Eveline shrugged, though the gesture didn't hide the tension in her shoulders. “It was a long time ago.”
Emery wanted to reach for Eveline's hand again, to offer comfort, but she was paralyzed by guilt. Her secret identity hung between them, suddenly more damning than ever.
“Some wounds take a long time to heal,” she said.
Eveline looked at her then, a complicated emotion in her dark eyes. “Yes, they do.”
The door opened, and Maya poked her head out. “There you two are! I'm cutting the cake, you don’t want to miss it!”
“We'll be right in,” Eveline said, her mask slipping back into place so quickly that Emery might have imagined the vulnerability of a moment ago.
As they followed Maya inside, Emery felt the weight of her deception more heavily than ever. She was no better than Eveline's ex, using her for material without permission. Worse, perhaps, because she knew better now, knew what that betrayal would mean to Eveline.
But as she watched Eveline laugh at Maya's cake-cutting antics, Emery knew she couldn't walk away. Not yet. Not when just the brush of their hands could make her feel more alive than she had in years.
She was in too deep, and falling deeper by the minute. What was she supposed to do?
Chapter Fourteen
Emery was in the middle of shelving a new delivery of biographies when her phone buzzed in her pocket. Seeing Domi's name flash across the screen, she glanced around to make sure Eveline was nowhere in sight before slipping into the stockroom to answer.
“Domi, hi,” she whispered, crouching behind a tall stack of boxes. “I can't really talk right now.”
“Well, you'll need to find time,” Domi replied, her voice brisk and business-like. “The Literati Blog wants to interview Emerald Pearl tomorrow morning. Ten o'clock. I've already confirmed.”
Emery nearly dropped her phone. “Tomorrow morning? But I'm working! You can't just schedule things without asking me first.”
“I'm your agent. That's literally my job.” Domi sighed dramatically. “Besides, it's The Literati Blog, Emery. They have over five million monthly readers. This is exactly the kind of publicity we need with your new book coming out.”
Emery pressed her forehead against a nearby shelf. “I know, I know. It's just… complicated.”
“Only because you've made it complicated,” Domi reminded her. “Anyway, figure it out. Ten o'clock, my office. Don't be late. And try to wear something that doesn't look like you slept in it.”
Emery was about to protest when another thought struck her. “Wait, Domi. Did you send something to me at the bookshop? Addressed to Emerald Pearl?”
There was a pause on the other end of the line. “Oh, shit.”
“Oh, shit is right. Eveline could have seen it.”
“My new assistant must have messed up,” Domi said. “I told her to send those cover mockups to you, she must have sent them to the shop by mistake. The address has been added to your file. You know, just in case you decide to actually move in.”
“Your new assistant needs to be fired,” Emery hissed.
“Consider it handled. I'll have a very stern conversation with her about confidentiality.” Domi paused. “You did intercept it, right?”
“Luckily, yes.” Emery thought back to the envelope still hidden in her apartment, stuffed in a drawer under a pile of socks. “But this is getting too risky, Domi. One mistake and everything falls apart.”
“Then maybe it's time to—”
“I have to go,” Emery said, hearing footsteps coming. “I'll figure something out for tomorrow.”
She ended the call just as the stockroom door opened.
“Emery?” Eveline stood in the doorway, one eyebrow raised quizzically. “Are you hiding back here?”
“Not hiding,” Emery said quickly, scrambling to her feet and nearly sending a stack of books crashing to the floor. She managed to steady them at the last second. “Just, um, checking inventory. And definitely not making personal calls during work hours.”
The corner of Eveline's mouth twitched upward. “Of course not.”
