Page 76 of A Storybook Wedding

She nods. “He’s the total package. Extremely handsome, funny, smart, generous, and rich and famous to boot.”

“Sounds like a dick to me.”

“Oh, believe me, he can be. I thought he was a total douche when I first met him.”

“Did you?”

“One hundred percent.”

“What’d he do to get you to change your mind?”

“He let me humiliate him on national television.”

“I’d say it was worth it.”

“Me too,” she says.

She smirks before tackling me and having her way with me. Again.

CHAPTER 15

Cecily

By the following night, I have stats logged in my notebook.

IG FOLLOWERS: 516

QUERIES SENT OUT: 25

AUTO-REPLIES: 7

REJECTIONS: 4

FULL MANUSCRIPT REQUESTS: 0

I am not doing well.

The social media stats should be providing me with some relief, but really, how hard can it be to get followers? I’ve posted a few cute things, put up exactly three pictures (one of the snow, one of my TBR stack, and one of the birthday cake that Nate asked the kitchen staff to bake for me last night), reposted a couple of clever things that other people have created, and followed almost two thousand people in small batches of about thirty at a time.

It’s not like it’s rocket science or anything. A toddler could have the same success as me on Instagram.

The querying, however, is doing bad things to my stomach and my psyche. I know Nate’s stats; he told me them. And Work was his first manuscript, just like Hard Pass is mine.

I thought I’d have at least a few full requests by now.

Yes, I realize it’s only been a day, and people are coming off a long holiday break, but still. I am frozen in the desk chair the following night, having skipped an alumni virtual reading on Zoom in favor of staring at my screen, hitting Refresh over and over again on my email.

“This is not a good look for you, babe,” Nate says.

I smile because I really like the way that word makes me feel. “Keep calling me that. It’s way better than CJ.”

“Fair enough. But hey, I’m serious. I’m worried about you. This feels a little like a downward spiral you’re embarking on here.”

“I’m fine,” I rebut. “It’s just—I mean, I know that our genres are totally different, but you had such incredible stats for your queries. And so fast too.”

“First of all, I didn’t query immediately following the winter hibernation of the entire publishing industry. And second, I queried different agents than the ones you’ve reached out to. It’s not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing. You know that.”

He’s right; I do know that. It just sucks is all. I hit Refresh again.

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