“She’s weird…and she makes all those comments.”
“What comments?” Roan and Tom say in unison as I glare at Colt.
“Or what about that other lady, Dahlia something?” Colt continues like no one else has spoken.
He’s seriously dead to me after this. It’s invasive and uncomfortable and I hate feeling like I’m under a microscope. He already added my ex—his former teammate, Brock Trace—to the list even though I haven’t spoken to Brock in forever.
“Dahlia Anderson is an author that was kind of like a mentor when I started writing. We had a falling-out, I guess, but that was years ago.”
“We’ll look into it,” Tom says smoothly. “What about Amelia?”
“I have a friend, Hazel, that also writes children’s books?—”
“Is that her real name or her pen name?” Tom asks, his face the same serious mask that he’s worn since he walked into the kitchen. It’s intimidating.
And sexy.
And I hate that my body responds to the latter.
Squeezing my eyelids shut, I rub my fingertips back and forth across my forehead to ease the tension building there. “Her name is Hazel Drake, and she doesn’t use a pen name. Her aunt is her assistant—Amelia—but I’m telling you she’s not the one we’re looking for.”
“Any issues between you and Hazel? I apologize that I’m not familiar with the nuances of publishing children’s books.”
From anyone else, the question would probably come across as patronizing, but from Tom, it’s honest curiosity and I’m thankful for that.
“Like is there a rivalry between us? No. We met at a conference about five years ago and clicked right away. She lives pretty close so we became friends. Her sister did her illustrations, but she passed away in a car accident six months ago.”
“Does Hazel or her family know you write under the name Sloane Daniels?”
“No. Only the four of us in this room and Bailey Crane. She narrates almost all my Sloane books.”
“What?” Colt barks but I ignore him.
“I am allowed to haveonefriend that knows who I am.” My voice is louder than I anticipate, and both Colt’s and Roan’s eyes widen at my outburst.
But Tom’s gaze is steady as it holds mine.
Reassuring.
It’s like he knows what I need.
That shouldn’t be sexy—I mean hell, I just met the man—but I can’t help the little shiver that races over my skin as he speaks.
“I don’t disagree,” he says, ignoring my brother as Colt paces across the room. “Does anyone else know you as Sloane Daniels?” I open my mouth to argue, but he just holds up a hand. “I need you to think about it. Anyone in passing, anyone that could have overheard you having a conversation at all? Think about it, and we can circle back later.”
“Okay.”
“Tell me about the events that happened that led you to push your next book release back,” Tom says as my gaze slides to Roan. I have no idea why I need his permission, but I’m thankful when he nods. My brother is all but fuming now as he watches from the other side of the room.
“Things started normally enough, I guess—social media drama, of course, and then there was review bombing?—”
“What’s that?” Instead of feeling defensive by Tom’s interruption, I feel myself start to relax.
He’s here to help.
He’s going to figure this out.
“It’s when people flock to a book that’s usually not out yet, or when something happens after the release with the author, groups of readers will rate the book with one star or report it. It’s incredibly difficult to come back from that. Your normal hype on release day usually isn’t enough to salvage the damage done.”
