“I won’t.”
My eyes are glossy again. “I’ll be in the front row, with Shelby.”
He nods. “I’ll look for you.”
I chew my lip worriedly.
“Babe,” he says, amused. “Why are you freaking?”
“I’m not freaking.”
He pins me with a look.
“Okay, I’m totally freaking,” I admit. “I’m just worried about you! I love you and I want you to win and I believe in you one hundred and fifty percent, but I also don’t want you to get hurt because, like I said before… I love you. And he’s really big. Like, freakishly big. Have you seen the size of his fists? They’re like hams!”
“I’m faster than him. I’m a better fighter.” His eyes are full of certainty. “I know it, he knows it. A few minutes from now, everyone else will know it too.”
“I envy your sense of calm,” I murmur.
“Easy to be calm when you have nothing to lose.”
My brows go up. “What do you mean?”
“Delilah. Don’t you understand?” He leans down and kisses me. “I’ve got you. Whatever happens in there… I’ve already won the most important fight of my life.”
I watch him as he crosses to the door, his bare back muscles on full display as he rotates his shoulders and cracks his neck to stay loose. I hear the announcer giving introductions, the telltale sound of Luca’s music starting to blare from the overhead speakers.
I’m shipping up to Boston, oh-oh-oh…
In the doorframe, he turns back for a final look at me, and we have one those discussions we’ve become so good at, where we carry on a full conversation without saying a single word.
Come back to me, I don’t whisper.
Always, he doesn’t promise.
THE END
Need more Boston?
Not ready to leave Boston behind? Don’t worry…
Go back to the very beginning with Chase & Gemma’s story in NOT YOU IT’S ME.
Don’t miss Parker & Zoe in ONE GOOD REASON.
All books are now available in e-book, paperback, and audio!
THE BOSTON LOVE STORIES:
NOT YOU IT’S ME
CROSS THE LINE
ONE GOOD REASON
TAKE YOUR TIME
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Acknowledgments
So. Um. This is my ninth novel.
MY. NINTH. NOVEL.
What?
Seriously…. what?!
I swear, just yesterday, I was twenty-one years old, sitting in my crappy college apartment, toying with the craaaaazy idea of someday self-publishing my first novel — if I ever managed to finish writing it, that is.
Fast forward almost exactly four years from the day I pushed that fateful “publish” button, and here we are. Here YOU are.
Yes, you.
My life has changed so radically in the past few circles around the sun, it’s hard to remember what things used to be like. And I know I have you to thank for that.
I can’t describe how much your support means to me, so I won’t even try. All I’ll say — or scream from the closest mountaintop — is THANK YOU! Thank you.
Whether you’ve been with me since the very beginning or this is your first ever JJ book… I adore you for reading, for leaving reviews, for making teasers, for sending me messages, for driving hours and hours to meet me at book signings all across the country.
I feel so very blessed, every single day.
To my Johnson Junkies, ARC readers, and book-obsessed blogger friends— you are the best humans. Enough said.
To my friends — I will be venturing out of my writing cave for approximately two months between writing deadlines. Call me.
To my dog, Scout — thanks for offering the inspiration for Fenway. Please stop licking me.
x
About the Author
JULIE JOHNSON is a twenty-something Boston native suffering from an extreme case of Peter Pan Syndrome. When she's not writing, Julie can most often be found adding stamps to her passport, drinking too much coffee, striving to conquer her Netflix queue, and Instagramming pictures of her dog. (Follow her: @author_julie)
She published her debut novel LIKE GRAVITY in August 2013, just before her senior year of college, and she's never looked back. Since, she has published five more novels, including the bestselling BOSTON LOVE STORY series. Her books have appeared on Kindle and iTunes Bestseller lists around the world, as well as in AdWeek, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today.
You can find Julie on Facebook or contact her on her website www.juliejohnsonbooks.com. Sometimes, when she can figure out how Twitter works, she tweets from @AuthorJulie. For major book news and updates, subscribe to Julie's newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bnWtHH
Connect with Julie:
www.juliejohnsonbooks.com
juliejohnsonbooks@gmail.com
Playlist
Hey There Delilah by The Plain White T’s
Dollhouse by Melanie Martinez
Take Your Time by Sam Hunt
Style by Taylor Swift
Fire and the Flood by Vance Joy
Say You Won’t Let Go by James Arthur
Heart Hope by Oh Wonder
Breathe Again by Sara Bareilles
Litost by X Ambassadors
Between the Night, Between the Day by Rosi Golan
We Are Man and Wife by Michelle Featherstone
One and Only by Adele
White Blood by Oh Wonder
Hold On by Chord Overstreet
Also by Julie Johnson
STANDALONE NOVELS:
LIKE GRAVITY
SAY THE WORD
ERASING FAITH
THE BOSTON LOVE STORIES:
NOT YOU IT’S ME
CROSS THE LINE
ONE GOOD REASON
TAKE YOUR TIME
THE GIRL DUET:
THE MONDAY GIRL
THE SOMEDAY GIRL