Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I get it.

You don’t have to hit me over the head.

Well, maybe you do.

I started reading Post on the beach the day Max asked me to marry him. After that, I got distracted, but I finally finished it. It’s a very good book and I applaud Max for taking on such a challenging subject. Still, I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Duet for One.

Max is almost finished with his new book and he is dedicating it to me.

And all I can say about that is—it’s about time.

Acknowledgments

I am extremely lucky in both friends and professionals, many of whom I am fortunate enough to claim as both. I am deeply grateful to my literary agent, Gail Hochman, for the innumerable ways in which she has supported me in both my life and my work. Thank you to my film agent, Amy Schiffman, who was there from the very beginning. Thanks to David Fox, a lawyer with unfailing good sense. Many thanks to everyone at William Morrow/HarperCollins: specifically, Carolyn Marino, my editor, who made this experience so painless and positive, and Jennifer Civiletto, whose attention to the brass tacks of the process was invaluable.

To those who were willing to read early drafts and give emotional support, I give thanks: Jeff Steinberg, Jonathan Bates, and Carole Merritt. Thanks to Myra Morris for listening to me kvetch. I also want to thank my writers’ group: Buffy Shutt, Susan Cartsonis, B. J. Robbins, and Denise Stewart.

I am very grateful to Elinor Lipman for her generosity of spirit and for both emotional and technical support. And thanks to Sally Brady, mentor and teacher. Also to Laura Rappaport, who got me to finish.

And to my family, who are nothing like the Fortunes—thank God. My mother, Barbara Horowitz, my sister, Wendy Ribeiro, and her family, Jeff, Kimberly, and Ricky.

Lastly, I’d like to thank Leo Kelley, who has changed my life and makes sure I enjoy it.

About the Author

Laurie Horowitz began her career as a lawyer in suburban Boston before moving to California, where she became an agent at Creative Artists Agency. She now divides her time between Santa Monica, California, and the Bitterroot Valley in Montana.