Author Nora Ephron Novels & Stories

I said, because truth likes to have witnesses. Nora arrived in the kind of flurry that announces someone who has run across decades to hand you the next chapter. She was younger than I’d imagined and had the same observant tilt in her head I’d seen in Maggie’s handwriting. Her hands held an old ledger bound in thread so worn the fabric looked like a map of storms. She unwrapped it like it was a relic and slid it across the table with a reverence I found disarming.

She pats her abdomen for emphasis. Once she closes the door to her room behind her, she finds herself pacing back and forth, desperate for something to do. She can't seem to sit for too long. Her eye catches a book she's been wanting to read. Reading hasn't exactly fit her mood lately. In one swift motion, she grabs the novel off the shelf, jumps into bed, and opens to the first chapter.

Nora was standing naked , she had just a pant on with nothing . Fuck . She looked so hot , hotter than I could ever have imagined and with her legs crossed , I felt a part of me getting excited . What the fuck was I doing .

Nora’s POV Rain hammered softly against my windows while I sat alone inside my chambers attempting to read one of the books Elena had brought earlier. The words blurred together uselessly because my thoughts kept drifting elsewhere. To Rafael again. I couldn't get that man out of my head. Without knowing it, I had started thinking about him more than I would like to admit, he was taking over my every thoughts. I groaned softly under my breath before shutting the book completely. This needed to stop. I was supposed to be gathering information. Instead, lately I spent more time noticing the way Rafael looked at me whenever he thought I wasn’t paying attention.

I’m also angry at him, and disappointed in myself for how quickly the anger turned into something needy and small. Nora accepts the answer and keeps talking about a sauce she wants to try. I nod in the right places. She tells me about her day. I keep thinking about polished cream blouses and coffee orders remembered by heart and the version of Killian who lived in the UK long enough to have a relationship I knew nothing about. I’ve been so deep in my own head that I only realize at the checkout that my phone is still on my dresser at home. Nora is already unloading the cart onto the belt when her phone rings. She answers, listens, and her eyes widen.

Nora got to work, as soon as she got to her office, the weight of the news article still on her mind. An hour later, her friend arrived. The moment she stepped into the office, Nora said, "There's something you need to see," slamming a copy of a tabloid on the desk. She paused, and sarcastically replied, "Good morning to you too, Nora." She got nothing but a worried look from Nora, she calmly picked up the tabloid. It had a picture of Nora walking towards her car, phone in hand, and in bold black print it read, "Is Elnora Smith truly the CEO of FS Phoenix or is she just a face fronting for a criminal organization ?"

Her phone buzzed. James: Busy today? Her fingers hovered over the screen. She typed. Deleted. Typed again. Nora: Yeah. Just catching up on stuff. The reply came too quickly. James: You didn’t tell me. Her stomach twisted. Nora: I didn’t think I needed to. Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Then: James: Since when? Her pulse spiked. She locked her phone and slid it into her bag, hands shaking. Around her, pages turned. Pens scratched paper. Life went on like her world wasn’t quietly cracking open.

"Thirty year window. Births, transfers, anything that moved between territories. He'll know it when he finds it." A pause, then Damon nods and goes. I stand alone in the study, the message in my hand, turning it once. Then I go find Nora. ***** Her office door is open. She's at her desk, head bent over a document, pen moving steadily and completely absorbed. The afternoon light is coming through the window and catching the side of her face and she hasn't heard me yet, and for a moment I just stand in the doorway and watch her work. There's something about the way she concentrates. The way everything else falls away and she's just there, fully present in whatever she's doing. Most people perf

Slightly nervous. "Is this Nora Hayes? The writer of Once Discarded Now Desired on GoodNovel?" Nora blinked. "Yes," she said carefully. "I just finished Chapter 25," the woman said. "I have been reading since last night. I did not sleep." A pause. "I just needed to tell someone that this story is the most real thing I have read in years and I need to know what happens next and please do not stop writing it." The kitchen was very quiet. Ethan was watching her face.

CAIN "Um, no,” she whispered, her voice soft, a little musical, and so painfully familiar to him. "I'm Nora." She extended a wet hand toward him. "Nora Delaney. I'm here for the interview." Cain looked at her hand, at her face, then at her hand again. How could this be!? He saw the flames eat her with his own eyes. Held the urn that contained her ashes. And yet here she stood, looking at him with those hazel eyes that still haunt his dreams every night.