Page 50 of Two by Two


  But here's the thing: With each of them, I was a different person. I was a brother and a father and a suitor, and I think to myself that these distinctions reflect one of life's universal truths. At any given time, I am not the whole me; I am but a partial version of myself and each version is slightly different from the others. But each of these versions of me, I now believe, has always had someone by his side. I'd survived the year because I'd been able to march two by two with those I loved the most, and though I've never admitted it to anyone, there are moments, even now, when I feel Marge walking beside me. I'll hear her whisper the answer when I'm confronted with a decision; I'll hear her urging me to lighten up when the world is weighing heavily on me. This is my secret. Or rather, it is our secret, and I think to myself that I've been lucky, for no one should ever be forced to march through life alone.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  There are always so many to thank in the aftermath of completing any novel.

  My children, Miles, Ryan, Landon, Lexie and Savannah, who continue to inspire me.

  Theresa Park, my agent, and Jamie Raab, my editor, have been by my side for twenty years, and I'm always grateful for their insights and efforts when it comes to making my novels as good as they can be.

  At Park Literary + Media, the brilliant, resourceful and supremely capable team of Emily Sweet, Abby Koons, Alex Greene, Andrea Mai, Vanessa Martinez and Blair Wilson. They do for authors what no one else in the industry can, and I owe much of my success to their far-reaching efforts.

  At United Talent Agency, Howie Sanders and Keya Khayatian have been my essential advisers, tireless advocates and creative brain trust for almost twenty years. They've seen me through many dramatic ups and downs, and their strategic brilliance and unflagging loyalty are unparalleled. I'll never be able to repay Larry Salz for all of his strenuous efforts on behalf of NSP TV, but I'm deeply grateful nonetheless. David Herrin will always be my guru and oracle when it comes to the business of data and social sentiment, a genius in his own right. Danny Hertz was indispensable to my team, and I wish him all best in his exciting new career.

  Scott Schwimer, my indefatigable entertainment lawyer and friend, has been my sword and my shield for twenty years now. His personal loyalty and keen business sense go far beyond what anyone could expect from his lawyer; he's also been a patient, reassuring sounding board for me through all kinds of challenging situations.

  My publicists Catherine Olim, Jill Fritzo and Michael Geiser have gone above and beyond the call of duty these past few years. No one could ask for more vigilant and talented representation in the world of PR--their personal commitment and professional effectiveness have always amazed me.

  LaQuishe "Q" Wright is the undisputed leader in her field of entertainment-related social media, and she never fails to wow me with her savvy and professionalism. Mollie Smith has also been a hugely valued member of my social media team, whose reliability, responsiveness and design sense continue to enhance everything I do.

  At Hachette USA and UK, the team of people I have to thank is too numerous for me to cite in full, but I hope they know how much I appreciate the specific efforts of each of them. To name just a few: Arnaud Nourry

  Michael Pietsch

  Amanda Pritzker

  Beth DeGuzman

  Brian McLendon

  Anne Twomey

  Flamur "Flag" Tonuzi

  Claire Brown

  Chris Murphy

  Dave Epstein

  Tracy Dowd

  Caitlin Mulrooney-Lyski

  Matthew Ballast

  Maddie Caldwell

  Bob Castillo

  Kallie Shimek

  Ursula Mackenzie

  David Shelley

  Catherine Burke

  At Warner Bros. TV, I'd like to thank Peter Roth, Susan Rovner and Clancy Collins-White for their support and gracious professionalism. Likewise Stacey Levin, Erika McGrath and Corey Hanley for their efforts at NSP TV.

  My appreciation also extends to Denise DiNovi and Marty Bowen, fabulous producers who've brought many of my novels to life on screen.

  To Peter Safran, his lovely wife Natalia, Dan Clifton and the talented Ross Katz, I want to express my heartfelt appreciation for their work on The Choice.

  Others who also deserve my gratitude include Jeannie Armentrout and Tia Scott, who keep things my life running smoothly for me on the homefront.

  Andy Sommers, Mike McAden, Jim Hicks, Andy Bayliss, Theresa Sprain, Dr. Eric Collins are all consistently helpful in various areas of my life, and I can't thank them enough.

  My gratitude also extends to Pam Pope and Oscara Stevick, who do great things with numbers.

  There are also some special friends who deserve my appreciation, including Michael Smith, Victoria Vodar, David Geffen, Dr. Todd Lanman, Jeff Van Wie, Jim Tyler, Chris Matteo, Paul DuVair, Rick Muench, Robert Jacob, Tracey Lorentzen, Missy Blackerby, Ken Gray, Dr. Dwight Carlbloom, David Wang and Catherine Sparks.

  Given space constraints, I am necessarily omitting countless other people deserving of gratitude, but I hope they know how much their efforts have meant to me. The creative business is a group enterprise, and I've had the privilege of working with an extraordinary team almost every step of the way.

  ALSO BY NICHOLAS SPARKS

  See Me

  The Longest Ride

  The Best of Me

  Safe Haven

  The Last Song

  The Lucky One

  The Choice

  Dear John

  At First Sight

  True Believer

  Three Weeks with My Brother

  The Wedding

  The Guardian

  Nights in Rodanthe

  A Bend in the Road

  The Rescue

  A Walk to Remember

  Message in a Bottle

  The Notebook

  CELEBRATE 20 YEARS OF UNFORGETTABLE NOVELS

  BY NICHOLAS SPARKS

  Listen to the music from TWO BY TWO.

  #20YearsofSparks

  Thank you for buying this ebook, published by Hachette Digital.

  To receive special offers, bonus content, and news about our latest ebooks and apps, sign up for our newsletters.

  Sign Up

  Or visit us at hachettebookgroup.com/newsletters

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Welcome

  Dedication

  Chapter 1: And Baby Makes Three

  Chapter 2: In the Beginning

  Chapter 3: And Then What?

  Chapter 4: The Summer of My Discontent

  Chapter 5: Changes

  Chapter 6: Mr. Mom

  Chapter 7: Two by Two

  Chapter 8: New Experiences

  Chapter 9: The Past Is Never Quite Past

  Chapter 10: Moving Forward

  Chapter 11: And Then There Was One

  Chapter 12: Bad Weather on the Horizon

  Chapter 13: Crime and Punishment

  Chapter 14: Shock

  Chapter 15: One Day at a Time

  Chapter 16: The Sun Also Rises

  Chapter 17: Moving Forward and Backward

  Chapter 18: It's Not a Date

  Chapter 19: Finding My Own Way

  Chapter 20: Autumn

  Chapter 21: Clicking on All Cylinders

  Chapter 22: The Eye of the Storm

  Chapter 23: No

  Chapter 24: December

  Chapter 25: For Auld Lang Syne

  Chapter 26: Saying Goodbye

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Nicholas Sparks

  Celebrate 20 Years of Unforgettable Novels

  Newsletters

  Copyright

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copy
right (c) 2016 by Willow Holdings, Inc.

  Cover design by Claire Brown

  Photography by Pete Thompson/Gallery Stock Cover copyright (c) 2016 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  Hachette Book Group supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author's intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected] Thank you for your support of the author's rights.

  Grand Central Publishing

  Hachette Book Group

  1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104

  grandcentralpublishing.com

  twitter.com/grandcentralpub

  First Edition: October 2016

  Grand Central Publishing is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  The Grand Central Publishing name and logo is a trademark of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

  The Hachette Speakers Bureau provides a wide range of authors for speaking events.

  To find out more, go to www.hachettespeakersbureau.com or call (866) 376-6591.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.

  ISBNs: 978-1-4555-2069-5 (hardcover), 978-1-4555-2070-1 (ebook),

  978-1-4555-4158-4 (large type), 978-1-4555-9835-9 (international),

  978-1-4789-4465-2 (Target edition), 978-14789-7118-4 (autographed B&N edition),

  978-1-4789-1864-6 (B&N edition) E3-20160902-JV-PC

 


 

  Nicholas Sparks, Two by Two

  (Series: # )

 

 


 

 
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net

Share this book with friends