Darcy’s throat worked through several convulsions, and she nodded. “You do. You do deserve that, Elle.”
Elle sniffed and jerked her chin, curiosity finally getting the best of her. “And by the way, I can’t take care of plants. I have the opposite of a green thumb. So . . .”
Might as well be totally honest. What else did she have to lose that she hadn’t already lost?
Darcy stared down at the plant, laughing wryly. “I should’ve asked Brendon for his advice after all. Grand gestures aren’t exactly my forte. And I’m bad at saying something. But it doesn’t have anything to do with you. It’s me. I was scared.” Darcy shut her eyes and rolled her lips together. A pink flush worked its way up her face, turning her nose and the skin beneath her eyes red. When she opened her eyes and lifted her head, the bloodshot look of desperation in her glassy eyes snatched Elle’s breath.
“I was terrified. I’d gotten my heart broken once before and it scared me because I’d watched my mom fall apart and suddenly, I was the one falling apart and I never wanted to put myself in a position where that would happen again. I moved to Seattle and promised I wouldn’t let that happen. Falling in love was the last thing I wanted, but then you came into my life and somewhere along the way what I felt for you was more, so much bigger than I’d ever felt for anyone else. Bigger than I felt for the person I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with. One month, Elle. One month and I was—” Darcy pressed the back of her hand against her mouth. “I fell for you and it scared me because, what if I lost you? What if something happened? What if you broke my heart?” Darcy turned her head to the side and blinked fast, lashes fluttering like butterfly wings. “I was scared of losing you and I was equally as afraid of getting to keep you, because how much worse would it hurt if I lost you later? I said nothing and I lost you anyway.”
Darcy lifted the potted plant in front of her. “It’s cilantro. Because I’ve liked you for longer than I knew how to say, before I could say it. Before I could say it the way you deserve to hear it. But I have and I do. I like you exactly the way you are, Elle. Boxed wine and glitter and astrology and most of all”—Darcy sucked in a gasping breath—“I love the way you make me hope. You make me hope and you make me happy. You make me so happy, Elle.”
Astrology involved a certain balance between prediction and manifestation, preparation and action. This though, Elle never could’ve seen this coming. This was too good to be true, even better because it was.
“Yeah?” she whispered, eyes wide and unblinking because if she blinked, she’d cry and she wanted to be able to see Darcy’s face, watch her, drink her in. Memorize this moment, a picture-perfect snapshot she’d cherish for the rest of her life, for as long as she could remember.
“I told you I didn’t know how I felt.” Darcy set the cilantro plant on the table between them and stood. She brushed her palms on her thighs, shoulders rising with her inhale. “I lied. I know how I feel and I’m five hundred percent certain that on a scale of one to ten, I want to be with you, exactly as you are, infinity.”
Elle pressed her fingers to her lips, both trembling. “Infinity? That’s . . . that’s a big number.”
And Darcy saying it was an even bigger deal.
Darcy rounded the table and reached out, grabbing Elle’s hand in hers. Darcy’s hand shook and something about that little tremor made Elle flush with warmth from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. Darcy cared enough that she was shaking, shaking like Elle. “Technically, infinity isn’t a real number. But what I feel for you? That’s real. It’s the realest thing I’ve ever felt, Elle.”
Thumb stroking the back of Elle’s hand, Darcy met her eyes. A spark. A connection, the kind that couldn’t be faked.
Elle pressed up on her toes and wrapped her free hand around the back of Darcy’s neck, smiling into the kiss. Champagne fizzing and shooting stars, fireworks and late nights riding in the back of a too-fast car, lights of the city whizzing past, the bridge of her favorite song blaring. None of it held a candle to this moment, this feeling burning in her veins and warming her chest, bubbling in her stomach and erupting goose bumps along her skin. Magic.
For the first time, Elle didn’t need a maybe, didn’t need to hope because she knew.
This was it.
Boom.
End game.
A lifetime of butterflies.
Acknowledgments
I count my lucky stars that I have so many amazing people in my life to thank. In this, words can’t do my appreciation justice, but I’ll give it my best.
Sarah Younger, oh my gosh, thank you for seeing something in my writing worth taking a chance on. I’m so beyond grateful to have you in my corner during this roller coaster of a journey. You are a rock star and the best agent anyone could dream of having and I am so thankful for everything you do. To my amazing editor, Nicole Fischer, and the entire team at Avon, thank you for taking a chance on this quirky, queer rom-com that is so near and dear to my heart. Thank you, thank you, thank you for believing in this book and helping make this dream of mine a reality.
I absolutely would not be where I am without the other amazing writers who have helped me along this journey. To the Pitch Wars class of 2017 and the Golden Heart class of 2018, the Persisters, thank you for showing me what it means to be a part of a writing community. This business has the propensity to be solitary, but you all have made me feel like I’m not alone. Your knowledge, commiseration, and support mean the world to me.
Brighton Walsh, I very well might’ve given up on writing had it not been for you seeing a kernel of something in my writing worth encouraging. You taught me so much and I honestly can’t do justice to how much I appreciate you reading—and rereading—an earlier manuscript of mine and for telling me to not give up. I will never forget your kindness and your willingness to help other writers. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
To Layla Reyne and Victoria De La O, I am so appreciative that you chose me as your mentee in Pitch Wars 2017. Thank you for choosing me out of countless submissions and helping me strengthen that manuscript. Without you both, I’m confident I wouldn’t be the writer I am today.
Brenda Drake, thank you a million times for creating Pitch Wars. You’ve helped so many writers in their journeys to publication, myself included. I can’t possibly thank you enough for building this community and giving it your all without asking for anything in return.
Rompire. Oh god, I don’t even know how to begin to express my gratitude for all of you. I’m so honored to call you all not just my writing pals, but true friends. Amy Jones, Lisa Leoni, Megan McGee, Julia Miller, Em Shotwell, Lana Sloan, and Anna Collins, thank you for listening to me rant, make cheesy jokes, and for not laughing when my hair is a hot mess on Marco Polo. You’ve kept me sane over these past few months—and for some of you, much longer—and you all inspire me more than I can say. Because of you, I strive to be a better writer and I’m in awe of the amazing women that you all are. Thank you. And a special shout-out to Amy for reading so many of my words, even when I had no idea what I was doing. Your feedback has been invaluable.
I’ve been blessed to have many amazing teachers who changed my life for the better. To David Kline, my high school creative writing and theater teacher, I can’t possibly thank you enough for encouraging my passion for storytelling and creating. You made me believe that a life dedicated to art is never a life wasted. On the flip side, thank you to the creative writing professor I had in college who laughed at my interest in genre fiction. I’m just stubborn enough that telling me I shouldn’t do something is a surefire way to make me want to throw myself into it, heart, body, and soul.
To my fur baby, Samantha, thank you for being the best alpha reader a girl could ask for. And by that, I mean thank you for listening to me talk to myself and for only looking at me like I’ve lost my mind a little. Each time you fall asleep on my notebooks and stomp across my keyboard, you remind me that stepping away from the computer an
d focusing on the world around me is important. You are my ultimate cuddle buddy and I love you to the moon and back, Sam.
Last but not least, I would not be here—quite literally—without my mom. Mom, thank you for always encouraging me to pursue my passions and supporting me no matter how many times I changed my mind about what I wanted to do with my life or how many times I failed. From the very beginning, when I was a little kid telling wild stories about my imaginary husband, Rodger, a green dragon whose mother hated me, you supported the quirky storyteller inside of me. You are my best friend and I love you to the stop sign and back.
Keep an eye out for Brendon’s story . . .
HANG THE MOON
Coming Summer 2021
About the Author
ALEXANDRIA BELLEFLEUR is an author of swoony contemporary romance often featuring lovable grumps and the sunshine characters who bring them to their knees. A Pacific Northwesterner at heart, Alexandria has a weakness for good coffee, Pike Place IPA, and Voodoo Doughnuts. Her special skills include finding the best pad Thai in every city she visits, remembering faces but not names, falling asleep in movie theaters, and keeping cool while reading smutty books in public. She was a 2018 Romance Writers of America Golden Heart finalist. You can find her at www.alexandriabellefleur.com or on Twitter at @ambellefleur.
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Praise for Written in the Stars
“With perfectly woven vulnerability and playfulness, Written in the Stars is a riotous and heartfelt read. I was hooked from the very first page!”
—Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of In a Holidaze
“Written in the Stars is everything I want from a rom-com: fun, whimsical, sexy. This modern Pride and Prejudice glitters with romance.”
—Talia Hibbert, USA Today bestselling author of Get a Life, Chloe Brown
“Written in the Stars had me hooked from the first page. It’s an adorable and heartfelt romance with everything I adore: a killer meet-cute, loads of cute banter, steamy love scenes, all the feels, and a happily ever after that left me in happy tears. I fell head over heels for Elle and Darcy’s love story. Alexandria Bellefleur’s debut will have readers seeing stars in the best way.”
—Sarah Smith, author of Faker and Simmer Down
“A dazzling debut! The perfect combination of humor and heart really makes this book shine.”
—Rachel Lacey, author of Don’t Cry for Me
“Written in the Stars is what you might get if your favorite Instagram astrologer wrote you an adorable romance novel. Delightful, funny, and sweet, with just the right touch of woo-woo.”
—Scarlett Peckham, USA Today bestselling author of The Rakess
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
WRITTEN IN THE STARS. Copyright © 2020 by Alexandria Bellefleur. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Cover design by Ashley Caswell
Cover illustration by Mercedes deBellard
Title page image © Khaneeros / Shutterstock, Inc.
Emojis throughout © FOS_ICON / Shutterstock, Inc.
FIRST EDITION
Digital Edition NOVEMBER 2020 ISBN: 978-0-06-300081-0
Version 09042020
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-300080-3
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