The people of Malibu knew how to evacuate. They’d done this before. They would do it again.
By the time the fire was contained—the mansion turned to a charred, wet frame, the neighbors’ homes singed and covered in ash, the sky stained gray, firefighters wiping their brows—the lady of the house was nowhere to be found.
Nina Riva was midflight.
She would read about the fire later in an American paper and clutch her chest, relieved no one had been hurt. She would think of the damage and the distress it must have caused.
But she would understand that it was one fire, in a long line of fires in Malibu since the dawn of time.
It had brought destruction.
It would also bring renewal, rising from the ashes.
The story of fire.
Acknowledgments
I am a different writer today than I was two years ago when I started this book. And that is because of the insight and direction of my compassionate and brilliant editor, Jennifer Hershey. Jennifer, your guidance feels like a gift I have been given and I’m incredibly grateful for it.
To Kara Welsh and Kim Hovey, thank you for making me feel so at home at what is such a stunningly excellent publishing house. To Susan Corcoran, Leigh Marchant, Jennifer Garza, Allyson Lord, Quinne Rodgers, Taylor Noel, Maya Franson, Erin Kane, and the rest of the incredible people at Ballantine, you blow me away with your thoughtful ideas, your attention to detail, and the fact that you care. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for that. To Carisa Hays, it has been a crazy beginning, hasn’t it? I’m incredibly fortunate to have you in charge of where I go. To Paolo Pepe, you are killing it with these covers. I could not be any more in love. Thank you.
Theresa Park, my queen and also my agent, I am so appreciative of your belief in me. You so beautifully translate that belief into an excitement that is infectious, high expectations that fuel me to push harder, and the world’s best handwritten Christmas cards. You keep my feet on the ground and yet you help me to keep aiming higher. I could not ask for more.
Emily Sweet, Andrea Mai, Abby Koons, Alex Greene, Ema Barnes, Celeste Fine, and the rest of the Park + Fine team, I still marvel at how well you all knock it out of the park on a daily basis. But I also feel like you all are a really great reality show that I get to watch from three thousand miles away and then do reunion shows when I’m in NYC. I guess what I’m saying is that I just like you all very much.
To Sylvie Rabineau and Stuart Rosenthal, are you happy that the Mick Riva saga has come to its full conclusion? (Or has it? I make no promises.) Thank you for fighting so hard for my stories and my characters. I can feel it every time we talk and it means the world.
Brad Mendelsohn! Your fingerprints are all over this one. Thank you for letting me grill you that day at Nate ’n Al’s, my key Malibu surfing consultant. My goal for the future is to keep you busy but not so busy that you don’t still have time to get in the waves. I, however, will not be going with you. The Pacific Ocean is freezing, you don’t talk about that enough. Anyway, thank you, friend. For all that you’ve done and will continue to do for this story.
To the Peanuts, thank you for believing in me and for helping me process my life. I’m not sure I’d be adjusting very well without you all. You are some of the rare people who have known all the versions of me. And this current version of me really needs that. I hope I can do the same for you.
To Rose, Warren, and Sally, these books don’t exist without you all stepping in and taking such good care of Lilah so I can write. Thank you for listening to me talk about this story, for always being there for me, and for being such incredible grandparents (and a great-grandparent!) to Lilah. Extra special thanks go to Rina and Maria for taking such good care of Lilah that she misses you when you’re not around. I have the privilege of being able to work because of the support system I have in all of you. There are not enough thank-yous for that.
To my brother Jake, there’s so much to thank you for that it seems silly to try. But I will say this: Thank you for being the person by my side through everything, and from the beginning. Thank you for sorting through the boxes with me.
To Alex, every day when I sit down at the computer, I strive to be the writer you think I am. Thank you for sharing each and every moment of my career with your whole heart. You show up for me when things are tough and you revel in the success with me, too, never taking a single moment for granted. I need that. And thank you for having so much respect for what I do and what I need in order to do it. Case in point, you are watching Lilah right now, the two of you having a picnic in the front yard, so that I can finish this book—a moment two years in the making. I know when I come outside and tell you I’m finished, you will cheer. And it’s only then that I will know it’s truly done.
And lastly, to Lilah. I think you sort of understand that I’m a writer now. You know how to read my name
