My heart didn’t just skip a beat. It tripped, stumbled, and faceplanted into a wall.
I clicked it open. There it was. The contract.My contract.ForLittle Derby Girls.
My hand covered my mouth as I scrolled, eyes blurring.
Then I saw the second email, from my agent:
All set! Scholastic is thrilled. Advance payment coming through by the end of the month. Congrats, Eleanor. This is big. Proud of you.
I didn’t realize I was crying until a tear hit my keyboard.
Big.
It was more than big.
It wasfreedom.
It was the door opening. It was a way out of this house. A way to give Ava space to grow and breathe. A way to givemyselfthat space, too.
I pressed my palms to my cheeks, laughing and crying at the same time.
We could do it. We could leave. We could leavesoon.
My phone buzzed.
A text from Alex.
Simple.
Alex - Good morning, El. Hope you have a good day. You deserve one.
I smiled so hard my face ached.
Eleanor - I think I might.
And for the first time in longer than I could remember, I meant it.
The day went on,I worked and perfected my pages for the first book, and started storyboarding book two. I was in the zone. After I picked Ava up from school, I dropped her off with Becca to play with Leo while I had my first practice. Then, it would be mine and Alex’s first night together. I wasn’t sure what I was more nervous about.
Alex was coming with me just to watch. We pulled out of the lot and headed toward the rink, the silence between uscomfortable but charged. My knee bounced despite my best efforts to keep still.
I rolled my shoulders, mentally running through everything Belle and Mel had drilled into me. Stay low. Bend your knees. Don’t apologize for taking up space.
Hit like you mean it, or don’t hit at all.
Alex glanced over. “You’re thinking loud again.”
I huffed a breath. “Am I that obvious?”
“To me?” He smiled. “Yeah.”
I swallowed. “I just . . . I want to be good.”
“And,” he added softly, “you’re also thinking about tonight.”
Heat crept up my neck. “Maybe.”
His expression stayed warm, steady. No pressure. No expectation.
