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have time to think about his sudden change. I had to focus on the task at hand.
    All the women who would be attending my book signing would not be there to see a heartbroken woman. I had to play the part.
    When I stepped into the building, Isabella walked up to greet me with a wide smile. The smile faded the closer she got to me.  
    “Samantha, are you alright?” She met my eyes, her brow creased with concern.  
    “I’m just a little tired today.”  
    “Are you sure you’re not sick? You weren’t eating last night and now you’re not looking so well.” She shook her head. “You shouldn’t feel that you have to sacrifice your health for this.”
    “I’m okay.” I took a deep breath. “I promise.” I managed a brighter smile.  
    “Great, because we have a lot of people attending today. I thought you might want to meet the designer as well. He won’t be here until after the book signing.”
    “Isabella, when I went to my fitting today, Daniella told me that I’m expected to walk in a show tonight as well? Is that true? I assumed she must be confused.”
    Daniella paused near the table set up for me. She looked over at me with a guilty smile. “I’m sorry, I just didn’t want you to be nervous. I thought once you saw how fabulous you did at the pre-show you’d be more willing to walk tonight. The designer hoped you would, but I didn’t make any promises. It has to be up to you.” She tilted her head to the side and looked behind me. “Where’s Max?”  
    “Oh, he decided to stay at the hotel.”  
    “I see.” She nodded. “I know what that kind of tired feels like. Are you two on the outs?”
    “No. Well—maybe.” I shook my head. “I don’t know.”  
    “Try not to fret. You and Max are really putting yourselves through it with all this travel. You’re bound to have some tiffs.” She patted my cheek. “But I can see how strong the two of you are. You’ll be fine.”
    “I hope so.” I nodded. “Maybe we should just get started.”  
    “Great. Now, I want you to do a reading, but keep it short. This group of ladies would probably appreciate a lengthier question and answer period, if you’d be willing to do that.” She gestured to the chair behind my table. “Hopefully this will be comfortable for you. Also, I’m having some chilled bottled water brought in. Anything else you might need?”
    Max . I closed my eyes for a moment and wondered if I’d said his name out loud. “No. Thank you, Isabella. This will be perfect.”
    “Great.” She gave my shoulder a squeeze. “Don’t worry, I’m sure that everything will work out.”

Chapter 12

    I swallowed hard. It embarrassed me that things in my life were so out of balance. Not only had I gained some weight back, but my confidence was almost zero, and now my relationship with Max was on the rocks. Sure, we’d figure it out. The question was, why was this happening now?
    Max had pointed out that since we’d arrived in Venice, my confidence had taken a nosedive. I didn’t have time to think about why.
    As I sorted through the books on the table, I tried to practice a few affirmations. Positive thoughts generated a sense of well-being that I really needed in that moment. As I worked my way through the affirmations, I heard them in Max’s voice, which didn’t really seem to be helping me at all.
    Every time I heard his voice in my head, a spike of anger rushed through me. Why aren’t you here with me, Max? I took another deep breath and tried to recite some mantras in my head. As I relaxed in the repetition of the mantra, the sound of footsteps roused me.
    I opened my eyes to see a man before me. He was very slender, with a tailored suit that gave him more of a figure than I’d seen on many women. From behind purple-tinted glasses he stared at me.  
    “Samantha?”  
    “Yes.” I smiled. “Did you want a book signed?”
    “No, I just want to look at you. Could you stand up, please?”  
    The request was a little