of the team at William Morrow/HarperCollins, in particular Sharyn Rosenblum, public relations diva extraordinaire.

I also want to single out a few people who read the various versions of the manuscript and thank them for their patience and enthusiasm. Chief among them is Liz Warner, who loved every version and actually took the time to read each one. My
old boss at Forbes.com, David Churbuck, was, as always, generous with his time and overgenerous with his praise.

Further, I want to thank my new agent, Jennifer Joel at ICM, for her shrewd insight and refusal to settle for anything but the best.

Last, I would like to thank my family for their love and support. My children, William and Lally; my mother, Isabella; my stepmother, Barbara; and my beautiful wife, Melinda.

© Tanya Malott

CHARLES DUBOW
is the author of the novel
Indiscretion
, a founding editor of Forbes.com, and was an editor at Businessweek.com. He was educated at Wesleyan University and New York University, and has worked as a roustabout, a lumberjack, a sheepherder in New Zealand, and a congressional aide. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, Melinda, and children, William and Isabella.

Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at
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Indiscretion

Cover design by Mumtaz Mustafa

Cover painting:
Full Moon, Pichilemu, Chile
, 1958 (oil on board), Garcia, Horacio G. (1878-1942) / Private Collection / Photo © The Maas Gallery, London / Bridgeman Images

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

GIRL IN THE MOONLIGHT
. Copyright © 2015 by Charles Dubow. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

FIRST EDITION

EPub Edition April 2015 ISBN 9780062358349

ISBN 978-0-06-235832-5

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