Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 97073 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97073 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
“I don’t think you really have to go,” Nate protests. “Can’t you explain you’re on the phone with me? Surely they’ll understand.”
“You’re not my author anymore,” I say, trying to be admonishing. “You haven’t been for two months. So no, I can’t pull that excuse.”
“Has it already been two months?”
“You know it has,” I say drolly.
Over two months, actually. 67 days of him writing from sun up to sun down in an effort to churn out 3,000 words a day. He only takes breaks to chop wood or go into town for groceries and our phone calls. I mailed him a care package a few weeks ago, filled to the brim with nothing but chocolate bars to get him through a particularly rough few days of writing.
“I’m almost done, Summer,” he tells me now.
A trickle of excitement sweeps through me.
“And then…”
“And then…” he repeats like it’s a line from a love poem.
Our motto has stuck because of all the possibilities it brings. Nate and I know what we want for our future. We’ve discussed it like two lovesick teenagers planning to run away together, except instead of stealing off to Vegas with the last hundred dollars we have left to our names, we want to organize the cottage’s guest bedroom and turn it into an office we can share. We want to plant a garden in late spring and help Alice with the summer crowd. We want to explore more of Kendal and the surrounding towns, and most of all, we want to tumble into his bed and stay there for days. It makes me laugh to think back to Nate putting that on our fictitious to-do list.
“Tell me you didn’t write that down.” I grinned.
“Yes, it says here, ‘Seduce Summer.’”
I still haven’t managed to hang up with Nate as I round the corner toward my cubicle and come to a screeching halt when I see a thick manuscript sitting on my desk. Really? Ugh. I already have three books I’m working on. Joy is usually so good about giving me a heads-up before she—
The thought dies a swift death once I see the title printed on the first page.
A Cosmic Penance – First Draft
My free hand reaches up to cover my mouth as I gasp. It can’t be. Last we talked about it, Nate said he was still a week from being done. He confirmed it on the phone just yesterday.
“What’s wrong?” Nate asks, sounding worried.
“Nate…”
A laugh bubbles out of me as I round my desk and set down my work bag and coffee beside my computer. I reread the title again, dragging my pointer finger over the ink. I swear it’s still warm.
“What—what is this on my desk? Did you do this? Did you send this manuscript?”
“It’s the first copy. No one else has read it.”
Nate’s voice comes through my AirPods, but I also hear him here. My hand flies to my chest as I turn around to find Nate leaning against the doorway of my short cubicle, holding his phone up to his ear.
Nate, clean-shaven and handsome in a navy sweater, jeans, and boots. Nate, confident and relaxed, smiling like he’s been keeping the world’s biggest secret. He ends the call and pockets his phone with a twinkle in his eyes.
I take out my AirPods and toss them onto my desk. Already, my hands are shaking. My voice wobbles. “You said you wouldn’t be here until next week. You said you still needed time to finish and then—then you were going to come and get me.”
He can barely keep the amusement off his face. “I finished early and I couldn’t wait.”
Dazed and in love, I walk to him until he’s within reach. I press my hand flat against his chest and feel his beating heart. It thunders like a band of wild horses as I peer up at him, completely bewildered.
“I just…” I’m still in disbelief that he’s standing in front of me even while I have ahold of him. “How are you here right now? How can you be here?”
Tears gather in the corners of my eyes as his presence overwhelms me. His scent, his smile, his expression meeting mine with a gentle apology.
He brushes his knuckles tenderly across my cheek as he studies my movements, concern tugging his brows together. “It was hard to lie to you, but I wanted it to be a surprise. I wanted to show up here like you showed up in England.” His gaze lands on mine. “Upending everything.”
I laugh. “You say it like it’s a bad thing…”
“A bad thing?” He frowns and bends until our mouths almost press together. Instinctively, my chin rises as every nerve ending comes alive. We haven’t kissed in so long, and I’m so desperate to taste him again. “No, Summer. You were the absolute best thing.”