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hip when Mom told you she’d be spending the next six months here in Los Angeles. She told me you didn’t want to stay, said something about Dr. Sameer’s suddenly changing your mind. Now that you and I know you’re going to be here for a few more months, I wanted to give you something to do to occupy your time. Besides making beds and all.” Abby added the last as a joke, unsure if Ida would get it or not, but it didn’t matter. Ida was back to normal, and that’s all that counted.
    “Are you asking me to come to work for The Informer?”
    “No, I’m asking you if you’d like to photograph Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and their kids when I interview Brangelina.”
    Abby waited for what seemed like forever before Ida replied.
    “Oh my God, I believe I have died and gone to heaven for sure!”
    Laughing loudly, Abby replied, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

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Chapter 4
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    Ida’s heartbeat was so rapid, she was sure she was about to faint. Adjusting the belt on her robe, she smoothed her hand across her hair. Dr. Benjamin Sameer, Sammy—her new pet name for him—went to take a shower when he’d heard her cell phone ring. Ida assumed he was allowing her a few moments of privacy. Though first he’d had to kiss her and make all that slobbery noise, and now Abby knew she was romantically involved with someone. Abby would keep this to herself, Ida was sure. Still, Ida had wanted to keep her relationship with Sammy private, as the girls were always telling her she couldn’t live without a man. She supposed there was some truth to that, but right now she wasn’t about to delve into her psyche to discover why.
    Never in a million years had Ida thought she’d ever get to use her photography skills again. Abby hadn’t said not to mention this to anyone, but Ida decided to keep the delicious news to herself and savor it for as long as she could.
    After her first marriage, she’d tossed her photography career aside, because she no longer needed a job to pay her bills. She’d missed the thrill of creating a permanent image of a moment in time, but with her duties as one of Manhattan’s newest socialites, she’d had to forgo her former passion and profession as a photographer. Four husbands and numerous affairs later, she’d assumed she would never need to use those skills again. What surprised her more than anything was that she wanted to get back into the real world again. For so long she’d lived inside a glass bubble, fearful of everything, afraid to step out of her self-imposed solitude and simply live. Thankful that Toots had forced her back into the real world, Ida found her sudden vigor for life so refreshing, so new, that she wanted to shout it to the world. However, propriety and maturity forced her to remain calm and passive and preserve the image of herself she had created for the world at large.
    Sammy returned to the bedroom. “Ah, my dear Ida, you look lovely. I take it your phone call brought good news.”
    Ida gave him a bright smile. “That was my goddaughter, Abby. She just wanted to chitchat, you know, girl talk.” Ida was reluctant to share with Sammy any part of her relationship to Abby. It was too special. This was her business, and right now Sammy didn’t need to know what they’d discussed. Besides, something told her he would not approve of her working any more than the rest of the men she’d involved herself with in the past had. Ida knew she had some serious soul-searching to do, but now wasn’t the time.
    Sammy came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her still-slender waist. He dotted light kisses down the side of her neck, then cupped her breast in his hand. “I am the luckiest man in the world. I think I fell in love with you the first time I laid eyes on you.”
    Ida leaned against him, relishing his words, loving the feel of his hands on her, his lips softly