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Drop off dry cleaning

Stop for a café latté—extra-strength with full-creaars

Head for home

Finish article, adding said commas and exclamation marks

Take phone off the hook and run bath

Finally hit ‘send’ and, as her work drifted into cyberspace, dive into the awaiting arorance to soothe Lavender was supposedly fabulous for stress headaches, and for the past six months, come Friday at four pm, a stress headache was exactly what she’d had

Okay, her article would still make the deadline if she sent it at five, but she needed that hour Needed to lie in her fabulous bubbly bath as the blood, sweat and tears she’d shed over the past seven days wafted through cyberspace and into her editor Paul’s in-box Needed that hour ing in the bath forgetting the horrors she’d been through the past week

Sure, interviewing celebrities, eating out at fabulous restaurants and actually being paid to write about it sounded like most people’s dream job come true But for Amelia it was merely a means to an end Contracted on a freelance basis to cover a nine-month maternity leave position, A a naht people, and hopefully—hopefully—landing a more permanent position in the offices on the second floor, the hallowed ground of the business reporters There she would be writing not about the rise and fall of celebrities’ bustlines or their latest off-on ro effect of rises and falls on world stockin Australia, and hopefully one day she’d get an inside scoop on a major business deal which would surely seal her arrival as a heavyweight And maybe would even win her father’s approval!

But so far nothing had happened Sure, her editor, Paul, hadto people behind the scenes as he handed A had happened, and with Maria’sinto the final run A to feel more than a touch anxious Not just because of the lack of rown rather used to having a regular wage in the fickle world of journalis a job she’d started to love…

Closing her eyes, A, half expecting that if she opened her eyes she’d see her father’s appalled expression at the fact that the daughter of Grant Jacobs, estee such articles, could actually enjoy interviewing celebrities, confir quest for insight into Australia’s most beautiful

He’d never call it news!

With the soapy water now licking the edges of her claw-foot bath, Ae, which tripled as a dining room and study, and turned on her favorite CD She listened as the decadent, fabulous voice of Robbie told her that once he found her he’d never let her go, and finally she did relax

The phone was off the hook—as it alhen she’d finished a piece—her horoscope aiting to be read, and a glass of chilled white as by the bath

Routine firmly in place, she took a deep breath and, with her hand over the send key, closed her eyes and pressed it Then, as she did every Friday, she ran like the wind into her tiny cramped bathrooed herself into too-hot water She waited for her body to acclimatize and her over-sized boobs to waft up onto the surface, waiting for their owner to pluck up the guts to sink fully into the water She would e that deep heated conditioner that promised miracles into her hair, then lie back and read her horoscope just as she always did

A fabulous period supposedly lay ahead Virgos should be ready to ees, throw caution to the wind and take up crazy offers, ar ready to expect the unexpected and let a little romance shine into their lives

For once Louis the astrologer had got it wrong

Turning to the front of theface of Taylor Dean, every inch the popstar, walking out of a chic restaurant, the requisite beautiful woman firmly entrenched on his aro it had been she, Amelia, on that arm

Perhaps Louis had misplaced his notes—accidentally repeated her July horoscope in the o today a fabulous period really had lain ahead The crazy offer of a date with Taylor had literally fallen into her lap, and she’d been foolish enough to accept—stupid and naive enough to throw caution to the wind and let a little root her?

Staring into Taylor’s brown eyes, A on her own hu with total recall the shattered remains their ind romance had left in its wake and the al her professional reputation Colleagues had been only too happy to believe that every scoop she got, every inside piece of inforleaned between the sheets

But she’d learnt from her mistake

For the following five months she’d been with the Tribute Amelia had been the epitome of professionalism All her articles had been in before their deadline, she had researched her subjects carefully, and, though friendly and personable, she had maintained a respectable distance, despite a couple of rather surprising offers, determined that by the time Maria returned froue memory