The Authenticity Project

On his airplane ride to England, Riley finds the green notebook in his backpack. Confused, he nonetheless reads it. As Riley reads through the entries, he realizes that Hazard must have left it in his bag. Hazard’s journal entry identifies Monica as an attractive but intense woman. In his entries, Hazard confides about having an addiction and trying to set up Riley with Monica.

Later, when Riley meets and kisses Monica, he feels guilty that he knows more about her through the notebook than she knows about him.

For the first time in many years, Julian hosts a tea party. Monica and Riley admire the old architecture of Julian’s home. Riley offers to help Julian sell a closet of his old belongings online. Julian notes that Riley “mimicked [Monica’s] gestures and sat just a little closer than one would expect” (89). Julian believes Riley has fallen for Monica.

Monica’s Café has been thriving. Julian’s art lessons led to other businesses renting out the café for classes. For the first time since opening the café,