Dedication

初戀大概是會縈繞人的一生。故事發生在80年代的美國，Kate Hollis即將過30歲生日，雖然都是十幾年前的事情了，那段初戀還是一直在她心上。

然而日子要繼續過下去，又到了一年一度的聖誕節。這幾年雖然她事業小有成就，感情卻交白卷，更遑論結婚了，真是八字沒一撇。才要踏進家門，就得知一個晴天霹靂的消息。還有什麼事會讓她心頭一震？還不是那個消失在她眼前的初戀情人Jake。

說來好笑，Jake在畢業舞會上消失的那一天，Kate還搞不清楚是怎麼一回事。一直到有一天在報紙上看到他，對，就是那個他，Jake，已經變成家喻戶曉的搖滾紅星。Jake的成名曲Kate當然一聽就知道，曲調也許沒聽過，但歌詞裡描寫的，就是他們的性愛初體驗。

Kate當然要臉紅，Jake怎麼可以把這種事拿來唱！不過更令她生氣的，還是那個不告而別。這個聖誕節，Jake的宣傳保母車出現在老家鎮上。MTV要幫他拍聖誕節特輯。當然，18年沒見，會有什麼好談的。不過Jake大概也會很忙，所以也大概不會見到面。不過，好死不死，這麼遇到了，Kate遠遠地就看到他，那個她一輩子都忘不了的身影......

　　What if your ex was famous and adored by millions? What would you do if you had one chance to make him regret his entire existence? How much would you risk?

　　Kate Hollis's ex-boyfriend's face plasters newsstands and TV, the Internet, and the multiplex. Jake Sharpe is one of the biggest recording stars on the planet, and every song he's famous for is about Kate. For over a decade his soundtrack has chased her -- from the gym to the supermarket, from the dentist's office to the bars. Now thirty-year-old Kate gets the call that Jake has finally landed back in their Vermont hometown for an MTV special. The moment she has been waiting for has arrived.

　　On the eve of their prom, Jake Sharpe vanished, resurfacing when his song "Losing" -- about his and Kate's first sexual experience -- shot to the top of the Billboard charts. And the hits kept coming, each more personal than the one before.

　　Now Kate gets her chance to confront Jake and reclaim her past. But after eleven years of enduring protracted and far-from-private heartbreak, everyone in Kate's life has a stake in how this plays out. Kate must risk betraying the friends Jake abandoned, the bandmates whose songs he plundered, and her own parents, who fear this will dredge up a shared past more painful than any of them want to acknowledge. But after getting the call in the dead of night and jumping on a plane, can she turn back now?

　　Newsweek dubbed The Nanny Diaries "a national phenomenon" and the New Republic proclaimed, "Thank God for Citizen Girl." Now McLaughlin and Kraus have written a poignant, humorous tale about modern celebrity obsession and coming of age during the divorce boom. With flawless depictions of the 1980s, a charismatic heroine, and their signature biting wit, the authors offer up another lively and hilarious tale of a smart young woman looking for satisfaction in the chaos of contemporary culture.

1
December 22, 2005
＂Hes here.＂
＂Laura?＂ I ask into the phone, disoriented, voice sandy with sleep.
＂Kate.＂
＂Yeah,＂ I murmur, my head sinking, pushing the receiver deeper into the pillow.
＂Hes here,＂ she repeats. ＂In Croton.＂
Her words register and my eyes fly open. I sit up.
＂Awake now?＂ she asks.
＂Yes.＂ I look over to my bedside table, tilting up straighter to see over the stack of books. The glowing numbers on the clock read 4:43 a.m. ＂How -- ＂
＂Micks been throwing up -- some kind of stomach flu slash candy cane binge with the baby-sitter. I look out the bathroom window and his mothers house is lit up like Disney World, called the sheriffs office and they confirmed it. Hes here. Hes here, Kate.＂
I fling off the duvet. ＂Im coming.＂ Dropping the cordless into its metallic stand, I swing both feet to the smooth wood floor of my bedroom.
Hes here -- there. Jake Sharpe. Of course its not three P.M. on a Saturday. Of course you reappear in the middle of the night like some nocturnal blood-leech.
Adrenaline surges. I grab yoga pants from the chair, pull them up under my nightslip, and tug the little black cardigan from the doorknob. Throwing open the closet doors, I stand on tiptoe, fingernails catching the edge of my suitcase handle just enough to avalanche it off the shelf, business trip toiletries raining on my head and rolling across the hardwood. I scramble to retrieve the miniature bottles, an anxiety-dream sweat dampening the silk of my slip. Only Im awake. And Lauras flare finally hovers in the night sky over the snowy hills of our hometown.