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First Kensington Books Hardcover Printing: October 2020

First Zebra Books Mass-Market Paperback Printing: November 2021

ISBN-13: 978-1-4201-5034-6

ISBN-13: 978-1-4201-5035-3 (eBook)

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Printed in the United States of America

Prologue

October 2016
Santa Maria Island, Florida

Lauren Montgomery opened her second box of tissues and sneezed into the cushiest brand she’d found at the drugstore; she’d been dealing with a nightmare of a cold for the past three days. All the snowbirds must be bringing extra germs with them this year, she thought. She hadn’t felt this rotten in ages. Probably not since she was four, fell off the slide, and broke her collarbone. “No, this is worse,” she said to herself as she poured another glass of orange juice.

Taking her glass outside, she sat at the small table and chairs on the balcony of her beachside condo overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. It was early, yet the beach was already filled with tourists toting beach chairs, brightly colored umbrellas, and the bags of paraphernalia one required to spend a gorgeous winter’s day on a Florida beach.

Lauren had just finished writing a biography on one of the hottest stars of social media, Albert Grossman, CEO and founder of Shout Out. If she had to be honest with herself, she hadn’t been taking good care of herself during these past two months as she finished work on the manuscript. She put heart and soul into her work and, in doing so, often neglected her own well-being. Lauren told herself that as soon as she was over this cold, she’d get back into a stable routine. She enjoyed tinkering in the kitchen. She’d make pots of homemade chicken-noodle soup and freeze them, just in case. This was the start of the cold and flu season, so it couldn’t hurt to be a bit more prepared.