Nia’s cross-examination made me feel twitchy. She was a pro at getting to the heart of an issue.
“No...” I admitted.
“Oh, girl.” She tilted her head at me. “At least send her a summary to see if she likes it. What if you finish it, and she thinks it’s a crap idea? I mean, it definitely isn’t, but still.”
I knew she was right, but a part of me liked keeping my archers to myself. I still wasn’t sure what sorts of adventures they were going to get up to as they tamed alicorns, battled interlopers, and finally stopped arguing long enough to fall in love. But if I shared it and Celeste didn’t like the concept, there’d be no reason for me to keep writing their happily ever after, and they’d be stuck in limbo forever.
“Yeah, I probably should,” I offered weakly, my stomach free-falling at the thought of actually doing it. “I never thought I’d get this far, so I didn’t bother running the idea by her. The story is just falling out of me.”
“Okay, that’s a great sign. So tell her. Before you add another word to that manuscript,” Nia scolded gently.
I knew she was right, but I dreaded the thought of my lovers potentially condemned to purgatory.
“Think of what a lift you’ll get when she tells you how much she loves the concept,” Nia added as her fingers danced over her keyboard. “Just do it.”
She was right. Without buy-in from my agent, I was wasting my time.
My copywriter background meant that writing a three-paragraph elevator pitch for the book was second nature. Nia helped me refine it, and I sent the email off to Celeste before I could decide that I was making a huge mistake. My palms were actually sweaty after I finished.
I hadn’t sent her an idea in so long that she was probably going to wonder who the hell I was.
Nia held up her coffee cup. “To good news.”
“Yes, please.” I clinked against it with mine. “But enough of that. I need to get back to the ranch. At least this book is paying the bills.”
“For now,” Nia corrected.
We fell silent as I worked on the joyful first sonogram appointment scene, and Nia went back to whatever bloody, gut-churning moment had her grinning as she typed. My phone buzzed and my first thought was of Owen. He’d told me that they were doing a deep clean at CPA during our usual Tuesday morning meeting time, which explained why I hadn’t heard from him.
Or at least that was the fiction I was writing about us.
Although if the textwasfrom him, maybe he was reaching out to tell me our lessons were done?
I wasn’t sure how we were going to go back to normal this time around, if he even considered me worthy of anotherchance. He’d been generous with me after I’d jumped him at the farm; then we’dbothagreed to playact our second make-out session for Leo’s benefit, which meant that the only lingering awkwardness from it was the way I felt afterward.
The Hamptons kiss was... next level. Real enough that it made him angry.
And me confused. And thinking about it when I pulled my buzzing friend from my nightstand at night.
But Owen didn’t seem like the type of person to back out of an agreement, and he’d said we’d work together until the tournament.
Three more weeks.
I finally stopped obsessing about if the text was from him or not and picked up my phone to check. It was from Wes, a photo of a pyramid of dark chocolate Hobnobs biscuit packages on a Sainsbury’s conveyer belt.
I didn’t have to ask what was going on in the photo. He was stocking up on my favorite cookies prior to coming home. I sent back a photo doing a Korean finger heart.
Can you talk
I jumped at the chance to connect with him.
Always.
I walked outside right as the phone rang and tucked myself in front of an empty space for rent. My stomach went into free fall when I looked at the screen.
It wasOwencalling, not Wes, like I’d summoned him by obsessing about our next steps.
“Hi?” My voice felt shaky as I answered.
