Title: Your Priceless Advice

Author: Celeste Castro

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: 08/11/2026

Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex

Pairing: Female/Female

Length: 304

Genre: Contemporary, contemporary, romance, sapphic, soulmates, small town, conflict of interest, workplace romance, social justice, school setting, BIPOC, anxiety attacks

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Description

Sophie Turner, an equity consultant and former high-powered attorney, is used to standing up for those who need a powerful advocate on their side. When it comes to her own self-interests, that’s a different story. When Sophie takes on a new client—helping an elementary school in a conservative, rural state work through an open display of racism—she’s ready for battle. Complicating things is Sophie attended this school thirty years ago, and she hadn’t counted on coming face-to-face with her past.

Benita Carlos, a teacher at the school, puts her career on the line in supporting her students in their stand against racism. When their new equity consultant turns out to be one of the most influential people of Benita’s past—and her first crush—everything becomes much more difficult. It’s preposterous to think that after so many years they’d still have anything in common. But Sophie and Benita’s intense connection rekindles and heads toward a conflict of interest, risking the well-being of students, families, and their community.

Sophie and Benita take on external pressures and professional hurdles, while wrestling with hardships from their past. Their shared journey hints at the promise of something more, but will their past issues and outside forces drive them apart?

Your Priceless Advice
Celeste Castro © 2026
All Rights Reserved

Finally, Sophie allowed herself to place all her attention on the woman who’d nearly brought her to her knees.

“Please,” she said to her. Or had she whispered it? Sophie ran her eyes over her entire length, hoping it wasn’t too obvious.

“Hi, I’m Benita Carlos. Please call me Bennie. It’s really nice to see—to meet—” Bennie dropped her gaze momentarily. “I am one of two fourth-grade teachers, and I lead our diverse learning program. I’ve been here for a year and a half.” Bennie exhaled. “Thank—thank you.”

“She doesn’t give herself enough credit,” Elsa said. “And so you know, we recruited Dr. Carlos to build our diverse education program. She’s made remarkable progress in the time she’s been here.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Hernandez,” Sophie said. “Dr. Carlos. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Someone cleared their throat, snapping Sophie out of her fixation on Bennie—her Bennie. She broke free.

“Hi there,” the man next to Bennie said, waving his hand. “Hi. I’m Ramón Briano, fifth grade. Glad you’re here—a few months or decades too late—but better late than never.” A ripple of laughter coursed through the room, cutting the tension enveloping Sophie. “I’m excited to assist however I can. I’m particularly interested in learning more about how this is going to go and what we can expect.”

“Nice to meet you and great segue. Let’s get into it, shall we?” Sophie started walking about the room, feeling Bennie’s eyes trail her movements. “I hope, over the next few weeks, you see me as a resource and a sounding board. I’ve read through the comments and concerns you all voiced at the town hall over the weekend. There’s a lot to unpack and a lot to do. I can already tell from the short time I’ve been here everyone is passionate about their work. It’s clear all of you are willing to do what it takes to make sure this school is a safe and nurturing environment for learning, where students and staff are treated with respect and given all the opportunities to thrive.

“My role is to learn as much as I can—about your work, the systems in which you work, and how it translates to your students. I’ll document everything. Your policies and procedures, written and unwritten, and how they impact you as educators. While I’m at it, I’ll also try to understand the events leading to the firing of several staff members.”

From the corner of her eye, a hand went up. Mrs. Lewis again.

“Yes, Mrs. Lewis.”

“I sincerely hope justice is served for both sides.”

“Can you speak more to your point?” Sophie asked.

“I have it on good authority some individuals, some of whom are seated here—” Mrs. Lewis dropped her voice dramatically. “—have engaged in nefarious activities resulting in staff terminations, misuse of school property, and inciting insurrection. I have information you might be able to use to overturn some of the poor staffing decisions.”

Murmurs and hushed comments rippled throughout the room. Most of the staff looked annoyed, but a handful of people seemed to support her.

“Thank you, Mrs. Lewis. I want to make one thing clear. Former staff were fired because the board of trustees deemed it appropriate. The procedures they followed were to the letter of the policy and in sound legal fashion. I’m not here to get anyone’s job back.”

“But there are still people here who should probably be fired or, at the very least, disciplined.”

“I promise you I will do my best to understand what happened, gather all sides of the story, and lay out my findings as well as my recommendations for any next steps the school should consider implementing.”

Mrs. Lewis’s hand went up again, so Sophie elevated her voice and continued.

“Though it is the board of trustees who have ultimate decision-making—”

“Okay, but—”

“Mrs. Lewis.” Sophie held out a finger. “One last thing, so we are all clear. I am accountable to the students who go to school here. Their well-being is my number-one priority and the priority of the board of trustees. The recommendations I will be making will have them in mind, first and foremost. Are we clear?”

Mrs. Lewis nodded, as did several others in the room, and that seemed to shut her up.

“Great. We have about thirty minutes or so to talk through other questions.” Several hands went up.

“How long will all of this take?” someone asked.

“I’ve allotted a little over a month to do the initial environmental scan—including conducting observations, reviewing policies and procedures, and other information gathering. The write-up of findings and my full recommendations will likely take me through the middle of December. My goal is to present everything to the board of trustees before the winter holiday. Having said that, this work will take as long as it takes, depending on what I learn along the way. There might be pivots. If anything impacts my timeline significantly, we’ll be sure to communicate with you about it.”

“So you’ll give us a written report of recommendations?” Mrs. Lewis asked.

“Correct.”

“And then what?”

“Afterward is implementation.”

Mrs. Lewis scoffed and nodded disapprovingly.

“Is there something you’d like to share with the group, Mrs. Lewis?” Sophie asked.

“In my experience with these types of ‘diversity and inclusion projects,’” she said with air quotes, “these reports sound fancy, but they usually end up on a shelf collecting dust.”

“You aren’t wrong. Implementing new policies and putting ideas into practice will be the most challenging part of this whole process. Ultimately, it’s up to you. Everyone must commit to taking the next steps in realizing the investment we’re making into the future of this school.”

Bennie’s hand went up this time. Sophie tried to avoid lingering and direct eye contact, overwhelmed by the intensity of their connection.

“Will there be observations in our classrooms?” Bennie asked.

“There will be observations, yes. In your classrooms, in your clubs, your programs, and group activities, as well as one-on-one meetings, which I’ll schedule over the next couple of weeks. But you don’t have to wait.” She locked eyes with Bennie. “My door is always open.”

 

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Celeste Castro is from small-town, rural Idaho, where most of her stories take place. She grew up with learning differences, though she always kept a journal. Her characters are a little like her, completely versed in the art of Chingóna and speaking Spanglish. When she’s not glued to her laptop, Celeste’s digging in her garden, practicing tai chi, or looking for something to deep clean. Celeste currently lives with her wife in Chicago—the best city on Earth!

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