I ran to him and he picked me up and kissed my face all over and I kissed his face off. Clean off.
“So you stayed with your uncle and finished your credits in Spain.” We were lying on the grass, looking up at the blossoms that seemed to outnumber the stars in the sky, my head on Raf’s belly. Where it belonged. Though not all the time, because that would be weird.
But it was where it belonged at this moment.
“Yep,” Raf said. “And I learned to make the family sangria.”
Fritz stood nearby, pretending not to notice our flagrant display of affection.
Raf told me that after the article came out, it was the last straw for his father, and he sent him to Andalusia immediately to live with his uncle and be homeschooled for the rest of the year. He took away his phone and restricted his internet access.
“But you must’ve been able to get on a computer somehow,” I said.
His chest rose and fell. “Yes. But I couldn’t bring myself to contact you.”
I nodded. “I understand.”
“But then last week, I got an email from your friend Charlotte, and she told me everything that had happened and then she sent me to the Post-Anon site.”
“I didn’t even know she’d seen the post,” I said. “I didn’t tell her about it.”
“Well, your friend seems to know you very well.” A soft breeze shook some blossoms loose, and they fell around us like falling stars. “Anyway, I read it, and I knew it was you, and afterward all I could think about was getting to you. Taking away at least one of your what-ifs.”
I took his hand and put it on my stomach and felt his fingers and his knuckles and compared their lines with the ones in my memory. It all fit.
“What did your dad say?”
“Oh, he forbade me to come back.”
“It’s because I’m poor, right?”
He nodded. “Absolutely.”
“So how did you get back?”
“Plane. And a cashier’s check with my trust fund.”
I shoved him softly and nestled closer. “Your parents disapprove because I’m poor. My parents will most likely disapprove because they read my article about you and all your shenanigans. And in the fall, I’ll be going to the University of Maryland, and who knows where you’ll be?”
“The University of Maryland.”
“What?” I sat up and looked at him. His arms were bent, his hands under his head. He had this smile, and he was beautiful.
“They have a great chemistry department,” he said.
“No! You’re kidding me, right? Wait. Is that too sudden?”
“It’s a college choice. Not a marriage proposal.”
“So, you want the milk for free without buying the cow?”
He turned toward me and raised an eyebrow.
“It’s an expression. A stupid . . . anyway, if we’re on the same campus and this ends disastrously, and one of us has to dump me, or you, it will be very awkward—”
He stopped me with his lips. I didn’t object.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
So many people to thank. So so many.
First off, to my amazing editor, Kristin Daly Rens. We sure went through the wringer on this one, didn’t we? Or is it “ringer”? Was that question mark supposed to go inside or outside the quotation mark? Does this acknowledgment feel flat? Could cut? Yes, but what are your FEELINGS??
To Kristin’s assistant, Kelsey Murphy, and to the amazing copyediting team. So many comments to input. So many discrepancies to correct. I don’t know the color of my characters’ clothes, but you do! And how on earth did you calculate the passage of days to figure out when Thanksgiving was?
To Alessandra Balzer and Donna Bray, for making me feel so at home.
To my agent, Michael Bourret. Seriously, did you think I’d ever be done with this &$%^$%$#ing book? Say yes. Because I need you to say yes. But I don’t want to be needy. Because I’m not one of those authors who call their agents and dump all their emotional baggage. *Pulls up couch* But I remember it like it was yesterday, and I was all, “How about a book about diplomatic immunity? That should be easy. . . . And I’d especially like it if you could read my mind, and know what I’m thinking so I don’t have to communicate. Got it?”
And to Lauren and Erin and the rest of the team at DGLM: high fives! *slaps on the bums*
To my poker group, all of whom have names in this book: I’m going to take your money. So, thank you.
To my family, especially my mom, who never wavers in her love and support, and my boys who can’t seem to find the toilet with a map, thank you thank you thank you for being the best parts of my life. And to Sam, the best coparent a gal could ask for. And to Michael, who is my mom’s new boyfriend. I’m so sure things will work out that I’m putting his name in a book. No pressure.
And to Mark Pett, who one day said to me, “I have this idea for a book about kids with diplomatic immunity who get away with everything.” And then the next day, I took that idea and sold that book. Thank you for the inspiration and help, but I will never publicly admit the idea was yours in the first place. Taking that secret to the grave.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo credit 2011 Opie Foto
BRODI ASHTON is also the author of Everneath, a VOYA Perfect 10 for 2011; Everbound; and Evertrue; and she is the author, with Cynthia Hand and Jodi Meadows, of My Lady Jane. She received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Utah and a master’s degree in international relations from the London School of Economics. Brodi lives in Utah with her family. You can visit her online at www.brodiashton.blogspot.com.
BOOKS BY BRODI ASHTON
Everneath
Everbound
Evertrue
Neverfall
My Lady Jane
Diplomatic Immunity
CREDITS
Cover photographs © 2016 by Christopher Malcolm / Getty Images and franckreporter / Getty Images
Cover design and lettering by Jenna Stempel
COPYRIGHT
Balzer + Bray is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY. Copyright © 2016 by Brodi Ashton. 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, downloaded, 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.
www.epicreads.com
* * *
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015051497
ISBN 978-0-06-236856-0 (hardcover)
EPub Edition © August 2016 ISBN 9780062368584
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FIRST EDITION
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