"You wouldn't." She plops herself down on the weathered leather chair next to my desk. "We have a date next Tuesday night."
"I'm committed to Sophia." I wink at her. I know she'll have questions, but I'll answer every one. Sophia is an important part of my life now and my publicist needs to realize that. My book tours have to accommodate time back here in New York every two weeks. I refuse to be away from Sophia for longer than that.
"You're getting married?" Her eyes light up. "Can I be your best person?"
"If I were getting married, which I'm not, I'd choose one of my brothers as my best man. I doubt you'd even make it onto the guest list."
"You're an asshole." Her smile contradicts the bite in the words. "So if you're committed to her, but not getting married, what exactly does that mean?"
"I love her," I say with conviction. "I'm in love with her."
"Who would have thought back on that night that your manuscript went viral that we'd be having this discussion?"
"You never know what's on the horizon." I lean back in my chair. "Now, explain what you and I have going on next Tuesday night."
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Sophia
"You wantme to go with you to a school so I can read books out loud?" I shudder at the thought. "Public speaking isn't my thing, Nicholas."
"You're the designer behind Ella Kara, Sophia." He places both of his hands on my shoulders. "You don't think you're going to have to do interviews or make an announcement on launch day?"
I scan his face. "Shit. Holy shit. I hadn't thought of that."
He shakes his head and laughs. "It's a middle school, Sophia. They're hosting a career night. I'm one of the feature speakers and part of the agreement was that I'd stay and read a few chapters ofAction's Cause."
"Is that book even appropriate for a bunch of kids that age?" I eye him suspiciously. "It's graphic, isn't it?"
"I guarantee you that the video games they play after school each day are a hell of a lot worse than my book."
My excuses are running out. "I should stay home and work on my designs."
He looks at me patiently. "I spoke to Gabriel earlier and he said you were ahead of schedule."
There's absolutely no way I'm getting out of this. "If it's important to you, I'll do it, but I want you to know that I'm a hostile reader."
"You've been reading that manuscript I gave you, haven't you?"
I have. I wasn't going to. My plan all along was to give that flash drive back to Nicholas, but I decided to keep it. I know that it meant a lot to him that I asked for the book in the first place, so I made a vow that I'd work my way through the entire book. I'm almost done and it's even more impressive than I anticipated. It's no wonder Joe cashed in on it the way that he did. Nicholas writes with an intensity that's captivating. I got lost in his words more than once.
"I have read a lot of it," I confess. "I love it. I'm proud of you."
"You're proud of me?" He places both of his hands in the center of his chest. "I feel the very same way about you, Sophia. Your life will change when Ella Kara launches. My only hope is that you won't forget about me. Don't leave me in your dust."
"I'll never be as famous as you are."
He pulls back and looks me right in the eye. "When I'm with you, I just want to be Nicholas. I don't want to be famous."
"You are just Nicholas to me." My lips twitch. "I went to see Noah Foster a few weeks ago to get a new headshot and we talked about you."
"Noah's a good guy. He did my headshot a year or so ago."
My eyes wander to the photograph hanging on his wall of the beautiful, nude woman that Noah took. "He told me that I reminded him of his wife. I don't know her, but it felt like a huge compliment at the time."
"He doesn't hand out many."
Noah's words mean even more now. "He told me that it was good that I didn't care that you were Nicholas Wolf, but I do care. I care that you have such passion for your work that you captivate people all over the world. I care that you have taken years to hone your craft and that you're dedicated to telling the best story you possibly can."
