Finishing Touches — Deanna Kizis

When aspiring L.A. interior designer Jesse Holtz loses her dearest friend, Cecile, in a car accident, shes sideswiped by grief. Cecile was always the most beguiling girl in the roomthe kind of girl Jesse always wished she could be. With no manual for how to mourn when youre a 29-year-old with an eye for flea market finds but terrible taste in men, Jesse turns to the only person who understandsCeciles widower, Zach. Then, life takes an unexpected turn: Is Jesses friendship with Zach starting to feel like the beginnings of a romance? Or is Jesse just losing perspective as she juggles her feelings and her condescending boss? And what if she and Zach got togetherwould she lose all her other friends in the process? For Jesse, the questions keep piling up, with answers nowhere in sight. A tragic comedy that makes for a breathtakingly optimistic read, FINISHING TOUCHES is the story of a woman who just might learn that life, like any good interior, can always use a little rearranging.