“This is Sam Ford. I just got your message.”
“Thank God. I’m so glad you called back. I rented Aaron’s apartment before he did, and I accidentally left a book behind. He said you’d stopped by looking for me.”
“Yes, my friend and I did. We have the book.”
“And the ring?”
“Yes, of course. It’s in a safe place.”
“Oh, thank God.” The man’s breath rushed out. “You have no idea how relieved I am to hear it. I was so afraid I’d lost it for good. I had to move out in a hurry, and I totally forgot about putting the book in that desk.”
How could a man forget an engagement ring he must’ve spent a fortune on? “Well, no worries. We’ll be happy to return itto you. My friend and I have been on that book’s trail for weeks. I hope it didn’t spoil your proposal.”
“Oh no, it’s notmyring.” He chuckled. “I’m not even dating anyone. A friend of my dad’s hired me to make the secret compartment in the book—I guess you could say I’m a bit of an artisan-slash-woodworker. I have the tools and skills required for the job anyway. When I finished the project, the guy asked me to keep it at my place until the big day—which is intwo days. What with my move and change of jobs, I’d completely forgotten about the book until he called me this morning. I had to tell him what had happened. He’s going to be so relieved to get that ring back. Could I swing by and pick it up now?”
Sam thought fast. He didn’t want to deprive Sadie of this moment—she’d been so excited to return the ring to the owner. “Actually, if you’d give me the man’s number, my friend and I would like to return it ourselves. We can do it right now.” Sadie would make time for this—even in the middle of her deadline crunch.
“Sure, that would be great. I’m just so glad the ring wasn’t lost or stolen. Let me find his number in my phone.”
Sam waited while Michael searched for the number. He could hardly wait to see the look on Sadie’s face when she heard he’d located the ring’s rightful owner.
“Here it is.” Michael rattled off the number while Sam scrawled it on a scrap receipt. He’d just printed the last digit when realization struck. “Wait. Are you sure that’s the right number?” He repeated it back to Michael.
“Yes, that’s right. Is something wrong?”
Sam stared at the number, shaking his head. It couldn’t be...
Then the dots connected. Oh, but it was. Sam’s breathreleased in a puff. “No, nothing’s wrong at all.” He was grinning to himself as he said, “Don’t worry, we’ll make sure he gets the ring back.”
***
Sadie typed the last words of the chapter and leaped from her deck chair. “I did it! Rio, I got the pages done!” Her squeal rivaled the piercing cries of the seagulls overhead.
Now she just had to print it off. Tomorrow she’d read through it, giving it a quick edit, then send it off to Erin by the end of the day. It didn’t have to be perfect—it was just a first draft.
But the best part of it all was... it was good. She loved this story and was invested in the characters—how could she not be? Her laughter carried on the breeze.
She leaned over her laptop, found Sam’s printer on the network, and clicked Print. It would take a few minutes to produce all those pages.
She pocketed her phone, its happy music keeping her company while she went inside and refreshed her water and Rio’s. She should probably go next door and make sure there was enough paper in the printer. Enough ink.
She couldn’t believe she’d made it this far. The first third of the book was always the hardest for her. But she honestly believed she was pulling off a romance novel. Who would’ve thought?
She left Rio lapping up her water and went next door. Sam’s door slid open easily. He never bothered locking it and had insisted she help herself to the printer as needed. Fortunately, the machine had plenty of paper and ink, especially since she would’ve had to make a trip to the store otherwise.
As the pages filled with her words spit out onto the tray, gooseflesh rose on her arms. She was so proud of herself for tackling this challenge. She wasthisclose to paying back that advance and getting out of debt.
The rhythmic intro of “I Gotta Feeling” began, measuring out time beat by beat. Smiling at the sound of the celebratory song, she jacked it up. When the first verse began, she couldn’t help but sing along.
Thirty-Four
Readers enjoy the anticipation of discovery as each of your plot threads plays out, so make sure the payoff is worthwhile.
—Romance Writing 101
When Sam arrived at the duplex, he went around the side to the deck where Sadie always worked. But when he got there she wasn’t at the table. He knocked on her sliding door.
Rio came running, barking a welcome he heard through the glass and wagging her whole backside.
