by Abby Stern
“Ella, what are you doing?” she grimaces.
“My job!” I lean in to her ear and whisper. The snobby girl from The Life has made her way to the perimeter of the VIP section alone and I point her out to Holiday. “You want to be on the Internet tomorrow morning but not with the headline ‘British Heiress Turned Hollywood It Girl Was a Lush Chugging Champagne.’”
“But I am a lush,” she cheekily protests.
“I know and I love you for it. But not tonight and not on my watch, sweetheart.”
“I’m starting to regret paying you to boss me around.” She smirks.
I shrug my shoulders. “That’s the girl that got me kicked out of Chateau,” I tell her. Holiday’s eyes widen and she looks like she’s about to pull her earrings off and leap out of her seat to give her a beatdown. “It’s okay, let’s just make sure we don’t give her a story. That will be our revenge. As long as you keep your behavior to a playful celebration, she won’t have anything.” Holiday takes a breath to calm herself down and reluctantly pours the champagne into a flute. Nick whispers in my ear.
“What if we leak another, better story to the club reporter so she stays away from us?” I raise an eyebrow in anticipation. “What do you think of the headline ‘Hollywood Superagent and Publicist to the Stars Give Relationship a Second Chance’?”
“If you want to get technical it’s a little long for a headline … but I’ve always enjoyed breaking the rules,” I add mischievously.
Nick playfully scoffs. “Let me try that again.” I clear my throat. “Sounds like the industry’s perfect power couple to me.” He leans in and kisses me and then rests his forehead against mine. Holiday interrupts our happy ending.
“One last toast tonight. This one is just for me and Ella.” The men obey her instruction and continue to sip their beverages in silence to give Holiday her moment. She glances at the bracelet I gave her and her face plumps with pure joy. I swear being truly happy is the best beauty secret in the world. She and I once again raise our glasses, and I stare at my flute as if it is the Holy Grail. In a way it has been. I may not have always realized it, but I’ve had both parts of our toast all along. I clink Holiday’s glass.
“To glamour and love!”
THE END
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To my mom and dad, the most concise way to say this is that this book simply wouldn’t exist without you. If I said nothing other than “thank you” to you for the rest of my life, it still wouldn’t be enough or accurately express the deep thanks and gratitude I have for all of your love and support. Thank you for always believing in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself. I love you both wider than the whole solar system.
To my agent, Dan Lazar, I don’t know where to begin. You were the first person in the industry to believe in me, and I will never forget that. You have fought for me since day one and have never once reprimanded me for the slew of neurotic e-mails I’ve sent you at completely inappropriate hours. Thank you for seeing something in me in your slush pile, holding my hand throughout this entire process and being so patient with me. Your keen editorial eye helped make this book so much more than another superficial Hollywood story. You taught me the art of nuance. Without you, this story would have no heart. Thank you from the very bottom of my heart. I owe my career to you.
To Torie Doherty-Munro, thank you for always being so helpful. I know there is so much you have done on my behalf behind the scenes that I’m not even aware of and I want you to know that it’s greatly appreciated.
A huge thank you to everyone at Writers House, who have made me feel so supported as an author. I am thankful for the hard work everyone has put in to help make my dream a reality.
To my phenomenal editor, Laurie Chittenden, I can’t imagine having worked on my first novel with anyone but you. Thank you for believing in me and this book. You have gotten it since day one. I can’t thank you enough for making this the best book it could possibly be. Every single note you gave me made this book better. Really, every single one. I’ve always felt like you have been on my side, and I’m eternally grateful for that. I look forward to sipping many, many glasses of wine with you in the future.
Thank you, Lisa Bonvissuto, for all of your help and for being so kind about answering my incessant questions. Thank you, Karen Masnica. Your enthusiasm for this book from the beginning has been such a blessing. Thank you to the amazing Tracey Guest and Jessica Lawrence, for your PR prowess. Thank you to David Rotstein for designing the book jacket, which I couldn’t possibly love more. A big thank you to Jeremy Pink, MaryAnn Johanson, and Shelly Perron. And thank you to everyone else at St. Martin’s Press, for all of your hard work.
To Josie Freedman, thank you for taking a chance on me and on selling Hollywood to Hollywood.
Thank you Alex Schack and Charlene Young, for seeing the big picture and for your vision. I knew I had to work with you as soon as we met, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. You ladies are the best of the best. This is only the beginning!
Dennis Jacobs, to say thank you for everything wouldn’t suffice. Thank you for the support and encouragement you’ve had for this book when it was nothing but a Word doc on my computer that was rejected more times than either of us can count. Thank you for always offering to read every new word throughout this process no matter the time of day or night or whatever else you had going on. Thank you for always letting me bounce ideas and dialogue off you and for taking the ramblings of the numerous nervous breakdowns I’ve had throughout the years in stride. Let’s be honest; without you, this book would be a smattering of words sandwiched between Xanax references and the repetition of “namaste.” I hope you know how much I appreciate all of your help and, more important, your friendship.
Thank you to all of my friends who have loved and supported me throughout this entire process. Thank you for remaining my friends after I consistently flaked on our plans so I could write. Thank you for texting me to check in when I was MIA for long periods of time. Thank you for telling me you believed in my talent and not to give up. Thank you for getting me cocktails to take my mind off things when the going got tough. Those of you near and far always let me know you were there for me. Your friendship means the absolute world to me. A sincere thank you to: Jamie Beck, Diné Butler, Amanda Champagne-Meadows, Kiley Cristiano, Angie Dobrofsky, Robin Freni, Serra Garcia, Keegan Killian, Katherine Klick, Alex Kurucz, Sara Lavoie, Megan Phelps, Tiffany Phelps, Lauren Pomykala, Jelena Rajic, Nate Reeves, Crystal Salazar, Eva Scheiringer, Erin Searcy, Melissa Shamberg, Tatiana Steelman, Andrea White, and Angela Wu.
Thank you, Rebecca Maizel, for mentoring me. You graciously gave me your time and the benefit of your experience. You made me a better writer. Forever will the phrase “show, don’t tell” help and haunt me. I can’t thank you enough for being the kind of mentor that all writers should be lucky enough to have.
A large thank you to Dr. Gary Schiller who graciously answered my medical questions for this book (and a disclaimer: He’s not responsible for any inaccuracies).
An extremely heartfelt thank you to Leila Kenzle.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ABBY STERN has been a Hollywood insider and freelance celebrity reporter for more than nine years. She has covered red carpets and interviewed A-list celebrities for People magazine, among other publications. According to a Source is her first novel. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Author’s Note
Epigraphs
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-one
Twenty-two
Twenty-three
Twenty-four
Twenty-five
Twenty-six
Twenty-seven
Twenty-eight
Twenty-nine
Thirty
Thirty-one
Thirty-two
Thirty-three
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS.
An imprint of St. Martin’s Press.
ACCORDING TO A SOURCE. Copyright © 2017 by Abby Stern. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.thomasdunnebooks.com
www.stmartins.com
Cover design by James Iacobelli
Cover photographs: woman © Ralwel/Shutterstock.com; Hollywood sign © Lpettet/Getty Images
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-10679-7 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-10680-3 (e-book)
e-ISBN 9781250106803
Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact your local bookseller or the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].
First Edition: May 2017
