“Here, here!” shouted the crowd in unison. Flowers flew high into the air, sailing down on the breeze, covering the grounds and drifting onto people’s heads.
Without waiting to be told, Paxton released her hands and took her face in his palms, placing a kiss upon her waiting lips. She went up on her toes, savoring every grain of that blissful touch. A warm wind swept through the commons, bringing scents of the sea and new life. A new start for all.
Acknowledgments
I must begin by thanking my two primary readers and fellow authors, Kelley Vitollo/Nyrae Dawn and Jamie Shaw. Your feedback and enthusiasm have been vital to this process, and I adore you both to the seas!
Elizabeth May, Kyla Linde, Victoria Scott, Damaris Cardinali, and Cora Carmack, your kind words about this story world meant more to me than coffee, and coffee is everything. (Also, Tori, you’re awesome for humoring my drive-by emails all these years.)
To my editor, Alyson Day, just . . . thank you. It seems so small, and I would sing it to you if I could, and dance (though my daughter urges me otherwise). It’s been a wonderful journey, hasn’t it? Thanks for riding with me over every bump and into every valley.
To my copy editors, Jon and Martha, you are geniuses. Rachel Abrams, Tessa Meischeid, Abbe Goldberg, Stephanie Hoover, Julie Yeater, and all my staff at HarperTeen, I curtsy to you in humble gratitude.
Major love to my dear, dear friend Ann Kulakowski, who was my word-count cheerleader, even though she had a million other important things to take care of—she checked in with me every single day to make sure I was on the ball. I have the best friends a girl could ask for. From my high school DG to my FOFs and writing friends, I am so lucky.
Hugs and kisses to Nathan, Autumn, and Cayden, my joys.
And to my readers (this is the part where I get choked up) . . . what do I even say? Every author thinks their readers are the best, and it’s because that’s how you guys make us feel. I am living my dream because of you. You allow me to work in my pajamas and daydream for a career. You spend your hard-earned money on my words, and take time to write me with kindness. I LOVE YOU. Jeez, thanks a lot for making me cry, guys! *sniffles* Till our next grand adventure . . .
My inspirational quote for this book: “May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels” (Psalm 122:7).
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About the Author
Photo by Anastasia’s Photography, LLC
WENNDY HIGGINS is the New York Times bestselling author of The Great Hunt, the Sweet Evil series (Sweet Evil, Sweet Peril, Sweet Reckoning, and Sweet Temptation), and Flirting with Maybe. Born in Alaska as an Army brat, she lived on five different military bases across the US. She attended George Mason University for her undergraduate degree in creative writing and Radford University for a masters in curriculum and instruction before becoming a high school English teacher. Wendy now lives on the Eastern Shore of Virginia with her husband and children, writing full time. You can visit her online at www.wendyhigginswrites.com.
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Books by Wendy Higgins
Sweet Evil
Sweet Peril
Sweet Reckoning
Sweet Evil 3-Book Collection
Sweet Temptation
Flirting with Maybe
The Great Hunt
The Great Pursuit
Credits
Photograph of girl by Arcangel/Paul Bucknall
Photograph of landscape by Arcangel/Tim Daniels
Photograph of branches by Thinkstock/Getty Images
Cover design by Torborg Davern
HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
THE GREAT PURSUIT. Copyright © 2017 by Wendy Higgins. 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: 2016949971
ISBN 978-0-06-238136-1
EPub Edition © February 2017 ISBN 9780062381385
17 18 19 20 21 PC/LSCH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
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