Page 75 of Mark my Words

“No, thank you for considering me for these positions. I’ll try my hardest to demonstrate my willingness to learn in the next few months.”

“I’m sure you will,” she said with a smile. “I’m looking forward to seeing what you do with the manuscript samples in the next few weeks.”

As much as it pained me to do it, I wasn’t throwing away the possibility of a promotion because of some family bullshit. Mason didn’t deserve that kind of power over me anymore, and I would start living on my terms. Starting with figuring out how to keep my hands off Sam long enough to get through this tour. Then I needed to decide if what we’d started months ago could survive the outcome, whatever it may be.

SAM

BOSTON

I was mistaken if I’d thought our lives were complicated while navigating co-editing our last two projects with Evan and Chase.

Being dragged into Public Relations training was akin to torture. I’d honestly rather wax my chest hair than sit through more training modules with Diana. It wasn’t that she was horrible to work with, quite the opposite, but it was so damn boring. It also didn’t help that Chase and Evan barely attempted to keep their hands off each other. They were constantly touching and staring at each other, sneaking off for long lunches and coming back looking rumpled. It’d been a long week leading up to the book launch, and no end was in sight.

Kristine had been as snarky as usual but still pushed me away at every opportunity. Whatever fragile friendship we’d had before we started sleeping with each other had stagnated. I wasn’t any closer to getting her to let me in emotionally, even without the physical side that I missed desperately.

I knew I could easily go out and get laid if I was that desperate; Blake was always up for having someone to bar-hop with, but it had lost its appeal entirely. The easy, no strings attached lifestyle I’d lived for six years held no draw. I wanted the inside jokes and the person who teased me relentlessly. I wanted more than the warm body in my bed for a few hours. I wanted a companion. As much as I hated that I did sometimes, I wanted Kristine.

“Only a few more hours,” Kristine murmured as she shoved the itinerary folders Diana had given us into her bag. “Then the real torture begins.”

“I’m looking forward to the next few months,” I confessed. While I knew she liked an editor’s behind-the-scenes work, I was anxious to expand my skill set. It also didn’t hurt that we had a few days to explore each city. We’d traveled as much as having five kids allowed when I was younger, but it was different as an adult. During university, I was always training during school breaks or trying to make up the work I missed when the team traveled. I had no wild Spring Break vacations or trips to foreign countries during the summer.

Kristine may have taken her resources as a child for granted, but I wanted to travel a bit while I was still young and unattached. I also had a tough time believing she’d ever seen the places she visited with her family as a real tourist. There was something fun about doing the cliché tourist destinations and walking around a new city without a tour guide. There was only so much you could explore from your ivory tower.

“Of course you are,” she sarcastically replied, rolling her eyes. “I bet you think living out of a suitcase is fun.”

“Well...” I mused. I didn’t need much, and most hotels had laundry service. I could make do for a few weeks with only what I could fit in a suitcase.

“Ugh, just kill me already. I’m going to get tired of the taste of vomit in my mouth with how those two are all over each other.” She tilted her head toward Chase and Evan, clearly in their own little world.

“You’re such a romantic,” I teased, laughing at the full-body shudder and groan of disgust that she responded with.

“Don’t accuse me of something so horrible, Sam.”

“Did you actually call me by my real name? Gasp. Are you losing your touch?”

“Shut it, Spamela.” She glared and huffed as she headed toward the door at the back of the conference room.

“There she is,” I smirked, following her into the hallway. “I knew it wouldn’t last long.”

“You’re leaving yourself wide open for insults with that one, Sammy.”

Stepping closely behind her at the closed elevator door, I brushed her hair aside and whispered in her ear. “We both know my stamina is more than you can handle.” Her mouth dropped open as I stepped back, heading toward the door to the stairwell. “Don’t be late tonight.”

The door closed behind me with a thud, muffling her caustic retort, but nothing she could say today would spoil my excitement. Now that the boring stuff was over, we could finally get this show on the road.

“Where’s your shadow?” I asked Isobel as I joined her at the table next to the entry of the ballroom. I arrived at the hotel half an hour earlier than Adrian had told me to report, my luggage already stowed in our shared room for the night. Kristine would lose her shit when she discovered he’d booked us a shared two-bedroom suite for the first night. We were guaranteed private rooms for the rest of the book tour, but I didn’t mind sharing for one night.

I’d claimed the smaller bedroom, moving the chocolates from my pillow to Kristine’s. A little peace offering for poking fun at her this afternoon.

“Adrian is coordinating the schedule with the event planner.” She continued verifying the name tags on the table with the sheet on her clipboard, straightening the rows on the table outside the ornate wooden doors.

“Not the shadow I was talking about, but good to know.”

She tried not to look flustered as she looked up from her work, but I could see the tension around her mouth. Isobel hadn’t meant to confirm something the entire office already assumed. She and my boss weren’t exactly subtle.

“Kristine is with Diana in the conference room down the hallway from the main desk. They’re sorting the PR packets and double-checking the advance print copies we’re handing out tonight.”

“Where do you need me?” I knew Is was running the show tonight, having dealt with all of Chase’s book launches. Adrian may have boasted that Evan had more bestsellers, but he hadn’t had more than a virtual launch for as long as I worked at Vivid.

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