Nerd Girl(136)

Anna, Lauren and I wore matching tangerine dresses. The color was perfect for a late September wedding when the hint of autumn started displaying itself in the trees. The fitted bodice and halter neckline flattered our shoulders and collarbones. The skirt fell just above the knee, both contemporary and demure. Not to mention I loved the silver slingback heels we had all just purchased for the occasion.

“Two minutes, everyone,” Kelli announced.

We all started moving into our positions. I was supposed to stand just in front of Catherine.

“Charlie’s a very lucky man,” Ryan said as we all lined ourselves up. “I’m so happy for you, Catherine.”

I turned around to witness their exchange.

Catherine’s eyes turned shiny and began to water. “Thank you, Ryan, for everything.”

“Ryan, stop making her cry! You’re going to ruin her makeup,” Lauren urged, fanning the air in front of Catherine’s face. “Save it for the speech later,” she said, giving her older brother a stern look of disapproval.

I could only smile affectionately at this brother-sister exchange. I looked at Catherine at the mention of tearjerker wedding speeches and my eyes started watering as I remembered my own wedding.

Ryan and I had gotten married almost a year ago today, over the Labor Day weekend, in the San Juan Islands. It was a beautiful wedding, held in the Hotel De Haro garden overlooking Roche Harbor. At our reception, Catherine gave the most heartfelt and beautiful speech. A few weeks before our wedding, Catherine had received her final diagnosis from her doctors. The cancer was in remission. After fighting fiercely for her life for almost two years, she had won the battle. The message in her speech was very clear—embrace and celebrate those you love. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room.

“Oh, don’t you start too, Julia,” Anna complained as she wiped a tear from her own eye.

I smiled affectionately towards my sister. Over the last three years, Catherine and I had gotten close. Anna and Catherine became natural friends, as I included Anna in a lot of our social gatherings. I often felt like I had inherited two more sisters in Lauren and Catherine.

“Okay, all of you! Just stop it!” Lauren warned again as her eyes joined in on the mist party.

We all laughed through our tears and gave each other another round of hugs before Kelli forced us to separate, settle down, and line up. Kelli opened the double chapel doors to the room full of wedding guests and the quartet began the familiar tune of “Für Elise.”

Before it was my turn to walk down the aisle, I looked over my shoulder to take one last glance at Ryan. His eyes pierced through me with a look of reverence and love.

It never ceased to amaze me how lucky I was to have his heart.





Writing this book has been a journey. There were many times when I wondered what the hell I was doing. In all my moments of self-doubt, Chris, you were there. I love you. Thank you for being my best friend, my love, a wonderful father and husband, and an ear to bounce off all of my crazy ideas and thoughts. Your beautiful blue eyes and sandy brown hair were my inspiration for R, not James Bond… wink.

To my beta readers Stephanie, Tracy, Katrina, and Niki for giving me ongoing support, encouragement, and feedback (even when it was tough to hear). Thank you for taking the time to read my book. Your ongoing support and cheerleading kept me going and I’m forever grateful for your time and participation in this journey with me.

To HKC, for being my inspiration for Anna and my BFF.

To my editor, Erin Roth. You rock! You gave me honest feedback when I needed it the most. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You are an amazingly talented woman and Nerd Girl wouldn’t be where it is without you.

To Sarah Hansen from Okay Creations. I think you’re brilliant! Thank you for creating such a beautiful book cover. It far exceeded my expectations.

To Angela McLaurin from Fictional Formats. Thank you for working so hard on formatting the book to make it look beautiful. Thank you also for being so gracious whenever I texted and bugged you about the status :).

To all of the intelligent, strong, and amazing women I’ve known at Microsoft. I feel like I grew up with so many of you over the last fourteen years sharing our success, stress, tears, and stories of motherhood. After reading the book, I hope you saw a little bit of Julia in all of yourselves. Thank you for inspiring me every day!

Lastly, this book is dedicated to my amazing twin daughters, Cate and Mia. Don’t let anyone ever tell you what you can’t do. Beauty is only skin deep. Be a nerd girl and never hide your intelligence and strength of character. I love you both higher than heaven and farther than all of the stars in the universe.