Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 103621 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103621 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
“Thank you, Bernadette, but I have a team in New Orleans, and they’re already on standby.” Schwartz glances down at his watch, cheeks puffing up with air as he does some quick calculations. “Pretty sure I can have Natalie and her people there by five forty-five, six at the latest. As long as you’re ready to film when they get there, we should be able to get some nice magic hour shots outside in the sunset before it gets dark.”
“Shots of what?” Elly squeaks, looking like a deer in the headlights.
“Just the two of you. Three of you,” he corrects, before pushing on, “being a family, enjoying the pool. Making dinner. Getting into your PJs and reading bedtime stories or whatever. Just a little slice of life to show that you’re an adorable young couple with nothing to hide.”
“I don’t want Mimi’s face on camera,” Elly says, her voice steadier as she shifts into mama bear mode. “I haven’t even posted pictures of her on my private social media, not since she was a baby. I want to protect her privacy until she’s old enough to choose how much of herself she wants to share. That should be her decision, not mine, and she’s still too young to make that call.”
Schwartz nods, his gaze sharpening as he takes a second look at Elly, this strong, protective woman, who’s so much more than a pretty face. “I respect that, Eloise. I respect that a lot, actually. Wish I’d had the foresight to make that call with my own boys. So, yes, of course. We can blur Mimi’s face and keep her out of the frame as much as possible. I’ll be adding the text copy over the video and doing the final edit on this one myself. I give you my personal assurance that we’ll keep Mimi safe.”
Elly nods. “I appreciate that, but I’d still love to watch and sign off on the content before you post it. I’m currently looking for a job, and I know the way he shows up in the world is very important to Grammercy, so…” She shrugs as she glances my way. “I think that’s something we would like, right? If someone’s speaking for us, we want to be sure it’s something we would actually say?”
“Absolutely. Couldn’t have said it better myself,” I agree, proud as hell of her. I’ve had years in the spotlight to get used to conversations like this, and they still throw me off my center sometimes. But Elly is already standing her ground and expressing what she needs in a clear, calm way that proves she’s more ready for this than she knows.
And she’s not just thinking about herself; she’s looking out for me and Mimi. If that doesn’t prove we’ve got what it takes to make it as a family, I don’t know what does.
After we end the call, we sit in stunned silence for a moment before Beanie murmurs in a deceptively calm voice, “Not saying that the two of you aren’t naturally beautiful, because you are. But you might want to go change into ‘pool clothes’ that cover a little more and look better on camera. I would suggest blue for you, Grammercy, and golden yellow or deep olive for you, Elly. That’s going to pop onscreen and look so pretty with the gold undertones in your skin.”
Elly gulps. “Okay.” Then, she turns to Beanie and asks, “How do you know all this? I thought you worked in healthcare.”
“Well, I’ve already been through the NHL star thing once with older his brother,” Beanie demurs.
I laugh as I rise from my lounge chair. “And Beanie knows everything, chère. The sooner you realize that, the better.”
“And I’m always right,” my mama says with a shameless grin. “Well, almost always. Go on, bebes. Get cleaned up. I’ll keep an eye on little bug. She doesn’t need to get pretty for the camera. She’s already too pretty already. Ain’t that right, Mimi?”
Mimi looks up from where she’s deep in pretend with some old bath toys at the far edge of the pool. “What’s that?”
“Nothing, honey, just saying you’re the prettiest six-year-old I know,” Beanie says. “Can I borrow those curls sometime? I’ve always wanted big, bouncy curls.”
Mimi giggles. “You can’t share hair, silly. But you can borrow my conditioner. Mama buys it special for thirsty curly hair.”
“Is that right?” Beanie hums beneath her breath. “I’ve been using the same brand for a decade, but it might be time for a change. My hair’s thirsty, too.”
“My agent is thirsty,” I mutter, arching a brow Beanie’s way as I reach a hand down to Elly, helping her up from her chair. “Is something going on with you and Freddy? You said you chatted at the game when he flew down last week. You didn’t say you two were at the ‘making eyeballs at each other on FaceTime’ stage of your relationship.”