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ISABELLA
Two years later
“Oh my God. It’s here.” I stared at the shelf. “It’s here.”
“Of course it is. That’s why we came.” Vivian nudged me toward the bookcase. “Go! This is your moment.”
I didn’t move. I couldn’t quite process the sight in front of me.
The red spine. The name printed in white. The years of work and editing, all bound up in one paperback.
My debut novelMistress in Waiting, sitting right there in the middle of my favorite bookstore’s thriller section.
A warm hand touched my back. “Congratulations,” Kai said. “You’re officially a published author.”
“I’m a published author,” I repeated. The words tasted ephemeral at first, but then they solidified, taking on the earthy flavor of reality. “That’s my book. Oh my God.” My heart rate accelerated. “I did it.I did it!”
My stupor snapped, and I threw my arms around him as the weight of my accomplishment sank in. He laughed, his face wreathed with pride as I squealed and did a little happy dance.
I didn’t care how stupid I looked because after all the agonizing, the failures, and the setbacks, I was finally apublished author.
Jill Sherman had loved the revised manuscript and officially offered me representation two years ago. She shopped the book around, and after a couple of nibbles but no bites from the big houses, I signed with a small but well-respected publisher who was building out their thriller imprint. Now, after endless edits and revisions, it was out in the world.
I wasn’t going to turn into Nora Roberts or Dan Brown overnight, but I didn’t care. I finished my story, I loved it, and that was all that mattered.
I was already in the middle of drafting the sequel. Kai read it in chunks as I wrote it, which made the process much smoother than the original. It was hard to get lost in my own head when he was always there to pull me out.
But even if heweren’tthere, I’d have an easier time. I’d developed a routine that worked for me, and I put less pressure on myself to write a perfect first draft. Everything got edited and revised to hell before it went to the printers anyway.
Once I released my need for perfection, the words flowed. There were still days when I wanted to tear my hair out over sentences that wouldn’t form or a scene that wouldn’t crystallize, but for the most part, I was really fucking excited to work on the story.
After years of drifting, I’d finally found my purpose—to create, both for myself and others.
“Let’s take a picture,” Alessandra suggested. “We need to commemorate the moment.” She, Vivian, and Sloane had accompanied me for moral support.
I was no longer working at Floria Designs, but it was always supposed to be a temporary job. Alessandra had built a great team since I left, and the small business was thriving. The same couldn’t be said of her relationship with Dominic, but that was a whole other story.
I plucked one of the copies off the shelf and posed with it. It was probably the cheesiest picture I’d ever taken; I couldn’t wait to print and frame it.
“Turn two inches to your left,” Sloane ordered. “Now lift your chin, smile…smile some more…perfect.”
She was such a perfectionist that her photos took forever, but they came out so good that no one complained.
I held onto the book after the picture, reveling in its weight and texture. I’d received advance copies from my publisher, but until that moment, it didn’t feelreal.
This was mine, from concept to execution. I’d taken an idea and created a whole world, one that other people could enter and get lost in. Every book was a footprint in history, and I’d made my mark.
A lump formed in my throat as my tiny seed of pride blossomed into a full-grown tree, roots and all.
My phone buzzed with an incoming FaceTime call. Felix’s face filled half the screen when I answered. Behind him, Miguel and Romero poked their heads above his so they could see too.
“Well?” he said, skipping his usual greeting. “Is it there? Show us!”
“It is.” I grinned, swinging the camera around to show the paperbacks ofMistress in Waitingsitting pretty on the shelf. “If you’re nice to me, I’ll autograph one for you.”
“We don’t get a family exception? That’s cold.” Miguel shook his head. “Just published and you’re already forgetting about us.”
“It’s a natural progression,” Romero said. “The cost of celebrity.”
