Wishing you all the love and blessings possible,

Alicia

Alicia reread her note, hit the send button, and then scanned the rest of her inbox. She read a few new ones from more members at the church, but then smiled when her cell rang and she saw that it was Melanie.

“Hey, girl,” Alicia said.

“Hey yourself. And can I please ask why you didn’t bother calling to tell me you saw Phillip yesterday?”

“Oh my goodness, I guess news travels pretty fast, doesn’t it? And who told you that, anyway?”

“Phillip. He called and left me a voice message this morning, and I just now got a chance to call him back.”

“What did he want?”

“To talk about you, of course.”

“I don’t get it,” Alicia said, trying to play innocent.

“Well, he gets it, and based on how shady you’re sounding, you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“Whatever.”

“Oh, so are you saying you don’t want to know what we talked about?”

“Not really. Unless you’re just dying to tell me, that is,” she said, and they both laughed.

“Well, first of all, he admitted that he was way out of line for asking, but he wanted to know if you really were happily married. He wanted to know if things were really that great with you and your new husband.”

“And what did you tell him?”

“That as far as I knew, you and JT were very happy.”

“Good. And then what?”

“He went on about how good you looked, something about you looking even more beautiful than when he first met you and that as soon as he saw you, he knew he loved you more than before. He said he knew he shouldn’t, not after the way you slept with Levi behind his back and especially not now that you’re married to someone else, but he can’t help how he feels. He said he knew he’d never stopped loving you, but when he saw you in person, he could barely handle being around you.”

Alicia’s heart thumped more noticeably, and she wondered why this was happening-why her ex-husband had shared all of this with her best friend. Mainly, though, she wondered why she was feeling the same way about him. She’d also felt similar feelings when she’d spoken on the phone with Levi as well as when she’d read his e-mails, so this was all terribly confusing. None of it made any sense because she really did love JT. Her current husband. The man who loved her back. The man who gave her everything she wanted and who was working tirelessly to give her even more than that.

“Helloooo?” Melanie sang.

“I’m here,” Alicia finally said.

“I guess this was a lot of information to take in for one conversation, huh?”

“You’re telling me.”

“Well, all I know is that Phillip is still head-over-heels in love with you, and he pretty much talked about nothing else.”

“But the only thing is, Mel, I’m married. I’m married, and I’m completely committed to JT.”

“Which is why I debated telling you any of this. But after I thought about it, I knew you would be upset with me if you found out about it later.”

“You’re right. Still, though, I wish Phillip hadn’t told you any of that, and now I wish I hadn’t seen him.”

“Why? Do you still care about him?”

“I won’t even lie to you, Mel. I do. I wish I didn’t, but it is what it is. Phillip and I have a lot of history, both good and bad, but if he’d never left me and filed for a divorce, I know I would still be with him.”

“That’s really gotta be tough.”

“Yeah, but it’s much too late for all that now. We both have very separate lives, and that’s how we’re going to have to continue them.”

“I hear you.”

“Anyway, how’s everything else going?”

“Fine. I’ve been working a lot of hours this week, but Brad and I just decided last night to head down to South Beach for a four-day weekend. We’re leaving tomorrow and coming back late on Sunday.”

“Good for you, girl. You deserve a vacation, and there’s nothing more fun than being in Miami.”

“I know, and I can hardly wait.”

“Well, if I don’t talk to you before you leave, you guys have a wonderful time.”

“We will, and if I get some time, I’ll call you.”

“Sounds good, and travel safe.”

“Talk to you soon. Oh, and wait, girl, I’m so sorry. How is your friend’s mom? I told Phillip that you’d called me yesterday morning to tell me what happened, but he said when he was there yesterday, not much had changed.”

“No, there’s been no improvement at all, and actually, I just came home this morning so I could get a little rest and take care of a few to-do items. I’m going back in a couple of hours or so, though.”

“I know this must be tragic for Carmen because it certainly would be for me. Here at the hospital, I see illnesses like this all the time, but I know it would be a lot different if it happened to one of my own loved ones.”

“Definitely.”

“Well, even though I’ve never met her, please tell Carmen I’m praying for her mom.”

“I will, Mel, and thanks so much for that.”

“Okay, talk to you later.”

Alicia set her phone down and started out of her office, but now the home phone rang. It was her agent, and Alicia hurried to answer it.

“Hello?”

“Hi, it’s Joan.”

“How are you?”

“Great. And the reason I’m calling is to let you know that I’ve already heard back from all the editors I submitted your manuscript to, and they each want to make offers.”

“Oh my God. This is wonderful.”

“It certainly is, and we’re already in the process of setting up all the meetings, which will probably span a two-day period. Most likely, next Wednesday and Thursday, so I can hold the auction on Friday.”

“Gosh, Joan, I’ve wished for this for a long time, but now that it’s happening, it just doesn’t seem real.”

“I can imagine. I’m very excited for you and all that I know this will lead to.”

“Also, thank you again for agreeing to represent me.”

“No, thank you, and I’ll be in touch again very soon.”

“Take care.”

Alicia quickly pressed the off button, turned the phone back on again, and dialed JT. She was thrilled beyond her wildest dreams and couldn’t wait to tell him the news.

“Hey, you,” he said when he answered.

“Hi, sweetheart, guess what?”

“Talk to me.”

“Joan just called and all six of the editors she submitted to want to make an offer.”

“That’s wonderful, baby.”

“And I’ll be meeting with each of them next week. I mean, can you believe that?”

“Of course I do. I knew all along that things would turn out great.”

“It really is happening, JT. And now I’m wondering what kinds of offers will actually come in.”

“Well, with them obviously reading your novel this quickly and already saying they want it, I really can’t see them offering anything small.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“Aren’t I always?”

“Yeah, as a matter of fact you are.”

“I’m really proud of you.”

“Thanks, baby. But hey, I just wanted you to be the first to know, but now I need to call my dad.”

“I know he’ll be just as excited as I am. Oh, and before you go, are you going to make it to Bible study tonight?”

“I wanted to, but because I’ve been home most of the day, I really want to get back to the hospital to sit some more with Carmen.”

“That’s what I figured, and I definitely understand.”

“Sorry.”

“No, don’t be sorry about it at all, and I’ll just see you when I get home.”

“I love you,” she said.

“I love you, too, baby, and congratulations.”

Alicia hung up the phone and called her dad, who was ecstatic, and then got ready to head back out to the hospital. But as she gathered up her Gucci shoulder purse and the black and white tote bag she’d filled with a few magazines she’d been wanting to read, the doorbell rang. So she walked through the foyer and opened the door, and a FedEx driver smiled at her. Interestingly enough, she hadn’t ordered any clothing, shoes, or jewelry by mail in the last couple of weeks, so as far as she knew they weren’t expecting any deliveries.