“I love you, Odette.”
“I love you, Ryker.”
The Endhad never felt so satisfying to write as it did now. The words stared back at me from the screen; the cursor blinked next to them. I’d finished the book that I wasn’t even sure I could write. The one my publisher wanted, and so did the rest of the world.
I snapped a photo and sent it off to Jemma and Ryker. Jemma was the first to call.
“I’m coming over.” She seemed out of breath, with rustling going on in the background as she made her claim.
“Okay,” I laughed and looked back down at my laptop. “Tea?”
I asked, unsure of what to do now. I’d been going at this for weeks, months, for far too long, and now it was done. At least the second draft, but it was here, it was real, and something I was so proud of. More so than the other books I’d written and even my games. There was something about this book that meant more to me. It was healing to write a love that I actually felt.
“Please,” Jemma hung up first, and I worked on getting us tea made.
I pulled the chai out of the cupboard. The fall air had been coming in fiercely, and it finally felt like the holidays were approaching. Christmas lights were going up, the nights weregetting longer, and the temperature dropped a little more each day.
“You did it!” Jemma came in through my back door, beelining for me and taking me into an embrace.
“I did it.” I smiled at her and finished filling the kettle.
“Why don’t you sound happy?” Jemma asked skeptically.
“What if they hate it?” I asked, turning my back to her and grabbing a few mugs and honey. “What if I redid this whole book and sunk my soul into it for them to tell me no again? What if they like it, but the fans hate it, the readers hate it?”
I turned to look at Jemma, tears forming in my eyes. Where I’d normally be ecstatic to finish a project, this one had me second-guessing everything.
“I put a piece of my soul in there, and I truly don’t think there are enough protection spells in the world to make it so I don’t feel the pain if this is a bad release.”
“Sit.” Jemma pointed to the kitchen table, and I followed her order. She moved around the kitchen, finishing with making our tea, and then made her way to the living room. She was in there for a while until she came back empty-handed and sat down next to me. Within a few minutes, the smell of juniper was filling the house. I inhaled and took a sip of my tea. “Breathe, crazy lady.”
Jemma was drinking her tea and leaning back in her chair. We sat in silence. If I really listened, I could hear the faint sound of rain coming from the front room. Not only had Jemma lit my cleansing pot, but she had turned on my sound machine.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, but I didn’t immediately look at it. I didn’t want to break this moment of serenity while I had it. It was the first time since this summer that I sat and just was. No one needed me, I didn’t need to be anywhere, and I didn’t have a deadline looming over me. My phone buzzed again, and then again, and then it was actually ringing.
“What the fuck?” I pulled my phone out, looking at the notifications popping up and the name splayed across my screen.
Alexa Wellington.
“What did you do?” I squinted at Jemma before picking up the phone. “Hello.”
I tried to sound cheerful and not worried that my publisher was calling me directly.
“Oh my gosh, Odette.” She sounded ecstatic. “This is it. This is the story. Where did this come from? I’m only two chapters in, and I don’t want to stop.”
“What?” I looked over to Jemma, who was avoiding eye contact.
“I got your urgent email a bit ago and started reading the new book. I had no idea you were going to start over completely, but ma’am, this is actual gold here.”
“Really?” I asked. Alexa’s job wasn’t just to read my books and edit them to prepare them for release; she was also my hype woman, not the typical editor’s job, but she made it hers. But given how I felt about finishing this story, I wasn’t sure if what she was telling me was to boost my ego or if she actually liked it.
“I’m going to finish this tonight and give you a full report tomorrow, but I needed to get ahold of you now because this is the best thing I’ve read in years. It’s already filling with whimsy, magic, and love.” Alexa stopped her rant for one moment, catching her breath. I could hear her breathing hard on the other side of the phone. “I don’t know who you found to give you this kind of inspiration, but whatever you do, please do not let them go. The love that radiates from this book speaks volumes. I’ve read all of your books, Odette. Nothing like this has ever graced your pages.”
“I love him.” I blurted out, not that Alexa needed to know this, but she was the one who told me to go find someone,anyone, to get inspiration for this story. I don’t think she thought it’d ever turn out like this.
“I can tell.” I could hear the smile in Alexa’s voice. “I just wanted to tell you how amazing this is already, and I cannot wait to finish it.”
“Thank you.” I took a sip of my tea, sinking into my chair. The thoughts and feelings from before slowly started to dissipate.
