The twins were a month old when the email arrived. Juliet sat in the nursery glider with their daughter latched and feeding contentedly. The soft rhythmic sound of the baby nursing was the only noise in the room. Her phone rested on the arm of the chair, screen dark, until it lit up with a new message. She almost ignored it. Then she saw the subject line. Re: Forbidden Lessons – Full Manuscript Request Her heart gave a hard, sudden thump. She opened the email with one hand, careful not to disturb the baby. The agent—Melissa Grant, from a well-known New York agency—had read the full manuscript in two days. She called it “dark, addictive, and surprisingly tender underneath all the heat.” She wrote that she had already marked several editors who she believed would fight for it. She wanted to schedule a call as soon as possible to discuss representation. Juliet stared at the screen until the words blurred. In the living room she could hear Adrian moving around, talking softly to
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