Page 79 of Last Fall

20

Zoe

Six Minutes WasTooMuch

No one recognizes a writer.Not even ones with million-dollar publishing contracts and moviedeals.

I still couldn’t getoverthat.

The day my agent said my book was going to auction—basically a bidding war between publishers—my life changed. This story I felt compelled to write? I knew it was special. The idea hit me like a flash and I couldn’t write the words fast enough. I felt this story in my bones in a way no other story had touched me before. My agent lost her mind a little bit when she read it but I was still skeptical. The historical fiction market was different than romance and fantasy. Especially when it came to triumphant, strong femalecharacters.

I thought Maggie was being a little too hopeful about mychances.

I didn’t see the auction coming and I most definitely didn’t see the immediate movie deal from a million miles away, but it was one of those right place, right time, right person scenarios. My editor was married to a producer who was actively searching for a script that matched my book description. He had a whole plan for how to crack this historical blockbuster market that had been languishing over the last fewyears.

What should have taken years was instead taking months. I was just holding on for dear life, hoping it didn’t all crumblearoundme.

Thank goodness I used a pen name and everyone understood my need for privacy without question. My real last name needed to stay out of the spotlight. Tony wasn’t the kind of man to hunt down a woman who left him. I wasn’t worth the effort or the mess that would ensue. He wouldn’t want tolookbad.

But I didn’t know what he’d do if the information fell inhislap.

“I’m making cookies!” Lindsay said, sticking her head out of the kitchen. “And you’re alleatingthem.”

Other than the signing on Saturday and a dinner with a group of our fans, our entire weekend would be spent here, cooking, writing, and drinking a ridiculous amount ofbourbon.

“What kind?” Iyelledback.

“Chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, andsugar!”

So all of them. “Carryon!”

“What are you working on?” I asked Laura, who was lounging on a chaise fit for a queen with her laptop perched onherlap.

“Mermaid sex,” she sang. “No seriously. They’re in the cave from Julia’s book and they’re abouttobang.”

We’d taken to crossing over into each other’s books even when they had nothing in common, simply because it made us happy. I mean, what was more fun for writers than writing? It was our version ofplaytime.

“So when does Erik arrive?” Julia asked, cutting right to what everyone clearly wantedtoknow.

Our group was tight. We shared pretty much everything. They knew about Erik right away and I hadn’t held back on sharing the details of our week. As someone who processed her world through words I think maybe it was just easier for me to share my life with my writerfriends.

There’s also the fact that I didn’t see them in person all that often. Oh sure, we talked all day every day, but it was different. I didn’t usually see them in their pj’s, flicking off a Twitter post like I didwithJune.

So in a way it seemed right that I would introduce Erik as my boyfriend to them first. June, Carrie and Eve knewErik. Theyknewme.

But these six women had followed along as we became acouple.

My phone vibrated at that exact samemoment.

Erik:Headed your way. Be there inanhour.

“Is he on the way? Is he on the way?” Alexandraclapped.

Oh, how I wanted to draw this out just for the fun of it, but I couldn’t do that to them. “Yes, he’s ontheway.”

“It’s like we’re having our very own novel play out in real life,” she sighed, back of her hand to her forehead. “He better be good heromaterial.”

Which brought me to something important. “So here’s the thing. I don’t think I can objectively evaluate us.” And neither could June, Carrie, or Eve. “And since you all are the foremost experts on all things love, I washoping—”