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We both got to our feet (her more gracefully than I) and shook hands again.

“Have a good rest of your day,” I said, instantly cringing inside.

Her lips twitched with a suppressed smile. “You too.”

Chapter Two

Eloise

I watched the woman, Cadence, go toward the back of the café and meet someone who was obviously a friend who had come with her to the interview. With her back to me, Cadence collapsed into her chair and then I watched the shock on her friend’s face as she told her about the interview.

Deciding that I shouldn’t be too much of a creep, I called my literary agent, Sylvia.

“How are the interviews going?” she asked. I was surprised she picked up, but I had been her client for nearly twenty years and she’d made a lot of money off me, so taking my calls was in her best interest. On top of that, she was also one of my oldest friends, and the one who had pushed for me to get a new assistant after not having one for years.

“I just had one recommend me an alien romance book,” I said.

Sylvia laughed. “Oh, I read those. They’re fun. It’s a concept that you don’t think will work, but the strength of the writing and the worldbuilding holds up.” I hadn’t expected her to say that.

“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to find someone that just…” I trailed off.

“Clicks,” Sylvia said. She often finished my thoughts for me. “Not like Mary.” My last assistant, Mary, had been with me for ten years. She’d started out as a fan and had gradually moved into an important role in my career and life. Cancer took her five years back, and I’d been unable to replace her since then.

“Mary was special,” I said, feeling that tightness in my chest when I thought about her.

“Yes, she was,” Sylvia said. “No one else is going to be Mary. Find someone that you feel comfortable with. Who is going to have your back. Maybe someone younger, since they’ll be helping with the social media part.”

Things had changed so much in the years since I started my career. I wasn’t used to this new era, where I had to be much more of a brand than a writer. I wasn’t sure if I liked it.

“I know,” I said. “The one who told me about the aliens has a good resume for that. Better than anyone else I’ve talked to.”

“Then give her a chance. I can tell you like her from your voice.”

Sylvia knew me too well. Sometimes it was irritating how much.

“She was…chaotic.”

“She was probably nervous. You’re an intimidating person, El,” she said. There were very few people who were allowed to call me that. Sylvia was one of them.

“At least she didn’t fawn or ask me for free books or try to email me a manuscript,” I said.

“See? Maybe she’s just what you need.”

I didn’t know about that, but there was something about Cadence. Chaos, yes, but a brightness about her that had made me lean closer and wonder what she was going to say next. She’d shocked the hell out of me with the alien book answer. Completely unexpected, but it had been honest. She wasn’t the kind of woman who had the skill to lie and there was something refreshing about that.

Sylvia and I talked about business for a few more moments and then she had to get to a meeting. I ended the call and looked over to see that Cadence and her friend were gone.

I pulled up my email and sent the NDA, along with the news that she had gotten the job.

My espresso was cold, so I went and ordered another, tossed it back, and went home.

* * *

I loved my house. Sometimes I never wanted to leave. It was a gorgeous brick Georgian that I’d bought over a decade ago out in the suburbs just outside the city. Close enough that I could be near everything, but far enough that I could sit in the backyard with an iced tea and hear the birds in the trees. Children rode their bicycles on the streets and there were lemonade stands and community barbecues in the summer.

I mostly kept to myself, but it was still nice to see other people enjoying themselves. The greatest thing about where I lived, though, was that my best friend since first grade, Camille, lived just a few houses away with her husband and three kids.

On days like today, I would get home from my afternoon errands just in time to head over to her house and join her for school pickup. Sometimes I’d bring my laptop and work while she waited for the kids, and other days we’d go early, get coffee, and then talk until the kids piled into the car.