“Circling, as always,” Honey said, unzipping a pocket.“I try to stay as far away as I can.I was thrilled to get your call.”
“How did you two meet?”Ariella asked.
“Roxie is the most incredible book editor in the world.”
“It’s something I dabbled in,” Roxie explained.“In ye olden days before Zairn decided to take over my life.”
“You think that’s a joke, Miss Kyst, but I’m still devastated.Losing you was a trauma I’ll never get over.”
“I’ll work with you,” Roxie said.“Especially on this project.How much time do you have before you’re due on location?”
“I’ll meet up with the team in Vegas.There’s a shooting day or two before we head out.This was kind of a last minute thing, I’m not entirely in the loop yet.”
“I wish you’d told me about it.Sounds like it will be a blast.”
“You’re welcome to join us,” Honey said, her lips curling higher.“I don’t imagine many people shoo you away, Roxanna Kyst.”
“Some may try, few succeed… Usually only the spiders succeed.I run from them.Fast.”Casting off that pain, Roxie’s shoulders moved in unison with a throat clear.“I worked freelance.Did jobs for a few of the big publishers and my private clients.No job too big or too small.”
“She’s being modest, she was in high demand.”Honey slipped a device from the satchel.“Am I recording this?”
“We’re going in easy.”Roxie picked up the cue.“Honey’s a ghostwriter.”
That was an unexpected explanation but intriguing.“A ghostwriter?”
“She has a few specialties and is the best.”
“There are different approaches,” Honey said.“And if you’d rather start without recordings or notes, we can take it easy.I can work with anyone and follow instruction.”
“You want her to write a book?”she asked Roxie.“About me?For me?As me?”
“Or an article, a blog piece, whatever you’re comfortable with.If none of those options work, she can advise us on how best to proceed.I don’t want to call your life experience a story, but we have to put it together somehow.Her opinion is valuable and if, at any second, you want to shut this down—”
“I keep hearing that, but I don’t know… How do I know when enough is enough?How do I know what to tell and what to keep private?”
“Saying things out loud helps,” Honey said, somehow exactly understanding her difficulty.“Sometimes when the words hit the air, their context alters and you hear them in a new, much more open way.”
In one regard, at least, that made sense.She’d never said these words out loud.Spence knew their story, she’d never had to say it to him.And Ryssa, a once dear friend, heard it along the way.How did she explain her world to someone who hadn’t lived it with her?
“No one has signed anything.”Roxie bounced from the loveseat to the couch next to her.“Sounds ridiculous, but Dunlap and Ogilvie would want me to reinforce that.We talk, three women getting to know each other, under the promise that the trust we share is absolute until we decide otherwise.”
Reputation had to be everything.In Honey’s line of work if she betrayed a client, it would be more difficult to secure work later.But it was more than that.She didn’t fear or doubt Honey’s motives.The woman had Roxie and Cam’s seal of approval, what else did she need?
“I was fifteen when I first became aware of him.”The beginning, the origin story of their relationship.It was so long ago that it often felt like it belonged to someone else.“He didn’t know who I was and we never… That was the year I started at the Institute.Most of the girls giggled over the Raith men and other tutors, but it was never a thing for me.I wasn’t one of those girls.I had to work hard or I’d lose my scholarship.Studying became the most important thing in my world.I had to be there.I had to do well.I did not want to go back home without…”
What happened to those dreams and that determination?Youth played a part, but at some point her plans and dreams had dwindled into insignificance.
Love was the answer.Everything became him when…
“Your relationship with Spencer Raith is what makes you attractive to the media,” Honey said.“Who knows the full story?”
That was an unexpected question.“Who?Why would—you want to interview other people?”
“If others are open to it, I will talk to them,” Honey said.“Although it’s also good to…”
Honey and Roxie’s eyes met as hers went back and forth between them.
“Know who’ll contradict your version,” Roxie said, slipping a hand over hers.
