Page 140 of More Than Words

“We’re often our worst critics, so you need to give yourself some grace as you navigate this new part of your life. Babies—and parenting in general—are hard, but as long as you keep trying to do your best, that’s not failing. Same with relationships. Let your partner in, even if it’s hard.”

“I can try.” I needed to try something because what I’d been doing wasn’t working for anyone.

“Safe travels on your trip. Try to be kinder to yourself this week. Most people are so worried about their own struggles that they aren’t going to judge you for yours. Feeling afraid and guilty won’t help you move forward in life, so looking back constantly isn’t where you need to be focusing your thoughts and actions. We can only move forward.”

I let his words sink in long after we’d ended the call.

ISOBEL

New York

“I know giving up some of the creative control on your series is scary, but the screenwriter we’ve been working with doesn’t want to change your stories, they just want to bring them to a whole new audience.”

Nikki sighed, glancing between Sloane and me where we sat across from her in one of the small conference rooms at Vivid’s offices in New York. Her lawyer had already raked through the contract, assuring we were giving her a fair deal on acquiring the film rights to her wildly successful small-town romance series. But she was still struggling with the fact that there was no way to avoid some things getting changed in the screenwriting process.

“Look,” I sighed, leaning forward and staring straight at her. She’d been working with me for nearly my entire tenure at Vivid, so I felt like I needed to assure her she would be safe taking this monumental step with us. “I know these characters feel like your family, and you don’t want someone to come in and hurt your family. Honestly, they feel like mine too after working on all your books, but that’s why it’s so important to share these stories with a wider audience.”

“They are my family,” she murmured, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms over her chest. “But I’m not going to sell them out to make more money. That isn’t fair to my characters or my readers.”

“This isn’t about making money, Nik. We want to preserve as much as we can of your stories during this process. Vivid has been just as much like your family for almost ten years since your agent brought me your first manuscript. I know it’s hard to think about taking this step, but sometimes the things that are the scariest are the ones that will totally change your life.”

She searched my face while she let my words sink in. Maybe I needed to take my own advice. I needed to stop being scared and take what I wanted from life instead of hiding from the hard parts.

My phone buzzed in the bag at my feet, distracting me, but Sloane picked up the conversation, talking to her about what the next steps were after the screenwriting process. She assured her that as the author she’d still have plenty of creative control during the project while working with the Vivid team.

My phone continued buzzing, so I reached down to slip it out of the pocket of my bag while still trying to follow the conversation.

My eyes widened as I saw I had three missed calls on the notification screen, one from the office daycare, and two from Adrian, along with half a dozen missed text messages.

Unlocking the phone, I pulled up Adrian’s messages, my heart beating faster as I scrolled through them.

Adrian: Not sure what time your meeting is at. Can you call me when you have a chance?

Adrian: I’m at a meeting with an author at a bookstore across town, but the daycare called to tell me Finley has a fever. They assured me she was okay, but she needs to be picked up.

Adrian: Called Hutch, but he didn’t answer. He’s probably still in the meetings at the memory care center with Ma. Was able to get ahold of Andrea, and I put her on the pickup list to get Fin from daycare.

Adrian: I know I should have asked you first, but we probably need to talk about having a backup plan for things like this in the future if you’re going to be traveling more.

Adrian: I have an appointment scheduled with the pediatrician at 4:30. I don’t know when you’ll see this, but please try not to worry. I’ll handle this.

But he shouldn’t have to. My vision blurred as I stared at my phone, feeling helpless. My baby was sick, and I was sitting in a conference room hours away from home. Suddenly proving myself at work didn’t seem so important.

Adrian: I hope you’re not panicking with all these messages when you get them. I just wanted to make sure you knew what was going on. I promise she’s okay. Or at least Andrea said she was. She’s waiting for me in my office.

Another text came through as I was reading.

Adrian: Headed back to the office now to get our girl. I’ll try to call you later once I know more. I love you.

As I read the last message, I hadn’t even realized that Sloane and Nikki had stopped talking.

“Is everything okay, Isobel?” Nikki asked, concern clear on her face.

As I tried to come up with an excuse, I realized that maybe this was a sign I wasn’t where I needed to be right now.

“Actually, no. I’m sorry, but I need to go.”

My hands gathered the papers in front of me on the table into a haphazard stack and I hastily shoved them in my bag before I went to stand.

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