Friends dont fall in lov.., p.25
Friends Don't Fall in Love, page 25
* * *
Two hours later, Lorelai shifts uncomfortably in her seat.
“Nervous?” I ask her.
She narrows her eyes and lowers her voice. “No, but your child has the hiccups and decided to perch on my bladder. It’s not great.”
I bite back a laugh at her expression and instead try for contrite. “That’s unfortunate.”
“Laugh it up, Boseman. As soon as we’re done here, I’m gonna order you one of those carrier things Cam’s got.”
I shut my mouth and turn back to the show. They’re announcing our category next.
Song of the Year.
I’ve been nominated twice this evening. Once alone, and once as a cowriter with Lorelai. On the one hand, to be nominated is an honor in itself and we’re both thrilled for the recognition.
On the other, there’s a high-stakes bet on the line depending on whether I can win alone or with my wife or not at all.
Our category is announced, and a fresh-faced sitcom actress reads the teleprompter, introducing the songs up for Song of the Year. I can feel the moment the camera pans to Lorelai and me, and she reaches for my hand, squeezing. My eyes are drawn to her, my brain memorizing this moment. Her long, flowing shiny black hair and dark, laughing eyes. My ring on her finger, our child growing to the sound of her steady heartbeat. I’m gone for her and suspect I always will be.
In the next moment, both our names are called to massive applause. She reaches her hand to me and I take it, pulling her gently to her feet. I give her my arm and escort her up the steps, her ethereal white gown glittering and wrapping around her legs, stealing every ounce of my concentration.
I don’t know if it’s hormones or the moment, but when Lorelai reaches the mic, glittering tears spill onto her cheeks.
“Hell,” she says, “I never thought I’d be here.” She swipes her face and looks to me, her watery gaze beaming. “But you knew it, didn’t you?” She turns to the mic, her voice clear. “He always knew. Thank you for giving me this chance to come back. I promise I don’t take it for granted. Huck?” She shifts aside, and suddenly I’m there in front of the mic. In front of my peers.
I take a deep breath. “She’s wrong. I didn’t always know. But I hoped. Which is sometimes the same thing, I guess. I hoped to one day make it up here in front of y’all. Way back when it was just Lorelai and me, trading lyrics back and forth and whispering daydreams on the floor of my tiny apartment. And then there was a time I was afraid it never would.” I look at my wife and she’s pressed her lips together, but it does nothing to diminish her happy smile.
“But one day three years ago, Lorelai called me up out of the blue and told me she was coming back to Nashville. ‘I might have something,’ she’d said. ‘Can you listen and let me know what you think?’”
I look out to the audience, feel something warm inside me at the familiar faces. “That’s when I knew. Alone, I’m all right, but together?” I reach for Lorelai’s hand and kiss her knuckles. “We’re unstoppable.”
“Together we’re unstoppable,” my wife repeats in a whisper, her fingers squeezing mine tight.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
If you’ve gotten to this point, you might be thinking to yourself, “Hmm, the premise of this story felt familiar, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.… I wonder if anyone specific inspired Erin to write this?” And you would be correct. So first, I want to shout out my lifelong adoration and love for Natalie Maines and The Chicks. If you don’t know Ms. Maines’s story, you should close this book and hit the internet to do some research and then download all of the band’s albums. Unfortunately, I can’t give everyone their happily ever afters, even if they really deserve it, but if I could, I’d like to think they would look a little like the one Lorelai and Huck got.
All right, so now for my thank-yous, and I’ve got a mighty list. First, my agent, Kate McKean, who I figure is about as fierce as Trina Hamilton, just with better hair. Thanks for always being in my corner, Boss. I couldn’t ask for anyone better. Also my editor, Vicki Lame, who has been my favorite partner in writing-crime since the very beginning through YA and now adult romance. This one was really for the both of us. As I said from the start, Lorelai’s story is exactly our shit. Vanessa Aguirre was the editorial assistant on this story, and thank goodness she was … everything runs real smooth with Vanessa around. I appreciate her so. The jacket and cover design came from the brilliant brain of Kerri Resnick, who barely batted an eye at my twelve emails of “Craig’s beard is really not there, but is more mossy, but also he can’t look nineteen but also skip the beard and just try the glasses” and “OH NO, Lorelai is celiac that bread will kill her!” The end result is a dream. Kerri is why.
Now my list (unfolds paper, leans into the mic, and speed-reads as the music plays her out): publisher Anne Marie Tallberg, designer Michelle McMillian, managing editor Chrisinda Lynch, production editor Ginny Perrin, champion copy editor Nancy Inglis, production manager Jeremy Haiting, marketing geniuses Alexis Neuville and Brant Janeway, and, finally, the publicity team, which was the brilliant combo of Kelly South, Tracey Guest, and Mary Moates.
Early beta readers and dearest, talented friends Kelly Coon, Lillian Clark, and Laura Namey rock my world. Vegas misses us. My oldest besties who, in truth, claimed Craig Boseman as their collective book boyfriend in our group chat months before anyone else laid eyes on him: Cate Unruh, Megan Turton, Jessica Steenlage, and Angela Swope. Thank you for cheering me on, keeping me sane, and throwing the best book bash signing slash friends’ Thanksgiving a girl could ask for.
Thanks to Karen McManus and Kathleen Glasgow. Regular chats with you two keep me sane. I hope I do the same for you!
Brittany Bunzey, Mike Lasagna, and Addie Yoder, every book needs fairy godparents. Lorelai and I are so lucky to have you three.
To my relentlessly supportive mom, Deb; my fierce mother-in-law, Karen; my younger, smarter, wiser, more beautiful, more awesome sister, Cassie; and my Tom: Thank you for being just as excited for me after five books as you were with the first. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for all of you. Even if you don’t read the sexy scenes (Mom!), I still write better knowing you all will be on the other end of the pages. To the rest of the Vrtis, Jenkins, and Hahn family, thank you for showing up over and over for my books. Special shout-out to my cousin Annie Werner and my great-aunt Charlotte Bobbitt, who make my day on a regular basis with their constant cheer and support. You may be far away, but I feel your love like warm long-distance hugs.
Finally, to my hot husband, Mike, and our two awesome kids. I don’t know how I managed to be the only one in our household who loves reading, but in this case it’s likely for the best. You three probably won’t ever read this book, but others who know you will. For that, I am both sorry and not sorry. Love you, Family.
To my readers, you’re the very best. A thousand erotic poems and song-sexts to every one of you! Catch you in Maren’s book next!
ALSO BY ERIN HAHN
Built to Last
You’d Be Mine
More Than Maybe
Never Saw You Coming
Praise for Built to Last
“Young adult romance author Hahn dazzles in her adult rom-com debut set to a circa 2010 teen-pop beat and featuring two child stars from the Midwest who left L.A. and celebrity behind.… Home renovation was never this sexy, and readers who enjoy small-town ambiance will get their fill with scenes of market festivals, karaoke at the local brewery, and long drives.”
—Booklist (starred review)
“In her adult debut, Hahn (Never Saw You Coming) successfully brings likable protagonists to life in this character-driven second-chance romance, perfect for fans of Tessa Bailey.”
—Library Journal
“Plenty of charm.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Hahn proves one novel after another that she’s no slouch when it comes to writing. Each new book seems to be a love letter to her craft. They are filled with beautifully balanced prose and dialogue, and layered with creativity.”
—CSM Times
“Erin Hahn’s YA contemporaries have long been favorites, and this all-too-welcome branch into the adult sphere of romance joins that tradition.”
—BuzzFeed Books
“If Hallmark movies are your favorite thing about fall, you will want to be sure to check out Built to Last by Erin Hahn.”
—Franklin County Times
“Built to Last is the hilarious, romantic celebrity gossip/house-flipping mashup I didn’t know I needed! Thank you, Erin Hahn, for making me laugh and swoon and cry sweet, happy tears. I want to move to Michigan, become best friends with Shelby and Cameron, and have them renovate my house, which is to say … Can I live in this book?”
—Jen Doll, author of Save the Date and Unclaimed Baggage
“I loved this delightful romance about makeovers of old homes, old personas, and relationships that never had a chance to launch. A sweet, charming reminder of what you can build with a strong foundation.”
—Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Two Ways
“‘If Taylor Swift retired and decided to restore furniture instead’ is the best way I can describe Erin Hahn’s magnificent adult romance debut.”
—Mike Lasagna, bookseller, Barnes & Noble
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ERIN HAHN is the author of the young adult novels You’d Be Mine, More Than Maybe, and Never Saw You Coming as well as the adult romance Built to Last. Romance is her vibe, grunge is her soundtrack, and fall is her signature color. She fell for her flannel-clad college sweetheart the very first day of school, and together they have two hilarious kids who keep her humble. She lives outside Ann Arbor, Michigan, and has a cat named Gus who plays fetch and a dog named June who doesn’t. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Note to Reader
1. Craig: Take Your Time
2. Lorelai: Better Man
3. Lorelai: My Best Friend’s Weddings
4. Craig: Stone
5. Craig: Even if it Breaks your Heart
6. Lorelai: If I was a Cowboy
7. Lorelai: I Take My Chances
8. Craig: Mercy
9. Craig: Hurricane
10. Lorelai: Something to Talk About
11. Lorelai: Mayday
12. Craig: Shoot Me Straight
13. Craig: Come Over
14. Lorelai: Acting Up
15. Lorelai: Babe
16. Craig: Doin’ This
17. Craig: You Wreck Me
18. Lorelai: 9 to 5
19. Lorelai: My Give a Damn’s Busted
20. Craig: Ask Me How I Know
21. Craig: Die A Happy Man
22. Lorelai: Breathe
23. Lorelai: My Tears Ricochet
24. Craig: Like a Wrecking Ball
25. Craig: You and Tequila
26. Lorelai: We’re not Friends
27. Lorelai: Follow Your Arrow
28. Craig: All I See is You
29. Craig: I’m not Alone
30. Lorelai: Change my Mind
31. Lorelai: Not Ready to Make Nice
32. Craig: Shameless
33. Craig: My Favorite Memory
34. Lorelai: To Hell and Back
Epilogue: Craig
Acknowledgments
Also by Erin Hahn
Praise for Built to Last
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.
First published in the United States by St. Martin’s Griffin, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group
FRIENDS DON’T FALL IN LOVE. Copyright © 2023 by Erin Hahn. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
www.stmartins.com
Cover design by Kerri Resnick
Cover illustration by Maja Tomljanovic
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Hahn, Erin, author.
Title: Friends don’t fall in love: a novel / Erin Hahn.
Other titles: Friends do not fall in love
Description: First Edition. | New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2023.
Identifiers: LCCN 2023016830 | ISBN 9781250827111 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9781250827128 (ebook)
Subjects: LCGFT: Romance fiction. | Novels.
Classification: LCC PS3608.A444 F75 2023 | DDC 813/.6—dc23/eng/20230421
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023016830
eISBN 9781250827128
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.
First Edition: 2023
Erin Hahn, Friends Don't Fall in Love
