Page 119 of Reckless

“Did you get here okay?” I ask, changing the subject.

“Yep, checked in yesterday. I've been so manic, but I’ve got a handle on it.”

“I’d be lost without you. Let’s get in there. I’m exhausted.”

She looks at me funny. How am I going to tell her I barely got any sleep last night? I lay awake for ages, watching Jude sleep. It’s going to be hard keeping this from Emily now that I’m with her in person.

“I have a lot to tell you.” I push the photograph of Jude into my purse. “Let's go get a cup of coffee.”

“I’m intrigued,” she clutches her notepad. “But be warned, there is still a lot to do.”

“Don’t remind me.”

We head inside the hotel and find a seat in the dining area, where I fill her in on everything I’ve gone through over the last four and a half weeks.

“You know, I always tell everyone how amazing you are and how I look up to you, and now I just want to be you.”

“Stop it.”

“I’m serious. Jude Smallwood? I mean… Part of me doesn’t know whether to believe you.”

She picks up her mug and goes to take a drink, but it’s empty. She frowns at it. This girl is addicted to coffee.

“But… Shit. It’s serious, like you’re dating?”

It seems weird to say it that way, but yeah, I guess we are. He tried again this morning to convince me to fly home after the convention. I still didn’t say yes, but the look I gave him was definitely not a no.

“Oh my god, you look smitten.”

“How does smitten look?” I laugh.

“Like this,” she points her finger towards me and waves it around at my face. “Usually, you’re stressed at things like this. You hate pre-signing books, even though you love seeing the look on your fans' faces when they get them. And you’ve been traveling for over two months in a van, but you look like you just got off a Caribbean cruise. You’re happy. You go all dreamy eyed when you say his name.”

“I do not. Stop it,” I laugh. “Anyway, we’re keeping it quiet for now.”

Emily makes a key locking gesture over her lips. “Can I get his autograph?” She leans in and whispers.

I think of the picture in my bag, but I'm not giving her that. He’s wearing the cowboy hat and is shirtless in that picture. That is mine. No one else can see it. Especially since the note with his signature is semi-pornographic.

“I’ll see what I can do,” I grin instead.

“Let’s go get you checked in. I have a ton of stuff to do while you’re locked away with all those books!”

“Great, yeah. Lead the way.”

We get up and head out to the main lobby of the hotel. It’s nothing like the one I spent a week in with Jude, but I told myself I wouldn’t compare anything to last week. Nothing can compare to it. He had me on practically every surface in that suite. We may have had a lot of sex, but we had a lot of laughs too and we talked so much about anything and everything. There was never a moment when I didn’t feel content in his presence.

Who knew Jude Smallwood, rock legend and sex symbol, could be as sweet as he is? Taking care of me and expressing his feelings at every given opportunity.

No matter what happens from here on out, I’ll never forget this trip.

The hotel lobby is busy. There are a lot of people checking in for the convention, including a lot of authors I’ve been excited to catch up with. It doesn’t start until tomorrow, but the most organized of attending authors always arrive the night before.

“Hey, is that Brianna?” Emily says from beside me.

She is already checked in and was busy on her phone while I signed the paperwork and handed over my credit card.

I turn to where she is pointing and spot my friend. She’s chatting and smiling with a woman. Brianna spots us and waves.

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