Page 46 of Reluctant to Love

Epilogue

Eleanor

The dining table looks unusually resplendent this morning. There’s a huge bouquet of flowers in a vase right in the middle and the table is set with real plates, not the paper ones we’ve been using since the kitchen has been undergoing renovations.

“What’s all this,” I ask Roderick, who’s standing nearby with a shit-eating-grin on his face. His arms are crossed over his chest and I notice he’s holding something in his hand. “What are you hiding?”

“Just sit down first,” he orders me.

I take a seat and look down at the plate in front of me. There’s a thick, cream-colored piece of paper with a gold star embossed at the top.

“Aquarius today is the day for hitting lists! Dream big because the sky is the limit. There’s no stopping you now! The world better be ready because you’re about to take it by storm.”

The horoscope is short and written in Roderick’s familiar sloping hand. “What’s this,” I ask, holding up the piece of paper.

“Maybe you should read this instead,” he says, dropping a newspaper in front of me. There’s a huge red circle around the best-seller list and the title of my book,Star Child, is right at the top.

“Holy shit,” I whisper. “I hit USA Today!”

“Read this one.”

Another newspaper appears under my nose with a similar red circle and the title of my book is in the top spot.

“Wall Street Journal? Oh my god.” I cover my mouth with my hand and blink away the tears stinging my eyes. After a year of hard edits and revisions, my debut novel was released only last week. It’s generated a little buzz, but I didn’t expect it to make it all the way to the top of two best-seller lists.

“One more,” Roderick sing-songs. “This one is my favorite.”

The best-seller list is circled again, and the title of my book is in the top slot but a little further down, all of the Tristan books are there.

“Are you kidding me,” I breathe out. It’s one thing to see my name on the list but it’s something else to see my name listed multiple times next to Roderick’s.

Six months ago, we sold the rights to a movie producer and the script was finally picked up by a movie studio. Since the news broke that our version of Tristan and Yseut was going to be on the big screen, the books have been flying off the shelves.

“This is so wonderful!” I place my hands over my warm cheeks and shake my head. Maybe this is all a dream? I close my eyes for a brief second and when I open them up, my name is still at the top.

Roderick sits down beside me and places an arm across my shoulder. He tugs me closer and kisses the top of my head. “Congratulations,” he murmurs. “I’m so fucking proud of you.”

My eyes skim the rest of the paper and land on a headline: “Editor and NY Heiress Indicted.” A familiar name jumps out at me. Famke Bekker.

“Did you see this?” I tug on Roderick’s sleeve and point to the article. “Did you know about this?”

Roderick takes the paper from me and scans the article. He hums as he reads it and I can’t help but read it too.

“Famke Bekker, former senior editor at Dreammedia Press and heiress to the Bekker fortune, was indicted Tuesday on charges of embezzlement and money laundering.”

Well, shit. Famke stepped in it now. I look back at the article to finish reading but Roderick has folded the paper and set it aside.

“Hey!” I protest.

“Today is about celebrating you and your achievements. Who cares about Famke?”

“Me! I care!” Deep down, I’m such a gossip whore. I want to know all the juicy details and already, a plan is hatching in my brain to search the Internet tonight for more information.

“Too bad,” Roderick says firmly. I love it when he’s bossy. It’s a huge turn-on when he takes charge. My mom says it’s the Leo in him. “I’m going to go wake up the little princess and get her ready for school.”

He smiles sweetly and places a hand on my slightly swollen tummy. “You just sit here and rest, ok?”

My hands cover his and I look down. Getting pregnant was also an unexcepted but happy surprise. We only found out a few months ago. To say I was shocked is an understatement, but the universe does its own thing, has its own plan.