Page 81 of Happily Ever After

Paige smiled. “You’re all amazing, you know that? Graham and I will come by Wednesday night and pick all the sheets up. Just leave them in an envelope under your doormat. That way I won’t even have to bother you.”

“Works for me,” Cece said.

For the first time since Darcy Lane had walked into the fitness center with that glint in her eyes, Paige felt like they were finally moving in a positive direction.

Chapter Thirty-Two

The following morning, after walking with Brick and Beau, having breakfast, and getting herself ready, Blaise sat before her laptop, adjusted the angle of the screen so that the camera made her look as flattering as possible. She lifted it too much, then nudged it back again, fussing with it more than necessary.

The truth was, she hadn’t been nervous until the calendar reminder popped up fifteen minutes earlier. Video call with publisher. Seeing it there in black and white had caused a little shiver of nerves in her. Not because she needed to get ready. She’d been ready for an hour.

But it served as a reminder of how much this mattered. How much it could change things.

She smoothed the front of her linen shirt and took a breath, glancing around the living room. Beau lay stretched out near the sofa, chin on his paws, watching her with sleepy interest. Brick had offered to take him to his place, but Blaise had said he was fine being with her. She liked knowing Beau was there. His sweet little face had a way of calming her down.

She smiled at him just as her phone buzzed with a quick text.

You’re going to be great, Brick had written.

She took a breath and set the phone aside just as the screen chimed and the call connected.

Two faces appeared. A woman in her forties with sharp eyes and a calm smile, and a slightly older man, glasses perched low on his nose, flipping through what looked like printed pages. He put them down suddenly as if realizing they were live.

“Blaise Monroe, there you are,” the woman said.

“That’s me,” Blaise said, smiling back.

“I’m Leanne West, editorial director. This is Thomas Reed, senior head of acquisitions. Thank you so much for making time for us.”

“Of course,” Blaise said. “I’m glad we could connect.”

“We are, too,” Thomas said, putting on a smile. “Very glad. We know you must be busy.”

Sure am, Blaise thought. Trying to save my book club. But it was a good start.

Leanne leaned forward slightly. “We wanted to begin by saying how much we enjoyed the chapter you sent. Your voice has real clarity, and the storytelling is captivating. It was very strong.”

“Thank you,” Blaise said, flattered.

“And,” Leanne added. “The timing is interesting.”

Blaise lifted a brow, unsure of what she meant. “In what way?”

“Well,” Leanne said with a small smile. “You’re having a bit of a moment. First the podcast announcing your return to modeling, then this shoot?”

Blaise laughed softly. “I suppose it is a moment.”

Thomas chimed in. “We saw the coverage from Miami. The shoot. The buzz around the campaign.”

Blaise nodded. “Marco Alvarez is an amazing designer. I was thrilled to do it.” He’d organized the paparazzi to help his campaign, but he might have also helped her career.

“Congratulations on landing that,” Leanne said. “How did it go?”

“Better than I expected,” Blaise said honestly. “It was energizing. And affirming, I suppose.”

“That came through in the images we saw. And the ones on your website,” Thomas said. “There’s confidence there. Not that we thought you lacked in that department.”

Blaise appreciated that. “It was important to me to be really honest about who I am now. I’m not trying to recapture my youth. This is the real me and I’m proud of the image I present.”