Read The Butterfly Clues Online
Authors: Kate Ellison
The Butterfly Clues (37 page)
“I still don’t know your middle name,” he points out.
“It’s Riley,” I answer. “My mom’s maiden name. It was my brother’s middle name, too.”
“Well, Penelope Riley Marin,” he says—marble eyes, soft lips shining in the sheet of moon, flooding through the porthole window; the river gushes below us, the floor smooth beneath us, the air humming, winging warm, grass, wet. “I have to confess, there
is
one regular-prom tradition I was really looking forward to.”
Our eyes burn into each other, comets speeding light through the dark.
And then—moving his long, clean fingers around my waist and pulling me closer to his pine, his clove, his grass, his snow, his light—he kisses me.
END
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
There are too many people to thank, I think, and too many ways to thank them. So, know this list is bare-bones, an incomplete account of gratitudes.
Lexa Hillyer and Lauren Oliver: for making everything about this book possible; for patience, generosity, wild brilliance; for thoughtful, to-the-point, incisive edits that helped make every sentence tighter and better; and, for believing in my writing in the first place, for which I am—truly—humbled, grateful.
Stephen Barbara at Foundry Media for helping this book find a home, and Greg Ferguson at Egmont, for being that very kind, very welcoming home.
My parents, Sharon and Donn (who had the third ‘n’ removed), who taught me how to be a decent person, who have loved and supported me through all variety of phase, whim, wanderlust, who continue to read my weird stories even when they don’t get them, and who always told me as a teenager: call us if you’ve been drinking. It doesn’t matter what time it is. We’ll pick you up.
All past and present residents of the Hatz: for being my friends, and roommates; for dinner-making, and movie-watching, for all other (enumerable) joy-making activities; for always helping me to understand that things are actually pretty good most of the time, especially when they get weird.
Amanda “Mongie” Powell: Man, Mang-O, you’s my Scandalmonger, my muse, you know that?
Ruby Tuesday L-Snyder: for travels to exotic lands, for always listening, for never judging.
And, Steve Waltien: for being my big Spoon, and, really, truly, for loving me. You’re really tall, and really funny, and I love you big time, for more reasons than those I just listed.
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