“And I still think you should move.” But he’d smiled when he said it.
“No.” But I smiled too. At least tried to.
“You’re gonna be okay,” he said.
“Of course I am,” I said, my voice finally strong. “I’m a Pierce.”
POSTED JUNE 30, 2016,
11:30 a.m. Eastern @TheDesireePierce212
A close-up of Desiree Pierce looking flawless. A waiter in a dress shirt walks behind her holding a bottle of champagne.
“You guys, I have the most amazing news. Zarah’s show got picked up. I’m gonna be on TV! Ahhhh.” She fake screams, then turns the camera to her right and leans toward Lena Scott so they’re both in the frame. “Say hi to my big sister. Lena.”
But Lena’s not paying attention. She casually holds a mimosa as she stares intently at someone next to her, ignoring the eggs and bacon on the expensive-looking plate in front of her.
“Lena!” Desiree’s voice is louder.
Lena finally turns.
“Say hi!”
“Hi!” But she’s already looking back at her neighbor.
Unbothered, Desiree pans more so we see who has Lena’s attention: Mel Pierce. “That’s my dad,” she says to the camera. “What are you two talking about?”
Mel looks at Lena conspiratorially. ”Nothing,” he says.
She smiles. “Right. We’re definitely not talking about anything to do with a window.”
She laughs. Mel laughs. After a minute Desiree joins in. When things die down, Mel lifts his champagne glass. “Let’s make a toast. To good memories.”
They clink. Desiree’s hand comes into frame. She speaks next. “To dreams coming true.”
They clink again as Mel looks expectantly at Lena. “To happiness,” she says.
“To happiness,” they all say.
They finally drink, Desiree moving her phone so she can down the rest of her drink. When she’s done, she slaps the glass on the table with such force we hear it echo.
“I want a pic.”
Lena smiles at her. “Me too.”
The camera shuts off.
Acknowledgments
There was a period where I never thought I’d ever get the chance to write acknowledgments again because I’d never finish a book again, so it’s surreal to be doing this.
Though writing technically is a solitary endeavor, it’s not something that I could ever do alone—it took a lot of people to turn an idea I got from a real Daily News headline into an actual book with a beginning, middle, and end.
To my agent, Michelle Richter: I’ve always told emerging authors that your agent shouldn’t be your friend and yet you are one of my closest friends. You believed in me when literally no one else did—including myself. And there’s no one else on the planet I’d want to have by my side for every up and down.
To my editor, Helen O’Hare: I always tell people at my day job that I have no ego when it comes to what I write there but I have all the ego when it comes to my books. So thank you so much for dealing with my adorable （right???） writer quirks and for bringing out the best in me—even though I know I don’t always make it easy. I’m so proud of this book, and you are the reason for that. （And you were right that this only needed one Brazilian butt lift joke.）
A huge thank-you to the entire Mulholland/Little, Brown team, including Josh, Pamela, Karen, Dianna, Holly, Deborah, Alyssa, Shannon, and the folks whose names I don’t know （yet!!）。 I’ve had a writer crush on your imprint for years, so I really can’t believe y’all liked me back.
One of the coolest things about being a writer is that you make writer friends who give you great feedback and encouragement. So thank you to Brenda, Chantelle, Cynthia, Ellen, Gigi, Gordon, Laura, Leslie, Lisa, Lizzie, Mariella, Mia, Nadine, Nikki, Quincy, Rachel, Roselle, Sarah, Shawn, Sonia, Stephanie, Valerie, Vanessa, Walter, and anyone whose name I don’t have here but is so cool they won’t hate me for not including them.
I also need to shout out my writing group, The Fab Four—Alex Segura, Amina Akhtar, and Liz Little. Though my thanks won’t be as cool as the ones in Alex’s acknowledgments （you’ll need to read his book Secret Identity to see them!） or in Amina’s （check out Kismet to see those）， do know that you all came into my life at such a needed time. Being on this journey with you makes all the uncertainty of this business worth it. Let’s do this!
I also need to shout out two amazing groups just because they are super cool and super needed: Sisters in Crime and Crime Writers of Color.
Finally, because I would be disowned if I didn’t thank them and because they’re actually a really cool group of people: my family. Thank you for letting me borrow your names, stories, and even freckles for this book.
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About the Author
Kellye Garrett is the acclaimed author of Hollywood Homicide, which won the Agatha, Anthony, Lefty, and Independent Publisher “IPPY” awards for best first novel and was named one of BookBub’s Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time, as well as Hollywood Ending, which was featured on the Today show’s Best Summer Reads of 2019 and was nominated for both Anthony and Lefty awards. Before writing novels, Kellye spent eight years working in Hollywood, including a stint writing for Cold Case. The northern New Jersey resident currently serves on the board of directors for Sisters in Crime and is a cofounder of Crime Writers of Color.