Riana's Cavatina (Sonata of Love Book 2) Page 14

  I sucked in a pained breath as I closed my eyes. “Ugh, dammit.”

  I closed my eyes and mentally took stock of my body for any possible injuries. Convinced I didn’t suffer a head injury—I never rode without a helmet—or any broken bones I took another deep breath and opened my eyes. I don’t think I’d ever been more surprised by anything in my life when my eyes opened to Adonis’ large, sweet face lowering to mine. He seemed to also be taking stock of my well-being. His hot breath blew through my vented helmet and then he nuzzled into my face.

  I wrapped my arms around his neck as I sat up. “Let’s try that again, eh?” I grasped his bridle as I got my feet under me, and he lifted his head as I stood.

  I brought him back to the mounting block and settled back in the saddle. We worked for hours that evening, each of us bonding closer than I ever thought possible. He read my legs and weight better than any horse I’d ever mounted. He was still spunky at times, and definitely a bit skittish, but he never doubted my assurances as I pushed him onward. My whole body ached as I finally ended our session, though it was difficult to decide if it was from my fall or simply from the workout. I hugged myself tightly on his neck after I dismounted.

  “I’m so proud of you.”

  He dropped his head to my shoulder as he caught his breath. I grabbed his reins and walked him to the stable where I untacked him. I slipped on his halter and lead rope then brought him back out to the yard where we walked together as a cool down. Adonis no longer trailed behind me, in fact I was often a bit concerned his large hooves would catch the back of my heel, he walked so close behind.

  After the glistening layer of sweat dried as Adonis cooled I brought him back to the stable, brushed him out then put him to bed. I grabbed an apple from the tack room and offered it to him, as I praised him again on doing so well. I groaned as I stretched my arms over my head and rolled my neck. I had never been so thankful for the hot tub in my backyard. I said goodnight to my boy, then spent the next half hour soaking my tense muscles.

  As I sought ways to distract myself from the holidays, I continued to work with Adonis. Lexi’s family often invited me to spend the holidays with them, but sometimes it left me feeling worse than if I had just spent them alone. Besides, I couldn’t leave Adonis when we were doing so well with training.

  Adonis stood soundly and patiently each time. He behaved as though he’d been a perfectly trained horse all along. Sometimes, as I stood at his side brushing him I would have to swallow the lump of emotion that swelled in my throat. I’d trace along his scars and smile gently, overcome with gratitude that we were brought together. We were meant to be together, and I knew that I wasn’t just healing him—he was undoubtedly healing me.

  Despite our progress, Adonis still needed work. He lacked a lot of confidence while under saddle and things that wouldn’t phase a horse like Sonny sent Adonis off in a panic, sometimes throwing me in the process. We’d pause, regroup and go right back at it. My body ached day after day, but not nearly as much as my heart when I thought about giving up on riding him. We were a team, we’d make it work. Consistency would be key, and calm but assertive leadership to assure him that I would keep him safe. I could deeply relate to the need to feel certain that no harm would come after putting trust in someone.

  After my phone meetings with the agents who had requested them or offered representation I decided to move forward with Ally Friedman. One never knows if you’ll actually click with someone when all you know of them are social media posts and their work with other authors, but thankfully Ally and I hit it off right away. She was almost as enthusiastic about the book as Lexi and Sam—and that definitely said something!

  Ally flew down to Arizona to meet me to go over and sign contracts. She could have easily handled it all via email but I was thankful for the personal touch of wanting to do it all in person. It was over dinner at Durant’s Steakhouse in Phoenix that we realized not only did we have great personal chemistry, but our ideas of the role of the agent and their compensation was right on as well. Ally also wasn’t just excited about the work I had queried her with. Once she knew I was constantly working on new pieces she encouraged those as well.

  “I’d love it if you started to further explore that series that’s been dancing around in your head. I can tell you have much more to offer than just one memoir.”

  “And you’d take that on as well then?”

  “Oh absolutely!” she laughed. “Well, unless you ended up writing it and it was utter shit, but I really doubt that.”

  I laughed nervously.

  Ally sensed that my laughter was not authentic and patted my hand. “Riana, I’ve been doing this awhile. A long while. I know talent when I see it. I know that writers often don’t realize their own talent, but that’s why you get an agent so we can repeatedly tell you how fantastic you are. Don’t psych yourself out.”

  “Riana!” Lexi’s voice bounced off the entryway. I scrambled to wash my hands and tossed my apron on the counter as I rushed to the door. I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t love when Lexi showed up unannounced.

  “Lex!” I squealed as I happily bounded around the corner. “Ma, Dad! Holy shit Raj!” My surrogate little brother was a strapping young man as he stood in my entryway. “I wasn’t expecting any of you!”

  “We should be the one saying holy shit.” Raj laughed as he came forward and picked me up in a hug. “How could you not say anything about this place?”

  I glanced towards Lexi. We had discussed sharing with her family, but I hadn’t actually decided one way or another. Leave it to her to force me to make a decision. She gave me a hopeful smile—a quiet request that I don’t get mad. “It was a bit of an adjustment for me, a surprise inheritance when my father died. Wasn’t sure how anyone else would take it.”

  “I can see that.” He said as he proceeded further into the house. “I’ll tell ya one thing, I think we can all easily agree to have holidays here from now on.”

  Almost instantly the massive house felt more like a home—filled with love and memories of years together. It wasn’t as imposing, or lonely feeling. My kitchen was finally put to good use as we all piled in together and worked on dinner. I hopped up on a stool and chewed my labret barbell.

  “So, um. I wrote a memoir.” I said tentatively. Lexi turned and grinned at me, encouraging me to share all of my exciting news.

  “That’s lovely, Riana! You’ve always been so articulate; both in writing and in speaking.” Sophie said as she chopped up celery.

  “Ah, yeah. Um, my agent thinks so too.”

  “You have an agent?” Arman about dropped his glass.

  “Indeed I do. Lexi convinced me to query agents and get the memoir published.” Sophie and Arman both turned to Lexi in approval. “Lexi was actually the first one to even pose the idea of a memoir.”

  “Of course she was.” Raj teased. “Lexi can get you to do just about anything.”

  “Ain’t that the truth? And a good thing, too. I likely would have gotten in a lot of trouble through high school had she not kept me in check.”

  “Guess we did something right.” Arman laughed.

  “For sure.” I agreed. “But yeah, hopefully we’ll soon be able to walk into a bookstore and buy my first book.”

  “That’s incredible Riana.” Sophie came around the island and hugged me. “We’re so proud of you. You were always destined for great things.”

  “Thanks ma.”

  “So, now that you’re going to be famous, you gonna get rid of that crappy boyfriend?” Raj asked.

  I eyed him a bit. Lexi had teased him as he had gotten older about having a crush on me, but I never saw it. But after he posed the question I couldn’t help but notice that his cheeks seemed to warm under a slight blush.

  I turned to Lexi. “Really Lex? You’re getting the family to gang up on me about him?” I shook my head with a smile, she really was relentless. It was a reminder though, that despite how long we’d been together, or not tog
ether but still together, Ryan hadn’t been a very good boyfriend—all things considered. In fact, one would think that I should have been spent the holidays with him. The reminder did not sit well.

  ***

  “Ally, I still can’t believe you did that in less than a month!” I laughed happily as I drove from the airport to my condo in Chicago. After I signed on with Ally I decided it made sense to have a place to call home while there on business. Monty approved of the financial investment, and I acquired a luxurious two bedroom condo on Chicago Ave. I also happily assisted Lexi with a down payment on a Southside townhome after seeing the kind of apartment she rented after she took on a position with a local tri-county special education network. I couldn’t let her stay in such a sub-par place, and she resisted of course, but we eventually settled on the down payment instead of me just buying her a townhouse.

  When I had landed at O’Hare my phone indicated an email from Ally that stated she had successfully pitched my memoir to LakeShore Publishing, a company based in Chicago. The moment I got into my car and on to the road I called her.

  Ally’s laugh was always light and genuine. “Riana, I told you that it would essentially sell itself. Your story is powerful, I actually had a few offers on it, but I feel that LakeShore is our best match. We can go over all the details tomorrow over lunch.”

  “A few offers?” I shook my head. “I was fully expecting this whole process to take years, it’s been pretty crazy. I can’t believe it’s all happening so quickly.”

  “Well, if we move forward with LakeShore we’ll still have to send it through editing, design a cover, work on press releases, book trailers.”

  “I already have an editor.” I said curtly.

  Ally paused. “Riana.”

  “Ally. It’s not a debate. I have an editor. Lexi knows exactly how that book should flow. No one else touches it.” I glanced over my shoulder and slipped into the far right lane to enter into the Chicago loop.

  “We’ll discuss over lunch.”

  Ally claimed she knew that I’d be stubborn and assertive when it came to my goals with the memoir, but I’m sure she had no idea how fiercely I’d refuse access to it by anyone other than Lexi for editing. But I came prepared.

  “Ally, I’m going to give you something—well, a few things—to prove to you that I need Lexi, and only Lexi.” I pulled three manuscripts from my tote and placed them on the table between us.

  “Riana, what is this?” Ally asked as she turned the stack to her.

  “Those are copies of The Journey To Myself. From disjointed rough first draft, to the polished copy I sent you. The transformations you’ll see there were brought on by Lexi. I never would have been able to rework it into the masterpiece it is now—that was her completely her influence.”

  Ally brought her straw to her lips silently as she flipped through the pages. I watched as her forehead betrayed her, scrunching up at the less than eloquent attempt at telling my story. She ran her slender fingers through her short pixie cut hair as she lightly shook her head and scrunched her nose. She flipped to a section closer to the middle and sighed.

  She raised her eyes to me only briefly before she grabbed the middle manuscript. Her eyebrows raised in appreciation to the change in format and flow, the first of endless tweaks Lexi did on the piece. I watched as her eyes flicked faster over the lines of script on the pages, a smile tugged at her lips.

  She huffed and licked her lip as she closed the manuscript. “You proved your point. How do you propose we suggest the arrangement that only Lexi edits your work?”

  Just as I settled into my oversized sectional couch to watch Law and Order SVU, my buzzer went off. I hopped up and scampered down to my intercom. “Yes?”

  “Miss Graham, Miss Galanos is here to see you.” My concierge informed.

  “Ah, send her up!” I anxiously bit and spun my vertical labret ring, knowing what I had to offer to her.

  I flung my door open at the exact moment she raised her hand to knock. “Ah! How do you do that?” She laughed as she gasped in surprise.

  “Must be my highly in tune spidey-sense Lexi edition.”

  She leaned in and kissed my cheek as she walked in. “Must be.” She laughed. “So, what was the rush for me to come over? What is going on that you couldn’t just tell me over the phone?”

  I followed her in as she made herself comfortable. She grabbed a glass from my cupboard and a bottle of wine from my fridge. “Well, Ally and I had that meeting with LakeShore Publishing today.”

  Lexi popped the cork from my Asti and nodded.

  “And they had wanted me to give my manuscript to another editor to review.” Lexi scrunched up her nose a bit but kept any side comments to herself. “But after I proved to Ally that you’re the only editor I need we presented the case to LakeShore.” I waited until Lexi sat down next to me at the white and grey quartz breakfast bar.

  “Okay…?”

  “LakeShore wants to bring you on as my editor. Possibly as their editor if you’re interested. Your contract would offer you 3.5 percent of my profits. Which, I know isn’t much—“

  “You got me a job as an editor?”

  “I can try to get you a higher percentage if you’d like.”

  “Ri. Shut up. You got me a job? As your editor?”

  I bit my vertical labret. “If you want it?”

  Her face lit up and she laughed. “Of course I want it! I can’t believe you did that though. I mean, why? How?”

  I stood and walked around the breakfast bar to pour my own glass of wine. “You’re the only one I trust with it Lex. Sometimes it’s almost like we share a brain when it comes to what I want to write. You just get it you know?” I took a sip and licked my lips as I savored the sweet bite. “Plus, after I showed them the transformative power you yielded over the manuscript from rough draft to polished submission they simply couldn’t argue with me.”

  “You never cease to amaze me Ri.”

  Lexi delightedly took on the role of my editor and then continued to take on select pieces offered to her by LakeShore Publishing. Lexi, Ally, and I all collaborated on selecting the cover and creating a book trailer with the publishing team, and my book was set to release five months later—June 2nd.

  Ryan played along, and said how proud of me he was, but I could tell that he was a little annoyed that I was so comfortable broadcasting my trauma to the world. He always conjured up an excuse as to why he couldn’t read it, or why he couldn’t come to my local speaking engagements. He avoided any and all gatherings put together by any of the centers I worked with, and I worried that my openness about being a survivor offended him in some way.

  “I just don’t want to picture you that way, Ri.” He said one night as I snuggled into his side.

  “In what way, exactly?”

  “You know…with someone…else.”

  I sat up, my mouth agape. “Rape is not sex, you do know that right?” I climbed over him and started to get dressed. “You know, you’d probably really benefit from reading the damn thing. I wasn’t ever with the men who raped me. Who violently raped me, Ryan. Which is what the damn thing is about—how actions taken upon me don’t define me, and shouldn’t define anyone else who goes through the same thing.”

  “Okay, okay,” Ryan reached out for me as he stood. “I didn’t articulate that well.”

  I sighed as I kept my face still and annoyed.

  “I’m just saying that…I don’t want to picture you being hurt. I like knowing you like this.” He said softly as he caressed my arms and kissed my neck.

  “There’s more to me than this.” I whispered, hurt by Ryan’s inability to see my potential.

  A month before my book release Ally booked me for a Midwest regional speaking tour. I spoke at college campuses in Chicago, Illinois, Madison, Wisconsin, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Cincinnati, Ohio, East Lansing, Michigan, and St. Louis, Missouri.

  Lexi came along to all of them, Sam joined for Ohio and Michigan. I couldn�
�t have been happier to have my two best friends by my side as I settled in to what I was sure was my destiny in life. The short tour created a flurry of exposure and I soon struggled to keep track of all the invitations to speak at other neighboring campuses.

  I was only able to partake in such a hectic schedule because Adonis had fully bonded with Apollo, my completely white Grade cross, as well as my newest ranch-hand Dustin. I felt much better leaving for extended periods of time now that Adonis was essentially fully trained and much more trusting of others. Dustin agreed to stay in my guest house whenever I was called for trips longer than a few days. He was my saving grace.

  Sunday May 21

  Just short of a year after the debut of my memoir, Lexi and I sat across from baggage claim in the lower level of the O’Hare airport. Sam’s flight had been slightly delayed due to some thunderstorms around Missouri. Sam had just finished up her fourth visit to a site in Peru where her and her team examined remains of a small village. I found her role as a forensic anthropologist to be quite fitting for her personality. She was able to be professional, but still a bit…shall we say, off center.

  “I feel like I haven’t seen her in ages!” I started to whine and Lexi just laughed at me.

  “Oh yes, Ri, because four months is ‘ages.’ You’re so dramatic.”

  “I have to be. It’s part of what makes me such an alluring public speaker.”

  “And a vivid author.” She added.