Immoral (49 page)

“There are no ghosts,” he told her firmly, wanting her to believe him.

Serena’s lips turned upward in a smile. “I have no right to ask you this,” she said, “but it would be nice if you could stay here a while.”

“I was thinking that, too.”

She leaned into him and kissed him, moving her mouth passionately. Below them, the city glowed.

“Welcome to Vegas, baby,” she murmured.

Many people made this book a reality. To Ali Gunn in London and her wonderful team at Curtis Brown—Carol Jackson, Diana Mackay, Tally Garner, Stephanie Thwaites, and many more—thanks for all your passion in supporting my book and my career. And the same thanks to Deborah Schneider in New York. You all changed my life.

Marion Donaldson at Headline and Jennifer Weis at St. Martin’s Press have been the most passionate, thoughtful editors that any author could hope for.

Robert Bond, London’s finest intellectual property attorney, is the man who knows everyone. Thanks, Robert. Alison, if I haven’t told you before, that spreadsheet of yours is a great idea.

Novelist Ron Handberg and his editor, Jack Caravela, provided guidance that helped me at a crucial phase of editing.

To my many wonderful friends at Faegre & Benson—and in particular the readers among the lawyers and staff who encouraged me—I’m very grateful. You’re a terrific team. To my good friends and readers in the Twin Cities business community—Tony Carideo, Jay Novak, Lynn Casey, and many others—thanks for all your good wishes and good ideas.

A special word of thanks to two mentors in my life: Joyce Bartky, who told me to sit in a corner and write; and the late Tom McNamee, whose wisdom and advice changed my career in ways that led me to where I am today.

To Barb and Jerry, for taking such good care of Disney when we had to be away. To Janean, for reading all my earlier works and waiting patiently (sort of) for a copy of this one. To Janice, for your guidance and insight. To Keith and Judy, those crazy English. You’re all wonderful friends.

The people of Duluth will have to forgive me for the evil deeds I have written into their beautiful city. (I’m sure the people of Las Vegas are used to it.)

Finally, and most important, I owe my success to my wife, Marcia, who has always believed in me through more than twenty years together, and to my family: my parents, brother, cousins, aunts, and uncles, who are still cheering me on, and those like Bea, Frank, Jo, and Neal, who are smiling down from above.

If you want a little more of the stories behind the characters in this book, go to my Web site at www.bfreemanbooks.com. I have posted some bonus flashbacks.

While you’re there, feel free to send me an e-mail to let me know how you liked the book. I will do my very best to reply to all letters. You can also use the Web site to send information about the book to your friends. And you can register for my mailing list to receive a notice when my next book is in stores and get a sneak preview.