Walk on the Wilder Side by Serena Bell

Acknowledgments

I love my readers. You give me a reason to get up in the morning and a reason to put words on the page. You believe with me in the reality of the voices in my head, and you get excited with me over the little things—a new character, a new cover, a new chapter. Thank you for being my partners on this trip.

The day the Wilder brothers waltzed into my life was like a perfect meet cute—and this series is our happily ever after. I love writing about them, their heroines, and their family and friends. And of course they happened along at a moment in time—a global pandemic—when I needed, more than anything, to lose myself in story. But I couldn’t possibly give birth to the Wilder Adventures by myself.

On this particular leg of the journey, I was helped immeasurably by the personal and family stories of Aimee Triana Alvarez. I met Aimee when our daughters’ fourth grade teacher decided they needed to be friends. It was a great match—but the even greater match was Aimee and me. Aimee, I love you! In addition to being one of the people who saved my sanity via porch-sits during the pandemic, Aimee also generously shared with me about Cuban families, food, culture, names, and anything else I could think to ask.

I’ve been lucky enough to have some truly awesome helpers along the way, including my early readers this time around, Dylann Crush, Christina Hovland, Christine D’Abo, Brenda St. John Brown, Kate Davies, and Rachel Grant (AKA the one who knows things about boats and motorcycles). Thank you for taking time away from your own (amazing) creations to help make this book the best it could be.

Huge thanks also to the author friends who support me on a regular basis—Dylann, Megan Ryder, Christy, Brenda, Christine, Gwen Hernandez, Rachel, Kate, Kris Kennedy, Karen Booth, Susannah Nix, and many, many more, including but not limited to the authors of the Corner of Smart and Sexy, Small Town World Domination, Wide for the Win, Tinsel and Tatas, and my two ongoing newsletter swaps.

Thank you to my agent, Emily Sylvan Kim, and my sub rights agent, Tina Shen, who work to make things happen for me even when I don’t know it!

Thank you, Sarah Sarai, for your copyedits, your honesty, your patience, your blessed humor… and, of course, the ellipses. Don’t laugh, but I did the ellipsis in this sentence wrong the first time and had to consult the style guide.

Thank you to Sofía Ivy Pupo, who did an thorough, thoughtful, and kind sensitivity edit on this book, with guidance from Tessera Editing’s Manu Shadow Velasco. I can’t say enough good things about Tessera, Manu, and Sofi. But at bottom, this book is my human endeavor, for better or for worse, and any errors I have made or words that might wound or trigger, are mine and mine alone. If that happens, please let me know so I can apologize and learn to be better.

Thank you, XPresso Book Tours, especially Giselle, for the cover reveal and release support.

I cannot imagine doing any of my jobs without the love and support of my amazing friends, Aimee, Chelsea, Cheryl, Darya, Ellen, Gail, Jess, Julia, Kathy, Lauren, Molly, Soomie, and Tracey.

As Bell Girl gets ready to go off to college and Bell Boy learns to drive, I am painfully aware that my days with my kids in the house are coming to an end. But you two will always be here in my thoughts, patiently giving me time in my office except in cases of absolute emergency (reciting, “only blood, vomit, or broken glass, right, Mommy?”). I will always be surprised to come downstairs and discover you not there, waiting to ask the question you swallowed, graciously, for hours. You are my best work and also so much better than I could ever have dreamed you up. I love you.

And last, but really first, there is Mr. Bell. My best meet cute, my perfect partner, and my favorite HEA. I love you.