“You did. You said you wanted to be friends so I figured it wasn’t any of my business,” Jackson growled.
“Yet you told Andrea,” she accused him.
“She guessed! You’ve been throwing up a lot. You’ve been tired and moody,” he drawled. “Draw your own conclusions.”
“I’ve been on a busy book tour and I have stage fright!” she exclaimed angrily. “Talking about being moody, who had to go for a three hour plus walk in the cold?”
“Katie, we should not be talking about this here,” Jackson said shortly.
“Oh, I think you should,” Ruby interjected. “What is this about the cold? Why does he keep calling you Katie?”
“Katie’s my real name. JD Emerson is a pen name,” Katie turned to the host and pointed at Jackson. “We were re-enacting a scene from the upcoming book and maybe it got too intense for him orsomethingbecause he left.”
“Why would you re-enact a scene?” Ruby wondered.
“Maybe it was a little intense considering you just want to be friends,” Jackson shot back.
“To figure out how to write it correctly,” Katie told Ruby before turning back to Jackson. “I don’t want to be friends with you!”
Jackson dragged in a breath through clenched teeth. “Fine. That’s fine.”
He pushed his way past the person holding the microphone and made for an exit.
Katie’s voice wobbled as she watched him about to walk out. “I don’t want to be friends with someone that I’ve had a crush on for what feels like my entire life. I don’t want to be friends with you because I want so much more. I love you Jackson.”
She bit her lip as she watched him pause at the exit door. She quickly descended from the stage and went up the steps in the audience section where Jackson was, stopping uncertainly in front of him.
“You love me?” he asked gruffly.
Katie nodded, scared and exhilarated at the same time.
Jackson cupped her face in his hands and kissed her.
“Well, wasn’t that exciting!” Ruby smiled for the cameras. “Why don’t we give JD Emerson a round of applause?”
She led the audience, clapping.
