Page 18 of Between the Lines

Paige sat and scrolled through the agreement anyway. Slowly. Line by line to be sure nothing had been slipped in. But it was exactly what she’d asked for.

She rested her palms on the counter and stared at the screen.

Darcy Lane flickered through her mind. The timing was less than fantastic. And the possibility existed that this partnership might invite more scrutiny. More of whatever Darcy was up to.

Paige exhaled and shook her head. Nope. Not doing that. She wasn’t going to make decisions by imagining what someone else might do. That was how people shrank their lives into tiny, paranoid circles. Darcy didn’t get that kind of power over her. No one did.

She scrolled to the signature page, signed electronically, and hit Submit before she could second-guess the decision.

The confirmation pinged back almost immediately.

Paige grabbed her phone and sent a message to the Queen Bees text group. It’s official. Luminelle accepted my changes. I signed.

The replies came fast and made her smile.

Cece sent, YES. Proud of you.

After her came Maude. You crushed it! Way to go and on your terms! #bossbabe

Essie chimed in next. I’m so happy for you. God is good.

Althea added, About time they got back to you. Congratulations!

Then, finally, Blaise with, I love this! This is huge!

Paige let out a little laugh, the tension she’d been holding gone. This was a good thing. She’d call Randi in a few minutes and tell her.

She set the phone down and looked around her house at the life she’d rebuilt piece by piece.

Whatever Darcy Lane thought she knew, Paige knew this much for certain. She would deal with Darcy if and when that became necessary.

Until then, she had work to do.

Chapter Seven

Blaise was halfway through scrubbing the kitchen counters when her phone buzzed from the kitchen table, where she’d left it while she cleaned.

She ignored it at first. The counter still had a sticky patch near the sink that the cleaner alone hadn’t gotten rid of. She was a little annoyed she’d let it get that way. Jay had never minded a little mess, but she did. Especially in the last few years. It felt like a small failure she should be able to overcome.

Finally, elbow grease got rid of it. She rinsed the sponge, wrung it out, and set it aside before reaching for her phone.

The Queen Bees thread was lit up.

Paige’s message sat near the top, followed by a rush of happy replies. They all knew exactly what this moment represented for her.

Blaise smiled. Paige deserved it after all the work she’d put into herself and her TikTok channel. She’d done an incredible job, making her life into something bigger and better than it had ever been before her divorce. She was truly an inspiration.

Blaise typed quickly. I love this! This is huge! She hit Send, then set the phone back down and leaned against the counter.

The smile lingered, but something tugged just underneath it. Not jealousy. Just the longing to have her own moment arrive. A quiet sort of wish that she’d be able to announce her own good news soon. At least, she hoped it was good news that arrived. But she knew rejection was much more likely.

At least she had the podcast launch to look forward to. Which reminded her, she’d need to get that link to Maude once it was live. It would be nice to have that on her website.

The interview hadn’t been the easiest thing to do, laying herself bare like that, but it was good practice for the rest of the writing she still had to do.

She pushed off the counter and moved into the living room, picking up a couple of magazines she’d meant to recycle yesterday. The house looked fine to anyone else. And probably to Beau, too. To Blaise, it looked a little neglected. Well, it was looking better now.

She glanced toward the dining table.