Over the next week and a half, Aiden and I don’t see much of each other as he gets swamped with work and I busy myself with my self-publishing release. After participating in a few giveaways on Instafreebie and Bookfunnel, my mailing list grows to over two thousand people. I’m pleasantly surprised and terrified at the response. It’s actually kind of scary to have so many people download your book. Some of the readers even wrote me really exuberant emails saying how much they have loved the story and they can’t wait for the next installment.

A few days before the Maine trip, I decide that I’m ready to release the book on Amazon. I’ve watched some videos and have gone through some of the process of posting the book on KDP, the Kindle Direct Publishing platform. My blurb, cover, and the interior formatting is all ready since the book has already been available for free through giveaways. The thing that takes the longest is figuring out what keywords to choose. You wouldn’t even believe how many podcast episodes and YouTube videos are devoted to the subject of how to choose the correct keywords.

After uploading the cover and the interior formatting, I reach the pricing stage. Since this is my first book, I decide to become exclusive with Amazon and place it into the Kindle Unlimited program. I also choose the lowest price available - ninety nine cents. After publishing, I find myself on an incredible high. No matter what happens after this, at least I have done what I’ve set out to do. I’ve published a book. And no one can take that away from me.

The book won’t be available in the Amazon store for a day or two, but I decide not to waste any time and start outlining the next installment of the story. Within an hour, I have it all planned out. It’s not that hard to think of what will happen next since it pretty much all happened to me before. The thing that’s a bit more challenging is trying to figure out how truthful I should remain to reality. Every creative person wants to embellish and add a few details for effect. There’s that expression of course, ‘never let the truth get in the way of a good story.’ I’m a firm believer of that. Real life is messy. People in real life don't necessarily undergo thorough transformations and have fully developed character arcs, which make for less than effective storylines. Nor are there punctuated story beats or good buildup in tension that leads to a strong climax. All essential parts of a good story. And while it’s easy to just write down exactly what happened, and how it all happened, I’m not writing a memoir. I want to give a glimpse into the main character’s love interest as well, and for that I need to go into his head. So, what do I do in the end? I decide to split the difference. The book is definitely inspired by my experiences on the yacht with Aiden, but it’s told like a romance. Fiction. And hopefully, it will serve as a good escape for the readers.

After finishing the outline for the second book, I decide to take a break and grab a bite to eat. Unfortunately, our refrigerator is completely empty of everything edible except for condiments. Neither Caroline nor I are very big fans of grocery shopping. I stand in front of it with the door open, staring into the plastic abyss, hoping against hope to manifest some food into existence without actually going outside.

“Want to order Thai food?” Caroline asks. Well, that’s one way of doing it, I decide and nod.

After placing the order on her phone, Caroline plops down on the couch.

“This is going to be Taylor’s and my first trip away,” she announces.

Her eyes are lit up at the prospect of going to Maine. She was down for it as soon as I brought it up, despite the fact that she is not the biggest fan of Tom. I knew that there would be very little chance of her passing on the opportunity to meet one of the most influential families on the East Coast, but I wasn’t sure if Taylor would end up coming along. I guess she has her way of convincing men to do things that they may not want to do.

“So, are you sure Taylor wants to go?” I ask.

“I’m pretty sure that he doesn’t. But I promised him something nice in return.”

“I don’t want to know,” I say immediately. I’m almost certain that it’s something sexual and I already know way too much about her sex life.

“What about Aiden?”

“Actually, I think he’s kind of into it,” I say. “With everything that has been going on, I think he’s looking forward to getting away for a bit.”

Caroline knows everything that I know about Aiden’s situation, which is to say not much. We watched financial news together and Aiden mentioned a few possibilities that are on the horizon. But everything is up in the air since the board of directors are planning to meet sometime soon.

“I’m honestly surprised,” Caroline says. “I mean I know that he’s dealing with a lot of shit right now, but I never thought of him as a particularly social person in a dinner party sort of way.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, cracking a smile.

“Well, you know.” She shrugs. “Going away to a party in Maine for the weekend, that your friend and his fiancée and her parents are hosting, well that’s just such a boyfriend move.”

I think about that for a moment. “Yeah, I guess it is a boyfriend move. But he is my boyfriend now. Officially.”

Looking back now, I’m a little embarrassed about how much I gushed over the whole thing to Caroline when Aiden first asked me. But then again, despite everything, I’m kind of a romantic, and it was very sweet, kind, and loving. I love being his girlfriend.

“Of course, it couldn’t hurt to go up there, right? I mean, the Warrenhouses are quite influential people. And if he were to hit it off with Mr. Warrenhouse, who knows what could happen for him in terms of bringing more investors into Owl.”

“Oh, I never thought of it that way,” I say, taken a little aback.

“Trust me, Aiden has,” Caroline says, flipping her hair. Out of the two of us, she has always been more of a cynic, or realist, as she likes to put it.

“Perhaps, there is something that Mr. Warrenhouse could do,” I say after a moment. “But I wouldn’t get my hopes up. His daughter, Carrie, isn’t my biggest fan. And the whole thing with Tom is rather complicated. I mean, I’m surprised that he even asked me, or even wanted me to come in the first place.”

It’s Friday, the day of our travels to Maine. Aiden is picking me up in his car from my apartment and then we’re taking a plane north. Even though I had more than enough time to pack for this trip, I, of course, have put it off to the very last moment. This morning, I grab my tattered and rather shabby carry-on bag with one broken wheel and toss in a pair of jeans, a few sweaters, and a pair of tights. I pack my makeup into a plastic bag and then pack a small amount of shampoo and conditioner and dry shampoo into a bigger plastic bag. I’m dressed in tights, boots, and a warm sweater. Maine is much colder than New York, and that’s the only thing that I’m not looking forward to.

Okay, now that I’m basically packed, I also need to put together the outfit for the party. That’s another thing I hate about parties on the East Coast. All the women end up dressed in mini-skirts, short strapless dresses, and open-toe shoes as if they are completely impervious to the cold and we’re going clubbing in Miami. I sigh deeply, but I don’t really have any other choice. I take a short strapless red dress from my closet and a matching pair of four-inch heels. My toenails aren’t in the best shape, but luckily the heels are closed-toe, providing a minimal amount of warmth.

Caroline and Taylor took an earlier flight to Bangor, Maine, so when I get the text from Aiden that he’s downstairs, I make sure that I lock the apartment, otherwise it will remain open for the whole weekend. That has happened before on my watch, unfortunately. On my way out, I grab my coat as well as a hat and scarf, which I have yet to debut in New York. I always wait until it’s absolutely necessary to put it on because I know that I will likely wear it for the next four months without taking a break, and that gets tedious. Even though I’m braving winter this weekend, that doesn’t mean that New York will turn freezing cold quite yet, I tell myself. I might still have a week or two left of decent weather.

“You look beautiful,” Aiden says when I get into his car and toss my carry-on into his backseat. Somehow, he managed to find a parking spot right in front of my building. It’s so rare, and unlikely, that I almost find it sad that we have someplace to go.

“Thank you.” I smile, giving him a brief peck on the lips. “You don’t look too shabby either.”

“Are you ready for Maine?” he asks, pulling away from the curb.

“I guess as much as I’ll ever be,” I joke. “No, seriously, it should be beautiful up there. I’m looking forward to that.”

“And the party?”

“Um, I don’t know. Parties always make me a little nervous. And I’m a little scared to see my old boss, Carrie, I won’t lie.”

“Well, I’ll be there to soften the blow,” he says.

“I appreciate that.”