“Would you like to get ice cream and go for a walk in Central Park?” Kaelee blurted out.
Greta smiled. “I would. Let me get my bag and switch into walking shoes. Come to my office…?”
Somehow every sentence felt potentially dangerous right now. She didn’t know Kaelee Carpenter, author, and what she knew of Lee was sexual and flirtatious. Navigating a new dynamic felt fraught.
Kaelee trailed behind her, silent and tense.
“Everyone here thought you were incredibly shy,” Greta offered as she opened the door to her office.
“I’m not. I was nervous, though.” Kaelee walked over to the window, staring down at the city.
“I remember you mentioning that about your meeting.”
Kaelee glanced over at her. “You’re kind of a dream editor, and I was intimidated.”
“No need. Seriously, I bought the book because it’s good. As an editor, the success of a book reflects on me, so I want you to succeed beyond your dreams.” Greta pulled off her boots and slipped on tennis shoes. Business women in skirts and sneakers was a common enough sight here that she no longer felt awkward about the pairing. She certainly could walk all over in heels, but right now, this felt like a better choice. Not sexy. Not anything but casual. “And honestly, Ilikeyou as a person. Charlie did, too. So do Ian and Emily. You make people want to invest in supporting you, Kaelee.”
“Thank you,” Kaelee said, sounding a little shy. “I really do want this, the career, the book to flourish. That’s all true. I know you hear a lot from Toni about how she wants to teach—”
“She likes the writing life, too,” Greta said firmly.
“I think so, too, but this? This whole career? It’s a dream I was afraid to own. I don’t want to fuck it up.” Kaelee looked so vulnerable in that instant that Greta wanted nothing more than to hug her.
“I believe you’ll have it,” Greta offered. “There are no guarantees in this business, but you wrote a damn good book. That’s where the rest starts.”
Kaelee nodded and then she gestured for Greta to walk in front of her. It was familiar and new all at once, and Greta’s heart tightened a bit over both parts. She reminded herself that it was not atypical to walk out of the building with an author. Hell, they were supposed to go to lunch together. There was nothing here to raise brows or spark whispers, but as they left the office, Greta was careful to keep an exaggerated amount of space between them.
The reality was that it was less about appearances and more about Greta’s overwhelming urge to touch Kaelee.
14Kaelee
Now that they were alone again, Kaelee was struggling to remember that Greta was her editor, not the gorgeous woman she’d exhausted the night before. She’d managed fine during the meeting, but being alone with Greta complicated things. They made it to Central Park in comfortable-ish silence, but Kaelee had to resist the urge to put her arm aroundGreta. It wasn’t as if they had walked around all couple-y in the past, but being aware that she couldn’t touch Greta was doing something to Kaelee’s impulsivity.
“I wish we’d had a chance to use your remote control toy before we discovered this,” Kaelee said as they walked along a path inside the park.
“Damn it, Lee. You can’tsaythings like that. Not now.” Greta’s cheeks were bright red.
“Kaelee. Not Lee.”
“Right. Using your correct name ought to help, right?” Greta smiled tightly. “As I said, I suggested to Emily that your next book be with Ian. Perhaps that would be for the best.”
“So you don’t love the book as much as you said?”
“Now who has a praise kink,” Greta muttered.
Before Kaelee could reply, Greta shook her finger at Kaelee and added, “As I’ve said several times, Ilovethe book. I offered a preempt. I’m putting my name, my currently very well regarded reputationfor finding hits because of Toni’s book, on the line by saying that I wanted it enough to pay high and fast so I could have the privilege of editing it.”
“You don’t need to say—”
“I wasn’t finished. The characters are raw and damaged, and the setting is rich in history. I cantellyou have advanced studies there, Kaelee.” Greta walked faster and faster as she spoke, as if her agitation powered her feet in some way. “Your prose is polished without reading as pretentious.”
“Then why would you give it to someone else to edit?” Kaelee stared at her, frowning. That was a lot of praise to support tossing her away to another editor, even though Ian had seemed like a great guy.
“Because even as good as it is, I likeyoumore. I don’t see how I’m todothis right now. Fuck. I was planning on finally getting my mouth on you. Third night, Kaelee. And now…” Greta flung up her hand as if she had just tossed something in the air.
“You’re really fucking hot when you’re pissed off.”
“No. That’s the problem.” Greta rubbed her eyes with a thumb and index finger like she was pinching her stress away. “I cannot be hotandbe your editor, Kaelee. One or the other, not both.”
