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Back The Messy Lives of Book People Save as PDF
Chapters (48)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise
  3. About the Author
  4. Dedication
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. THE BOOK AHEAD BLOG
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. HOW I WRITE
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. THE CONSTELLATION AFTER-PARTY
  39. 32
  40. 33
  41. 34
  42. 35
  43. BESTSELLER ESSIE STARLING HAS DIED
  44. 36
  45. 37
  46. Acknowledgments
  47. Questions for Discussion
  48. Booklist

“Really? Thank you. The boys will love that. Mack can enjoy a little feast before he returns to university.”

Essie tapped a finger on her notepad. “I’ll give thought to our conversation and note things down.”

Liv felt giddy and warm inside. This could be the start of a beautiful friendship. Essie might even offer to mentor her own writing. She tried not to let her imagination run away with her, but could already picture chatting to Essie about Georgia over a vintage teacup. “I promise to do my best,” she said.

“I’m sure you’ll try.” Essie stared straight at her, eyes full of intent. She paused and parted her lips, as if about to say something important.

As Liv smiled and waited, an expectant tingle ran down her spine.

But then a veil seemed to fall upon Essie’s face. Her eyes became slits, and she pursed her lips so they resembled prunes. “That is all, Olivia,” she said.

4

THE YELLOW NOTEBOOK

That evening, Liv’s stomach fizzed with excitement about Essie’s request. She even tried to join in the banter about football around the dining table. Afterward, she, Jake and Johnny gathered in the sitting room to look at laptops on Jake’s phone. Johnny pointed to one that was two hundred pounds more expensive than the basic model.

“The cheaper one looks exactly the same,” Jake said.

Johnny wrinkled his nose. “I need more internal memory.”

“It’s fine, get the one you need,” Liv said, avoiding Jake’s eyes.

“Thanks, Mum.”

When Johnny left the room, Jake shook his head. “How will we afford that?” he said.

Liv pursed her lips. She didn’t want to tell him about Essie’s request yet. There was no use getting his hopes up about a pay rise because she wasn’t going to ask for one. She wanted to prove herself to Essie before she even thought about recompense. Just a few moments of the author’s time, talking to her about books and writing, were worth their weight in gold. Essie’s temperament blew hot and cold, so it might only be a short while before her interest in Liv waned. Even so, Liv couldn’t wait to discuss her new duties with the author. Thinking about it got her through the next few days.

When Thursday finally arrived, Liv mopped the Platinum office loos and discovered someone had suffered a stomach mishap in one of the cubicles. As she held her breath and snapped on her rubber gloves, she tried to imagine the vanilla aroma of the tiny cakes she’d eaten at Essie’s afternoon tea.