Note From The Author
This book was a little hard to write. Ben’s voice was clear in my head. So was Madison’s. But the logistics were a real challenge. Some of their story happens at the same time as Everleigh and Christopher’s in The Old-Fashioned Way. To have everything fit perfectly wasn’t easy, let me tell you. As you probably figured it out, you do not need to read The Old-Fashioned Way to understand this story, and that’s why I didn’t state it was part of a - future - series (but more on that later.)
In the end, I’m pleased with their journey. They took their time, for sure, but I thought it was fitting Madison, and Ben as well, to see their relationship evolve slowly. They knew each other at the beginning of the book, but superficially. Friendly acquaintances more than anything else. On paper, these two are nothing alike, but their differences are what makes them special. They complement each other. Madison needs someone to challenge her quiet personality. Ben needs someone to ground him. He’s much more complicated than most people think, and it took a very smart, curious, observant woman to figure it out.
I broached a few issues with this book. The first one is probably the most obvious: the #MeToo movement. The funny thing - if I can call it that seeing the topic discussed - is that I had this arc in mind for Madison a few months before #MeToo. It gave me the opportunity to show how sometimes it’s hard to move past something, even something that you rationally know “wasn’t that bad,” something that you’re taught to dismiss a little. It still can have a profound effect on yourself, on how you see people around you, on how you see men. A lot of women face this kind of situation in their lives, but it is never normal. Madison needed to find a way to move past it, and Ben helped her with that but, as he said so himself… he was just there to hold her hand. He never dismissed what she went through, acknowledging that it was a trauma, and making her acknowledge that she would need to work on it. He might have been a little clumsy about it, but he tried, and he was there when it mattered.
The second one was probably more subtle. I mentioned every now and then how Madison was an introvert, but also how sometimes she had problems seeing herself with someone. Or how she wasn’t that comfortable with the whole touching people thing. She has always been like that, it wasn’t born out of trauma at all. For some people, it’s just hard to let go, to trust, to relax. But it’s definitely easier to do so when you’re confronted to someone who is as lay-back and easy-going as Ben. Madison had always been with guys who were like her - the quiet, nerdy type. In order to really be herself, and let go, she needed someone who was the opposite of her. Someone who, when she would sit down next to him on the couch, would automatically open his arms to let her get comfy so she wouldn’t have to sit awkwardly next to him, not sure what to do with her own hands. Someone who’d just shrug it off when she’s sick and gross and probably reeks of sweat because he’s a dude, and dudes deal with gross stuff all the time. She didn’t even need to have that slightly awkward moment of “hum actually not tonight, I’m on my period.” Nah. Ben just powered through that stage for her, even if he was dead wrong.
In short, Ben was clumsy and loud enough to not make her second-guess every little thing.
And last but not least… I wanted to show what really makes a family. For most people, family is easy and simple to define. For others… it’s a little more complicated. You can create your own family, and that’s what Ben did, even if he only realizes it toward the end of the story.
For those wondering, I do plan on writing one last story for this little series, and congratulations if you guessed about who it will be: Mia.
It allows me to let the characters breathe a little, because her own love story only starts once she is done with college. You’ll get to see Ben, Madison, Christopher, Everleigh, and everybody else as they are a part of her life as well.
One last thing: I am writing this after some intense editing and formatting, so please… forgive me for any mistake. My brain is a little fried.