Category: Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

6 I swallow the lump of heat that’s risen to the back of my throat. Now that I know he’s fine, I’m embarrassed. Now that I see he clearly responded to my pounding by running straight from the shower to the front door, a towel wrapped around his waist and a scowl set deep into his

5 Despite being in his car with the door shut, headlights on, and engine purring, Hayden doesn’t speed away until I’m in my car with the door locked. Maybe he actively doesn’t want me to get murdered on a dark country road out by the marsh, or maybe it’s just coincidence, but I’m choosing to be

4 At seven twenty-nine, I shift the bottle of wine and bouquet I brought into one hand and ring Margaret’s doorbell with the other. Heavy footfalls answer on the far side, and then the hot-pink door swings open to reveal Jodi in a different but nearly identical flannel, T-shirt, and jeans. “You’re on time,” she announces.

3 I wake with a splitting headache. There’s no way I’m hungover—I might be a lightweight, but my five sips of liquor last night couldn’t have made quite this impression. No, this is a kind of headache I am all too familiar with: caffeine withdrawal. Before I collapsed into my freshly laundered hotel bedding last night,

2 I spend my first night at the Grande Lucia Resort eating Twizzlers and googling Hayden Anderson while convincing myself the world isn’t ending. First I read a dozen rave reviews of his book. Then I stumble across a Publishers Weekly article that estimates its first year’s US sales to be upwards of two million. Lastly, just to

1 THERE’S AN OLD saying about stories, and how there are always three versions of them: yours, mine, and the truth. The guy who first said it worked in the film business, but it holds true for journalism too. We’re not really supposed to take sides. We’re supposed to deal in facts. Facts add up