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“You already have a copy of this, but this one’s rather special.” I didn’t have to move heaven and earth to procure this special gift. Dropping Nora’s name opens many doors. I hand her the gift.

“Thank you so much.” Nora looks me in the eye. She’s a bit on edge because she’s stressed about tomorrow, about meeting a bunch of new people and how to react to them and fit in at a new place of work. She tears at the wrapping paper and reveals what’s inside.

She grins at me. “I do already have a well-worn copy of this.” She gazes at Isabel Adler’s face on the cover of her biography. “Which can only mean one thing.” She opens the book.

To witness Nora read a message written especially for her by someone she adores is so precious.

“Oh, my god.” Nora brings two fingers to her lips. “No way.” Her eyes are fixed on the page.

I stand next to her and put my hand on her shoulder. I read the message Isabel Adler wrote especially for Nora.

Dear Nora,

Sometimes how we see ourselves is not how we are at all—I should know.

Lots of Love,

Izzy xo

Behind the next page, there’s a card. Nora takes it out. I read along over her shoulder.

Nora,

Leila and I would love to meet you. We are huge fans. We loveUnbreak My Hearteven more than we loveHigh Life, and we’re beside ourselves that you’re going to be in theUndergroundmovie. We can’t wait to see it because we already know you’re going to crush it.

Izzy A. & Leila Z.

“What the hell?” Nora looks at me. “I don’t want to meet Isabel Adler,” is the first thing she says—of course, it is.

“We’ll see.” There’s no need to push her now, just to plant that first seed. Over the past few months, I’ve been studying Nora Levine’s complex owner’s manual and I’m getting better at being with her by the day. I’ve learned when to leave something alone, when’s the right time to put out a feeler, and when it’s opportune to nudge her a little.

“I can’t thank you enough for this.” She runs a finger over Isabel’s words in the book, then looks at me. “How did you swing this? You must have spoken to Isabel for her to write something so personal?” Her eyes narrow. “What did you tell her about me?”

“Nothing she doesn’t completely understand herself.” I smile at Nora. “Something tells me that you and Isabel Adler would make great friends. I’m not just saying that. I mean it. It makes perfect sense when you think about it.”

“Pff.” Nora puffs out some air. “As if Isabel Adler would ever be friends with me.”

I take Isabel’s card from the book and hold it in front of Nora’s face. “Exhibit number one,” I say.

“I can’t believe any of this.” Nora’s wise not to object further. “You’re amazing.”

“I must be, if I get to be Nora Levine’s girlfriend.” It’s not even a joke.

Nora clasps the book against her chest. “Best present ever. For real. Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome.” I take the book from her because I very much want to take its place against Nora’s chest.

“I’m serious.” Nora’s eyes are a little moist. She reaches for my hands. “I’m a handful, I know that, and you… you keep showing up, you keep being your kind, understanding self. You get me in ways that no one else does.”

In ways that you’ve never let anyone else get you, I think, but it doesn’t matter.

“You accept me and all my silly quirks, although…” Her solemn expression transforms into a smirk. “I’m surprised you wanted me to do this movie so badly, because it means more weeks of early wake-up calls for workouts with Marcy.”

Any time she has to get up before seven, Nora’s smartwatch wakes her up by discreetly buzzing against her wrist. While it’s infinitely better than the obnoxious blare of an alarm clock, half the time, I wake too. I don’t mind because I’m perfecting the art of falling asleep again after I’ve run a hand over her gorgeous body—Nora’s not ready to say goodbye to her abs just yet, and who am I to tell her otherwise?

“Anything to see you in that movie, just like Leila and Izzy.”

“You’re calling her Izzy already, are you?” Nora strokes my hand with her thumb.

I nod. “I think the four of us are going to hit it off like a house on fire. We should plan a trip to New York as soon as you finish this movie.”

Nora heaves a deep sigh, but I know she’s only pretending. “My life used to be quiet and simple. Now you have me doing movies when I’m not making TV, and are taking me to New York to meet Isabel Adler.”

“Isn’t life funny that way?” I gaze into Nora’s bright blue eyes. They’re still a little wet, but mostly, they sparkle with joy and light—and endless amounts of love.

I pull her to me. “I love you, Nora Levine,” I say. “I love all of you.”