Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 73021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Arden slid inside first, sitting all the way toward the center, where the two sofas connected. I followed him, but didn’t sit too close, like we normally did. I could read his body language, and he wasn’t inviting me to.
“I’ll bring the rest of your party as soon as they arrive,” the hostess informed us. “Jaquel will be your server tonight and should be with you shortly.”
Arden nodded his head, and the hostess smiled, then left us.
“Nice,” he said as he surveyed the area around us. “Impressive, don’t you think?”
“Yes. It’s lovely,” I agreed.
“It’s important that she’s impressed. She works in the White House. Her family is a wealthy one from Mississippi. She has connections.”
Mississippi? Why hadn’t I known that already? Because I hadn’t asked much about her. I wanted to ask what part of Mississippi, but I didn’t. Arden didn’t know I had grown up in Mississippi. I’d not ever told anyone that, other than Jellie. There was zero chance that I’d know this woman or she’d know me. He’d said wealthy family, and I hadn’t known anyone from one of those. Well, except for Ransom.
Anyway, what kind of connections did Arden hope to get from her? He was an editor. Did it truly matter that she had wealthy, powerful connections? I had none of that, yet readers didn’t care. My books had sold regardless. Wasn’t that all that mattered? I didn’t ask him all this, but nodded.
These were things he’d told me more than once. I wasn’t sure why he felt he had to keep telling me about her. He’d yet to mention her name, saying she was using a pen name and hadn’t decided on it. Because of her position within the government, she couldn’t let her real name get attached to the book. Apparently, he didn’t feel that he could trust me with that information either. Which stung. But then I had my secret, too, so I had let it go. His not telling me her name was giving me justification for continuing to text with Ransom and not telling him about that relationship.
I glanced at him just as his face lit up, and a smile that had won me over years ago spread across it as he stood up. Turning to see the elusive new author he was so intent on impressing, I barely glanced at the platinum-blonde beauty when my entire body tensed up at the man standing just to her left.
Ransom Carver. The grown version. The one I’d seen on the Instagram posts his distillery often shared with him in it. Yes, I stalked it like a weirdo so I could see what he looked like. But the in-life version was more of a jolt than the pictures had been.
Holy hell, was it fair that the man had gotten more heart-stoppingly gorgeous with age? There was a whooshing sound in my ears as I sat there, unable to look away. His eyes locked on mine, and I wasn’t sure if this was a nightmare or a fantasy. But it had to be a dream. I’d fallen asleep at some point. That had to be it. This could not be happening.
“Juliette.” I heard Arden saying my pen name, but it felt distant. Then his hand touched my arm, and I snapped out of my frozen state and turned to look at him.
He gave me a tight smile with a warning in his gaze. “Juliette, I’d like you to meet Opal.” He said her name, then hesitated as he glanced back at her.
“It’s fine,” she assured him in a lovely voice that I instantly hated. Why? That wasn’t fair. But the envy that was stirring in my chest couldn’t be helped. She was like all the others. Stunning. Beautiful.
Wait … had he said Opal? My gaze swung to her, and I studied her closer. Ransom’s sister’s name was Opal. He’d said she lived in Washington, DC.
Holy shit.
I stood then and extended my hand, hoping the sheer relief wasn’t all over my face as I smiled at her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Arden has told me wonderful things about your manuscript. I look forward to reading it when he gives me the chance.”
Not looking at Ransom was like fighting against a magnetic force. My eyes wanted to soak him in. Ten years was a very long time to go without seeing someone you spoke to almost daily. I was doing my best to manage it.
“Yes, you too.” Opal’s tight smile didn’t meet her eyes as she quickly shook my hand, letting go of me as if my touch had scalded her, before sliding into the booth until she was as close to Arden as I normally sat.
The way she smiled genuinely at him wasn’t lost on me. But I didn’t care. At least not right now. There were bigger things to worry about. Or should I? Maybe I should just say something like, It’s been a long time, Ransom. No. That would be awkward.