“I’m not saying it in a creepy way,” he assured me. “I love you, bro, but I don’t love you like that.”
“I guess that’s good. Not that there’s anything wrong with it if you did roll that way,” I added quickly.
He laughed. “Your readers are going to be here. Even if they’re only mildly interested in seeing you, they’re going to want to see the romance readers.”
I considered it. What he said made sense.
“You’re going to be fine,” Nathan insisted. “Just … breathe.”
I heard his words but didn’t follow the order.
“Breathe!” he barked, forcing me to inhale deeply. “There we go.” His smile was easy. “Plus, keep in mind that every other author here is plagued with the same doubts as you.”
That was a load of crap. “There’s no way.”
“It’s true. Even the biggest authors worry that nobody will show up to see them.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Nathan sighed. “You’re only on one panel, right?”
“Yes. It’s a fantasy panel. Not just high fantasy, though. It’s paranormal fantasy too.”
He made a face, which had my anxiety tripling.
“What’s wrong with that?” I demanded.
“I didn’t realize you were going to be paired off with the paranormal fantasy writers.”
“Is there something wrong with them?”
“They’re … a peculiar breed.”
I waited for him to expand. When he didn’t, I pinned him with the darkest look in my repertoire. “What does that mean?”
“I don’t want to cloud your judgment. I’m going to let you see it for yourself.”
“I don’t want to see it for myself. Tell me what to look out for.”
“Just … be prepared for the type of woman who will shrink your ball sack.”
That was a terrifying—and curious—statement. “What does that mean?”
He broke into a wide smile. “You’ll see.”
“No, you’re going to tell me.”
He shook his head. “You’ll see.” He clapped his hand on my shoulder, hard. “Now, come on. Your table is finished, right?”
“Yeah. It’s done.”
“Let’s get dinner and drinks.”
“I was just going to order room service.”
Horror rolled across his features. “It’s New Orleans. It’s against the law to eat dinner in your room. We’re eating somewhere authentic and then hitting up a bar.”
“I’m not much of a bar person.”
