Lovestruck Forever by Rachel Schurig Page B

just fit it into your
schedule, how easy is that?”
    “I
don’t know. What if it’s like last time?”
    “Lizzie,
it won’t be. Working with an agent would be totally different
than working with an editor—she’d be on your side,
working for you.”
    He
had a point. The editors I had met in L.A. were primarily concerned
with their own bottom line—how my book would work for them. An
agent’s job would be to represent the best interest of my book.
    “But
if this agent heard about my book from Ellen,” I said, “don’t
you think she would want the same thing Ellen did? To change it all
and make it about you.” I looked away, not wanting him to see
how hurt I still was by the whole thing. Ellen and her boss had
wanted me to change the entire premise of my book to make it mirror
my relationship with Thomas—the whole
normal-girl-is-rescued-from-obscurity-by-a-handsome-celebrity angle.
    “Not
necessarily. And if she does, you tell her the same thing you told
Ellen and her boss—you’re not interested.” He took
my hand from where my fingers were fidgeting with the hem of the
bedspread. “We talked about this, Lizzie. Every meeting you
have with someone in the industry is good for you. It helps to create
a buzz, get your name out there.”
    I
nodded. I knew he had a point.
    “Look,
is there a chance this agent only heard of you because we’re
dating?” he asked. “Of course. But that doesn’t
mean she won’t love your book once she reads it.”
    There
was that thing I had such a hard time getting past—the idea
that an agent or an editor would only work with me because I was
dating Thomas. It seemed so…unfair to me. As if reading my
thoughts, he nudged my shoulder. “It’s only going to get
worse when we’re married, you know.” His voice sounded
equal parts sad and resigned. “And I’m sorry for that,
Lizzie. Sorry that sharing my name might make things uncomfortable
for you—”
    “Don’t
talk like that,” I said quickly. “I’ll never be
sorry for attaching myself to your name.”
    He
gave me that same rueful smile. “I know me being famous means
some media attention, and traveling a lot, and a bunch of other stuff
that you find tedious.”
    “Like
parties at movie stars’ houses.”
    He
looked exasperated. “Only you would call that tedious. But you
dealt with it, Lizzie.”
    “It’s
part of your life, Thomas. Of course I dealt with it.”
    “So
why can’t you look at the agent thing the same way? Being with
me means you might get a little favorable treatment in your
career—which, you know, isn’t a bad thing.”
    “I
know. I know that it sounds spoiled and naive to think of
the…nepotism, or whatever, as a deal breaker. I just…” I just wish I could do
it on my own .
    “I’m
not pressuring you, Lizzie. Take the meeting or don’t; it’s
entirely up to you, and I’ll support you, either way. Your book
can stand on its own merit; I’m sure of that. So why not use
this chance to get it in front of someone who can help to put it out
there?”
    I
thought of my sister Maria, of the conversation we’d had right
after Mom was hospitalized, when I told her about the humiliating
meeting with Ellen. I had complained bitterly about my reputation,
how everyone was sure to think of me as using Thomas to get ahead.
“You need to decide if you care more about what other people
think than about your own happiness,”she had told me , reminding me that
Thomas being famous was just another relationship challenge no more
or less difficult than anyone else’s relationship challenge.
    “I
think I’d like to meet with her,” I said slowly, testing
out how the words felt to say out loud. “Hear her out. What
could it hurt?”
    Thomas’s
entire face lit up? “Yeah? That’s fantastic, Lizzie!”
    I
put a hand out. “I’m not saying anything will come of
it.”
    “A
meeting with an agent is a big deal.” He wrapped an arm around
my shoulder. “I’m proud of you,