Back First Comes Love
Chapters (92)
  1. First
  2. Love Connection
  3. Zero
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. One Month Later
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Six Months Later
  21. Sixteen
  22. Seventeen
  23. Eighteen
  24. Nineteen
  25. Twenty
  26. Twenty-one
  27. Twenty-two
  28. Twenty-three
  29. Twenty-four
  30. Six Months Later
  31. Twenty-five
  32. Twenty-six
  33. Twenty-seven
  34. Twenty-eight
  35. Twenty-nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-one
  38. Thirty-two
  39. Thirty-three
  40. I Have Never
  41. One
  42. Two
  43. Three
  44. Four
  45. Five
  46. Six
  47. Seven
  48. Eight
  49. Nine
  50. Ten
  51. Eleven
  52. Twelve
  53. Thirteen
  54. Fourteen
  55. Fifteen
  56. Sixteen
  57. Seventeen
  58. Eighteen
  59. Nineteen
  60. Twenty
  61. Twenty-one
  62. Twenty-two
  63. A Christmas Date
  64. One
  65. Two
  66. Three
  67. Four
  68. Five
  69. Six
  70. Seven
  71. Eight
  72. Nine
  73. Ten
  74. Eleven
  75. Twelve
  76. Thirteen
  77. Fourteen
  78. Fifteen
  79. Sixteen
  80. Seventeen
  81. Eighteen
  82. Nineteen
  83. Twenty
  84. Twenty-one
  85. Twenty-two
  86. Note from the Author
  87. Sneak Peek – To the Stars and Back
  88. Two
  89. Three
  90. Four
  91. Also by Camilla Isley
  92. About the Author

My happy stream of fantasies is interrupted by my phone ringing, screen flashing with the ominous caller ID, Dolores Umbridge.

I sigh and pick up. “Hello, Mom.”

The others are still waiting, so I gesture for them to keep going and that I’ll meet them at the bar.

“Blair.” My mother’s voice rattles out of the phone’s speakers. Already, from the single pronunciation tone of my name, I understand that she isn’t happy with me. “What is this I’ve heard about you being on your tube? Is it proper for a future mother? My friends at the country club say it’s a website with a questionable reputation.”

“Mom, it’s YouTube, and I did an interview. There’s nothing questionable about it.”

“An interview? So you got the editor position at Évoque? Why didn’t you tell me? I can’t wait to tell all my friends.”

“No, Mom, I didn’t.” I stare at the sky, unsure what to say next. I’ve avoided talking to her since, well, since I was fired. My fuse for my mother has become shorter than ever and I don’t care whether she approves or disapproves how I live my life anymore. So I rat myself out. “Actually, Évoque fired me.”

“Fired? You? And what do you do for money?”

“I work at a different magazine.”

“Which one? Is it better than Évoque?”

I think for a second. “Yeah, ten thousand times better.”

“Well, what’s it called?”

“Inceptor Magazine.”

“I’ve never heard of it.”

“Because it’s a new online publication.”

“Online? Have you gone mad? What’s the publishing house, is it still Northwestern?”

“No. There’s no publishing house, it’s just the magazine.”

“But… but… I mean, what does Gerard think about it?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care. We broke up.”

“Oh. Oh, goodness. What did you do?”

“I did nothing.” Somebody help, please. I’m about to lose my temper big time. “He cheated on me.”

“Ah, well, a man like him with an important job… I’m sure you can work through this crisis…”

The fuse reaches the end and I explode. “Mom, are you even listening to me? Gerard was having an affair with his secretary. There’s nothing left to work on.”

“So what? You’d rather be single? At your age?”

“Yeah, definitely. Single is not a dirty word, and it’s better to be alone than to stay in a relationship because it looks better from the outside. I’m not you!”

Without waiting for a reply, I hang up on the momster and turn my phone off.

Arrrgh, that woman!

She still has the power to drive me crazy. Well, at least after our cozy chat she won’t call me for another couple of months. Fine by me. I’m ready for a drink and to forget all about parental harassment.

Seventeen

Never Have I Ever