Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 145123 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 726(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145123 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 726(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
It’s so damn thoughtful, I have to swallow against the unwanted emotion in my throat.
At this point in my monthly hormonal cycle, I could easily cry. My period is just one big sneeze away, but I hold in the tears with every vestige of my being because I’ll be damned if I’m going to embarrass myself any more than I already have as of late.
There are only so many times you can faint in someone’s presence before they start to take the hint and move out of it. And even if it’s a true risk for sanity and well-being, I want Chase Dawson in my orbit pretty badly. I don’t think you write books about people you don’t want.
He gestures to the booth, standing behind it as I lead Benji to the floor pad on his leash and give him a rub as he gets settled.
I try to hurry, but when it comes to dog lovin’s, I’m not exactly great at time management.
I half expect Chase to give up and take a seat or, at the very least, be sporting an irritated frown or something when I turn back around, but instead, he’s smiling, the corners of his mouth so curled up they almost take on a bemused personality of their own.
“Sorry,” I apologize through a slight blush as I rush to take my seat.
“No worries. I’m planning to buy Benji a steak for his heroic acts earlier. He deserves all the scratches and good pets tonight.”
“He’s a good dog.” I almost scoff at myself, and Chase notices.
“What?” he asks, curiosity making one eyebrow rise just a touch higher than the other.
“Truth be told, he’s my best friend in the universe, and I’m not sure what I’d do without him.”
Chase considers me for a long moment and then looks to Benji, murmuring, “Maybe I’ll get him two steaks.”
“Great.” I laugh. “He’ll start to like you more, and before you know it, I’ll be the third wheel in the friendship. That never ends well.”
“I’m sure it would take more than a couple of steaks to buy Benji’s love.”
“I don’t know,” I singsong. “I tend to be pretty cheap with his red meat intake.”
“Ah, I’m sure you’re just worried about his cholesterol.”
“You’re painting me in a pretty good light, and I appreciate that, but I’ve also got some flaws, you know.”
Chase smiles a little too big for my liking—though my vagina seems quite thrilled with it—and I’m immediately on edge.
“What?” I ask. “What’s that look for?”
“Oh, nothing. You’ve just stumbled perfectly into my trap for talking about the book.”
“What book?” I ask.
“The book. The next big best seller by Brooke Baker. Accidental Attachment.”
Oh. The book.
Ha-ha-ha-ha. Wow. I almost forgot about the life-ruining publishing news that brought Chase Dawson to my door tonight in the first place. I can’t believe myself, just sitting here, pretending Chase is in love with me and we’re on a romantic date or something. What a fool.
“Brooke? Are you all right? Do you need a Coke or something?”
“Oh no, I’m fine.” Stupid, but fine. “So, you were saying something about the book?” I question to distract his attention away from my current state of mania, but instantly, I feel annoyed with myself. That book is the last thing I want to talk about.
Ironically, it’s probably the only thing he wants to talk about. It’s the whole damn reason we’re here.
Chase smiles, and I nearly die inside all over again. How in the world did I put myself in this position?
“Yes. The book,” he says like it’s a brilliant plan to talk about the book I thought was going to be my dirty little secret and stay locked away on my computer. “Now, don’t get annoyed, but the editor in me can’t wait to start into the nitty-gritty. The special stuff. The attention to detail that’s going to skyrocket this thing to the number one spot on every best-seller list in existence.”
“Wow,” I mutter and have to clear the discomfort out of my throat. “Those are some…big goals.”
Chase shakes his head vehemently. “No, they’re not. Not with this book. Not if we work together to make it the very best it can be.”
Inside, I choke. He’s got one thing right. The combination of Brooke Baker and Chase Dawson is incredibly vital to this storyline.
The storyline I want to act like doesn’t exist, but I have zero fallback plan. The man is fresh off fighting for Accidental Attachment to go to print, and the book I was supposed to turn in to Longstrand is in the kind of shape that would require a good trash compactor to handle it properly.
There’s no getting around this, Brooke. You’re going to have to talk about the book.
I swallow my pride and try to pretend that Clive and River are just some fictional people I made up. From here on out, they have nothing to do with me or Chase or the many fantasies I’ve had about the combination of the two.