Page 129 of His Secret Gift

That is very sweet, but I also feel guilty for just making him lay there.

“What did you do to fill the time?”

“Well, I just enjoyed the quiet for a little bit. But then I started worrying about my meeting with Yannis tomorrow, so I started going through my talking points.”

“Which are?” I’m genuinely curious.

He joins me sitting up but raises his legs and puts his elbows on his knees. There’s some sand on his back, and I wipe it off.

“Lot of marketing strategies, projected sales increases, stuff like that.”

I lean over and kiss his shoulder, which I didn’t notice before had little freckles all over it. “Well, he’s an idiot if he doesn’t choose you.”

He sighs. “I mean, I agree. But he’ll also bring a lot to the table if he joins our team.”

“You mean, money?”

Jack chuckles. “Lots and lots of money.”

“Lots of money is good.”

“It is. And so is reputation. He’s very respected in the literary world.”

“I know.” I mean, I’m a fan myself.

“It’ll look really good for other prospective writers to see someone like him, who has otherwise been a bit of a recluse, trust a big publishing house like us.” He’s facing the water, and the waves are dancing in his dark eyes.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll knock his socks off.”

He laughs again. “Yannis Drakos is not the kind of person whose socks you can knock off, I’m afraid.”

“Fine. You’ll do whatever the equivalent of that is to a Howard Hughes fella like him.”

“Maybe I’ll get him to bust a jar of piss.”

I playfully smack his chest. “That’s disgusting!”

He raises his hands in the air. “Well, I’m sorry. You brought him up.”

True, true.

The sun is starting to set, so as much as I don’t want to, I suggest we should maybe think about getting back to the hotel. His big meeting is tomorrow, after all.

He groans but agrees. Then, he gets to his feet before helping me to mine.

“Hey.” He holds me back for a second.

“Yeah?”

He pulls me in for another kiss.

“What was that for?”

“To say thank you for an amazing date.”

I look down and smile.It was perfect.

Chapter 40

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