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Back First Comes Love Save as PDF
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

The thought almost cheers me up, if not for the mocking voice inside my head announcing, Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Nikki Moore: single, alone, and crazy cat-less cat lady.

Three

The Perfect Man for Christmas

The next morning, I arrive at the office super early. Not only to catch up with work, but also to avoid the double-takes and possibly false compliments my impromptu makeover will spur.

I’ve just finished checking the wardrobe for tomorrow’s shoot when Melanie walks in. She stops just inside the door and makes a shocked, “oh-I-walked-into-the-wrong-office” face. Then she blinks, realization dawning. Closing the door behind her, she approaches my desk slowly. “Your hair…”

“Is shorter,” I say, making it clear that, no, I don’t want to talk about it. “What can I do for you?”

“Your mother called again… I’m running out of excuses…”

“Arrrrrrrrgh…” I let out an exasperated growl and drop my head in my hands.

“Mmm… Are you okay, boss?”

“No, I’m not okay.” I lift my head and bang both fists on the desk. Not content, I brush off all the sheets of paper crowding it in a crazed swipe. The documents tumble to the floor, carrying a pen holder and my landline phone with them.

I stare at the mess with a small surge of satisfaction. Melanie, on the other hand, has gone pale.

“Sorry,” I say. My reaction was atypical; I’ve never freaked out in front of her. “I’m not mad at you.”

Still wary, my assistant sits in the chair opposite to mine. “Okay, boss, tell me what’s going on.”

Over the years, I’ve always strived to maintain a professional relationship with Melanie. But she’s been with me from the start, and we’ve also developed a friendship-with-boundaries. This is one of the times I feel like testing those limits a little.

“It’s the holidays and I’m single, while Julia just got engaged…” I skip the “to the love of my life” part, to maintain a shred of credibility in front of my assistant. “My roommate just told me she’s moving in with her boyfriend. And in less than two weeks, I’ll have to go home and listen to every single one of my relatives ask me why I’m still single. When what they really mean is, ‘What’s wrong with you? Why does nobody want you?’”

I huff. Aww… it felt good to let it all out.

Melanie absorbs all the personal info like a pro. “Is it the ‘single at the holidays’ part that bothers you, or is it your family?”