I tighten my grip on his hand and dig my feet in the sand to hold my place. “Yes,” I say.
He pauses, glancing over his shoulder at me as if unsure he heard me correctly. “Yeah?”
“Yes, to everything. To all of it.” The rush of giddiness triggers a grin wide enough to hurt my cheeks.
He steps back to me, framing my face with his hands. “I love you,” he says, his voice rough with emotion.
I will never get tired of hearing him say that. “I love you, too.”
He bends his head to kiss me, and I push up on my tiptoes to meet him, wrapping my arms around his neck.
“Did she say yes to the new place?” Chase calls, and Amanda grins. Of course they’re both in on it.
“Aren’t you kind of in the middle of something?” I ask, laughing.
“Well?” Amanda asks, her cheeks flushed with happiness.
I nod. With a smile, Eric presses a kiss to my forehead. His hand slides into mine, locking our fingers together in a firm grip. We’re together now, finally, and that’s not going to change. It took us the better part of a decade to work it out is all.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book almost didn’t exist. Before we sold 738 Days, I’d convinced myself that I had one good romance idea. And 738 Days was it. (That sounds ridiculous now, given how many ideas are currently swirling around in my head, but that’s what I thought at the time.) It was, quite simply, that lethal combination of self-doubt and the fear that comes with venturing into something new. And yet … I was intrigued with Eric and Calista the second they showed up on the page in Chase’s story, and I couldn’t stop myself from wondering about them.
All of this is to say, I’m so incredibly grateful to Suzie Townsend and Whitney Ross (my agent and editor, respectively), who saw things much more clearly. You guys, I loved writing this book. LOVED it. I’m here to tell you that that is not always the case, but it was this time. And I almost missed out on the experience because of … me. I’m sure there’s a lesson in there somewhere about confidence and writing and sallying forth into unknown territory, but I’m still working that part out. In any case … THANK YOU so much to Suzie and Whitney!
Huge thanks as ever to Sara Stricker, Kathleen Ortiz, Mia Roman, and everyone at New Leaf Literary & Media. Thank you also to Amy Stapp, Ksenia Winnicki, Laura Etzkorn, and everyone at Forge Books who believed in 738 Days and Starlight Nights. That means so much to me!
I cast all of my books in my head. It just makes it easier for me to picture what’s happening in the story. And when I first started work on Starlight Nights, I was having a terrible time finding someone to “play” Eric. That combination of arrogance and vulnerability is not an easy thing to pull off without looking like a complete jerk. So I owe Melissa Landers big time. She pushed me into watching the exact show I needed to find an actor who could be my mental version of Eric.
Sophie Jordan, my friend and fellow author (shout-out to alphabetical seating arrangements for signings that led us to each other!), who talked to everyone about 738 Days. I am so incredibly grateful!
Linnea Sinclair, my critique partner and mentor, who reads a draft of every book (proposals, too), patiently responds to all my email freakouts, and helped me figure out my Eric/Dr. Katie issues.
My parents, Stephen and Judy Barnes, who listen weekly to my writing woes and triumphs. Susan Barnes, my sister—and fellow romance novel addict—for being my perpetual sounding board on publishing, life, and which romances we need to read next.
And to you. I love writing romance. And I so appreciate you giving me a chance by picking up this book. Thank you!
FORGE BOOKS BY STACEY KADE
738 Days
Starlight Nights
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The daughter of a minister and a music teacher, STACEY KADE grew up reading Harlequin romances on the sly in the basement. Kade is the author of two young-adult series (the Ghost and the Goth and the Project Paper Doll trilogies). Prior to writing full-time, Kade worked as an award-winning copywriter for several Fortune 500 companies. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, Greg, and their two retired racing greyhounds. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Prologue: Calista
Chapter 1: Calista Beckett
Chapter 2: Eric Stone
Chapter 3: Calista
Chapter 4: Eric
Chapter 5: Calista
Chapter 6: Eric
Chapter 7: Calista
Chapter 8: Eric
Chapter 9: Calista
Chapter 10: Eric
Chapter 11: Calista
Chapter 12: Eric
Chapter 13: Calista
Chapter 14: Eric
Chapter 15: Calista
Chapter 16: Eric
Chapter 17: Calista
Chapter 18: Eric
Chapter 19: Calista
Chapter 20: Eric
Chapter 21: Calista
Chapter 22: Eric
Chapter 23: Calista
Chapter 24: Eric
Chapter 25: Calista
Chapter 26: Eric
Chapter 27: Calista
Chapter 28: Eric
Chapter 29: Calista
Chapter 30: Eric
Chapter 31: Calista
Chapter 32: Eric
Chapter 33: Calista
Epilogue: Calista
Acknowledgments
Forge Books by Stacey Kade
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
STARLIGHT NIGHTS
Copyright © 2017 by Stacey Kade
All rights reserved.
Cover photographs: couple by Gallery Stock; studio by Getty Images
Cover design by Daniela Medina
A Forge Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
www.tor-forge.com
Forge® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Kade, Stacey, author.
Title: Starlight nights / Stacey Kade.
Description: First edition. | New York: Forge, 2018. | “A Tom Doherty Associates Book.”
Identifiers: LCCN 2017039440 (print) | LCCN 2017045111 (ebook) | ISBN 9781466874145 (ebook) | ISBN 9780765380425 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780765380432 (trade pbk.)
Classification: LCC PS3611.A29 (ebook) | LCC PS3611.A29 S73 2018 (print) | DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017039440
eISBN 9781466874145
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[email protected] First Edition: January 2018
Stacey Kade, Starlight Nights
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