Page 23 of Out of the Cold

Chapter Five

Gabe stood there, unsurewhat to do. She was looking at him with as much uncertainty as he felt. Should he sit with her? Did she want him to?

His hesitation lost him the last free table in the café. It was either sit with her or take his muffin and coffee to go.

“For heaven’s sake, Gabriel, sit down. I don’t bite.”

He pulled out the extra chair and sat opposite her. He hadn’t sat across from another person and made conversation in over a year. He searched for something to say before noticing the bag at her feet. “You found the bookstore.”

Her face lit up. “I did. That’s always one of the first places I go when I get to a new town. This one is great, and I met the owner, too.”

She looked down, smiling into her ?mug. A private smile, but he wanted to know what it was for.

“And?” he prompted.

“My young adult novel was published last year, and the owner wants me to read at the store sometime before Christmas. He said he loves my book. One of the booksellers said she recommends it all the time.”

Her smile was luminous, lighting her eyes and casting its warmth over him. She looked down into her mug again, as if to hide her pleasure.

He’d forgotten what happiness looked like. “That’s great. Congratulations.”

She met his eyes now, her pleasure banked but still there in the smile that played at the corners of her mouth. “Thank you. It meant a lot to me. I’ve been having trouble with my work ever since things fell apart with the man I was seeing. I’m hoping I can get back on track and make my deadline.”

“When is that?”

“March first. If I can stay focused, I should be okay.”

He still didn’t believe she’d make it through the winter, but he wasn’t going to say that right now.

“What’s your new book about?”

Her eyebrows flew up. “You really want to know?”

“I asked, didn’t I?”

“The series I’m writing is about three young women in the early nineteen hundreds from rural Illinois. In the one I’m writing now, one of them goes to Chicago to train to be a doctor.”

“Did medical schools accept women that early?”

“Not many, and not willingly. The struggles she has are a big part of the book.”

“That sounds great.”

“I was really excited about this story. But the problem with getting a contract is you have to actually write the book, and that part hasn’t been so fun.”

“Too much pressure?”

“Exactly. I had already written the first one when they offered me the first contract, so that was different. It didn’t matter that it had taken me three years. But I only have a year to write book two.”

“It’s always harder to work on something when there are expectations.”

“Exactly. But there’s nothing to do here but write, so I ought to be able to finish it. It’s getting easier.”

She picked up her mug to take another sip and found it empty.

He pushed back his chair and stood up. “I’ll get you another. What are you drinking?”

“Hot chocolate, but I shouldn’t.”

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