I read his name tag. “Thank you, Todd.”
He shakes his head. “I have to admit, when I learned you were going to take over for Mr. Simmons, I was pretty disappointed. Never been a fan of your work, you know?”
My smile turns stiff, but I keep it in place. This is nowhere near the first time I’ve been in a situation like this. But usually I can hide my face behind a screen.
“But you really inspired me tonight. I just want to go home and write. I’ve been working on this book for six years. It’s nearly ready for readers, but not quite there. I just need it to be perfect.”
“I’m glad you got something out of the class.”
Todd reaches for a handshake, so I give him one. He’s quickly replaced by a woman with long, voluminous curls that remindme of Jessica Rabbit, only this woman is blonde. Her lips are bright red, and she flashes a set of startlingly white teeth at me. “That was amazing!”
“Thank you, Lori.”
“You should give motivational speeches for writers. Is there a place that offers things like that? Because I really think you could inspire a lot of people.”
I know what’s happening here. These people have never been to a writers’ conference before, or anything like it, and this is the first time they’ve been taught about creative writing. I’m not saying anything unique. This information isn’t groundbreaking, but it is new to them.
“That’s kind of you to say,” I tell her.
She steps closer, choking me with a cloud of perfume. Lowering her voice, she looks up at me through lashes that look too long to be natural. “I’m looking forward to the next three weeks, Mr. James.”
I want to take a step back, but there’s a bookshelf behind me. “That’s…uh…”
Piper catches my gaze, her eyebrows up. She must see my panic, because amusement immediately crosses over her face. She navigates toward me, clearing her throat. “Okay, everyone. I’m sorry to cut this short, but Mr. James has to be on his way. We can work more Q&A time into next week’s class now that we know there’s a need for it. Thanks for coming!”
The crowd that gathered behind Lori immediately begins to disperse.
Except Lori. Her finely manicured hand squeezes my bicep. “I’ll email you tonight.”
I stand beside Piper as Lori walks away.
“That sounded like a promise,” she mutters.
“Or a threat?” I ask.
Piper smothers a laugh.
“You could have saved me sooner.”
She shrugs. “How was I supposed to know you wanted to be saved?”
“You’ve known me for how many years, and you believe that’s my type?”
“She’s beautiful.”
“She is,” I agree, my eyes never leaving Piper’s face.
She seems to take this as a challenge, because she locks on to my eyes like we agreed to enter into a staring contest. This woman is determined to take home a gold medal. “Then what are your other criteria?”
This is extremely loaded. I could hold up a mirror, but Piper would probably freak out. Besides, in the years since college, she could have totally changed. Physically, she is even more beautiful than she was at twenty-one when I last saw her. Her laugh is still musical. Her ambition is inspiring. The way she cares about people has always been something that drew me to her.
“I don’t have any,” I finally say. “I just want a connection.”
“Waiting for your soulmate?”
“Maybe I already found her, but I’m waiting for her to figure it out.”
Piper laughs again, and I want to catch the sound in a jar like my siblings and I used to do with lightning bugs. “That sounded like a line. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were flirting.”
