I shrugged. “Maybe.”
My phone dinged in my hand, and I grinned at the picture Lewis had sent over. It was him in a black peacoat, standing in Central Park with the Bethesda Fountain in the background. There was only one line under it.
Miss you.
A grin split my face before I could think better of it. Amy leaned over my shoulder when she saw it.
“Jesus, he is smitten.” Then, she glanced up at me. “And he’s not the only one.”
I laughed and closed out of the picture. “I don’t know if smitten is the word. But he’s something.”
“He’s totally into you.”
“Too bad he’s a thousand miles away.”
“He did ask you to move to New York,” Amy conceded.
“Yeah, I’ll add that to the list of horrible ideas I have.”
“Why would that be a horrible idea besides the fact that you’d be leaving me behind?”
“A hundred percent because you’d be here,” I said with a laugh. Amy nudged me. “I mean, first, money. Second, I don’t even know if I’ll get another book contract. Third, I hardly know anyone there. It would be insanely impulsive.”
“First, you have money. Second, you’re going to get another book contract. Third, you know enough people. And impulsive works for you.”
I waved a hand at her. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, but I always solidly came down on a maybe. There were a million more reasons to stay than to go. But New York called to me, and I couldn’t ignore her siren call.
I was about to respond when my phone started ringing. “Hello?”
“Natalie, it’s Gillian.”
“Hey, Gillian. How are you?”
“Girl, I am out of this world. Do you know what today is?”
“Uh…” I glanced at my phone. “November thirteenth?”
“Wednesday,” she said as if that were more obvious.
“Okay…”
“New York Times released their best-sellers list.”
“Oh my god,” I whispered.
My stomach dropped. I hadn’t known that it came out on Wednesday. Or that I should even be looking for it. I’d hoped, of course. Who wouldn’t hope? But I’d never thought it would be my reality. It was my debut. It was a dream. This just didn’t happen.
“You hit at number three on the hardcover list.”
A buzzing filled my head.
I’d hit. I’d hit. I’d hit.
I didn’t know what to say or think or feel. All of a sudden, I burst into tears. I couldn’t stop it even if I wanted to. I sobbed uncontrollably as emotions jolted through me. As all my dreams seemed to come true at once. My hands were shaking. Distantly, I saw Amy turn to me with concern. Melanie brushing past Michael to find out what was wrong. But I couldn’t process it. Any of it.
“Oh, Natalie! Congratulations! I knew this book would be huge. And, now, you’re a New York Times bestselling author! So well deserved. It’s been such a pleasure bringing this book to life.”
“Thank you, Gillian! I can’t even believe this is real.”
“It is. You’re brilliant. I’m so proud of you.”
I blubbered incoherently a few more minutes before hanging up the phone. I glanced up into the startled faces of my friends.
“What happened?” Melanie gasped. “Is everything all right?”
“I…I hit the New York Times.”
“Oh my god!” Melanie shrieked at the same time as Amy. They jumped up and down and then threw their arms around me as one.
“This is amazing, Nat,” Amy said, squeezing the life out of me.
“I’m so excited!” Melanie cried. “We have to celebrate.”
“Drinks on Natalie,” Michael said with a chuckle.
A sign of how immersed I was in my news was that I actually laughed at Michael. “Drinks on me. But, first…I need to tell Mom.”
“She’s going to flip out,” Melanie gasped.
“I know.”
“Let’s go to her shop now! She’ll never expect it!”
“Damn, I wish I could see her reaction,” Amy said. “Stupid gallery!”
“Let’s do it,” I said.
Melanie hugged me again. “I have the car.”
“You’re just going to leave?” Michael asked.
She waffled for a minute as if she had to think about how to respond to him. “I’ll call you later.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Seriously?”
“Michael, it’s for Nat.”
He looked like he was going to breathe fire.
“We’re leaving. Come on, Mel,” I said, stepping between them and pulling her toward the gallery exit. “See you, Amy!”
As soon as we were out of the gallery, Melanie jammed her finger down on the open button on the clicker for her Honda Civic. She basically ripped open her door before dropping into the driver’s side.
I slipped in after her. “Michael is…something.”
“I don’t want to talk about him right now, Nat. I know you don’t like him.”
“You’re right. I don’t.”
Melanie shot me a look to tell me to shut up and then put the car in reverse. I promptly shut up. She knew how I felt about Michael. It wasn’t a secret. No need to keep discussing it.
She zipped across town to our mom’s New Age shop, Ascension Books & Gifts. I’d always thought that the books and gifts part was a little misleading. It was primarily full of crystals, incense, tarot cards, special teas, and other metaphysical tools of her trade. The books mostly consisted of instructions on how to read crystal balls, interpret cards, and clean chakras. I still hadn’t discovered what she considered gifts. It just looked like a magic shop on the inside.