I inhale the humid air, listening to his words through my AirPods.Briefly, I consider the idea that perhaps getting hit by a car might not be so bad after all. “You’re kidding,” I say.
“I am not. This is it, Mel! Big time. A global stage. Sales will skyrocket!”
“And Shelbyspoketo Beckett about this?”
“Sounded like it. Shelby told Jax, and Jax called me. So, I think so, yeah.”
I sigh. “Evan, this is…” My voice trails off. I walk around a puddle on the sidewalk.
“It’s excellent is what it is. This is your opportunity not only to set the record straight with readers but also to finally get closure on everything that happened with Beckett. It’s perfect.”
It is absolutelynotperfect, but I don’t expect Evan to understand this. After all, he only knows what happened through the lens of how I wrote it. He doesn’t know how it really ended, because romance stories are weighty with the spring-loaded expectation of happily-ever-after, regardless of the truth. “I’m all for the whole notion of setting the record straight. That’s fine. But I don’t need closure, Ev. I’m good.”
“Then you’ll be fine with seeing him?”
“Seeinghim? No. Uh uh. Why should I have to see him? It’s a print piece. I could talk to the reporter over the phone, no?”
“Oh, Melody,” he says, in a tone that drips with sympathy over my tragic self. “They want to do it as a feature article. A cover story. There would be a photo shoot, and you’d all sit down together for the interview.” He is met with silence. “Live,” he says, as if to clarify.
“No,” I repeat.
“Mel,” he replies. “Please. Look, she called in a favor for this. We’re all just looking out for your best interest. Nothing more, nothing less. Lord knows, Beckett doesn’t need the sales bump.”
I feel my insides shift from nervous and antsy to pissed off. “You should have asked me first,” I say.
“Maybe so, and if we crossed a line, mea culpa. That’s on me. Still, as your agent and your friend, I have to tell you that this is a golden opportunity to set your career on fire in a good way. This could propel you intoNew York Timesbestseller status;everyonereadsPeoplemagazine. Think about it—with enough money, you could finally quit teaching and write full-time.”
A convincing argument, to be fair.But worth it? No. Seeing Beckett again would be too humiliating. “I have a pension through the city. I can suck it up for another”—I count hastily—“22 years.”
“That’s life in prison,” Evan declares. “You don’t even like where you work.”
“It’s work. Work’s not supposed to be fun. And I like it just fine.”
The sound he emits is a cross between a heavy sigh and a grumble. “My point is, you’ve tasked me with the role of protecting your career as anauthor. And that’s what I’m doing. You’re lucky to have an editor who was even willing to give this idea the time of day. Most editors would have cut their losses and moved on.”
I know he’s right about that last part. “I’m still half expecting Cabaret to drop me, Ev.”
“That’s my point. They’re one hundred percent behind you. Jax really feels bad about this, but nobody could have known. All summer beach reads kind of sound the same after you’ve seen enough of them. Only difference is, in this case, Hudson Yards had a lot of money on the line. Beckett was a nobody until he got signed, and they had to do everything in their power to make sure he became huge.”
“Correction,” I say, feeling through my purse for my keys with my free hand. “Beckett was nobody until he started dating Analise Renda.Thatpropelled him into the public eye way more than his stupid book.”
“Yes. Agreed—that’s exactly what I’m talking about. Don’t you know the story of how they met?”
“Nope. I don’t immerse myself in tabloid media the way you do.”
“The Hudson Yards execs started running him around the star circuit last fall. He was brought to an Untethered concert with his editor and the editor of their tell-all. They sat VIP and went to the after party and everything. Analise met Beckett there. She spilled a drink on him by accident.”
Of course she did.“A perfect meet-cute,” I say.
“Yup. They had a whirlwind romance, and he proposed four months later.”
“Which is insanely fast, in my humble opinion.”
“Agreed. But that’s show biz, y’know?”
“I actuallydon’tknow. Allow me to remind you of my humble status as a modestly successful romance author. The only people who recognize me in the street are my students.” I fumble with my tiny mailbox key at the metal bank of boxes in the lobby of my apartment building. Pulling out a circular, my electric bill, and a coupon for the new Chinese restaurant up the block, I stuff the mail under my arm and close up the box. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Beckett Nash went from nothing to complete stardom basically overnight, and we haven’t spoken in well over two years. I’m pretty sure he’s over it.”
“And you?”
