I rolled my eyes. “The more negative reviews, the more people have read my book.”
“That’s a great attitude,” Will said with a wink.
I mean… this was what I told myself every time I accidentally saw someone rip me to shreds online. I wouldn’t say it was foolproof in preventing me from feeling like shit.
Which was why I’d stopped looking.
It had only been three days, and the book was doingwell.Not the huge launch of my wildest dreams, but it was a start. After all, I’d had to completely rebuild my brand and develop an entirely new audience. It was going to take a bit longer to gain momentum.
Peoplelovedthis book. It was only a matter of time before she found her wings.
I smiled, answering questions from the baristas about the spicy content as Will slowly backed away.
“Nova.”
Hudson’s eyes widened. I spun.
Lorelei stood there in a big faux fur coat and red sweater dress. Her figure and the hollows of her cheeks were more filled out since I last saw her. I released a long breath. She lookedhealthy.
I let go of Wes’s hand to hug her. She still smelled of the same perfume as she’d worn since she was sixteen, filling my body with bittersweet familiarity.
“You look radiant,” I said.
“I was going to say the same about you.”
When I pulled back, Lorelei’s lip trembled. “I’m so proud of you. I can’t wait to read it.” She paused, her next words softer. “I’m glad I could be here for this. Thank you again, Nova.”
I nodded, offering a small smile.
It was the end of February. Lorelei had moved to outpatient treatment and meetings two weeks ago. By all accounts, she was sober and doing much better, and it was part ofmyhealing to step back and let go without questioning or monitoring her.
This was Lorelei’s path to walk, not mine.
And I would be there for her as a friend so long as that relationship didn’t hurt me.
Hudson had decided to keep his distance, which I understood, but I chose to believe in Lorelei. That was just who I was, and I loved that about myself.
Lorelei gave Wes an awkward wave. She was usually so confident and self-assured. I was used to her taking up as much space as she possibly could in any room she entered. This Lorelei was different. Wes told me she was starting from scratch, likely still figuring out the woman she truly was underneath all her pain. She’d never been given a chance to discover herself, to decide the kind of person she actually wanted to be.
Not to mention, Roman’s gaslighting and psychospiritual abuse had warped her sense of self and reality.
Lorelei glanced at Delilah from across the room, and I rocked on my feet nervously. I hadn’t realized until this moment that we had replaced Lorelei with another tall blonde with blue eyes. Which was purely coincidental, but still…
“I’m going to grab a diet coke,” Lorelei said, chewing on her bottom lip before retreating.
I returned to Wes, where the huddle of women and Hudson currently argued about the particular physics of why choose sex positions when there were three or more men and one woman.
Hudson cleared his throat. “No, no, no. Picture this: one man is laying down, inside her pussy hole. The other man is…”
I listened to Hudson explain the physics of various multi-penetration possibilities with a grin.
When I caught a glimpse of Lorelei a few minutes later, she was laughing with a woman from AA in a quieter alcove, her face more relaxed than it had been before.
Hudson lightly bumped my shoulder. “You okay?”
“Mmhmm.” I lowered my voice. “Is the cutie you’ve been seeing coming tonight?”
“Maybe,” he said with a secretive smile. He looked around the warm, magical space. “I’m excited for you, Nova. I have a feeling we’re going to look back on this launch party one day and see it as the point right before you exploded and your whole life changed.”
