Page 26 of Bending The Rules

With those words, Bri dashed off, and Cat waved before she followed her. I let out a sigh as I looked away, right in time for a flood of readers to come up to the table with books in hand.

I spent the next twenty minutes signing books and taking pictures, nonstop, and was glad for the chance to breathe when it came. I left the table, and was heading for the sanctuary of the dressing room in the back when the music turned down, and I heard Toni’s voice over the mic.

“Where is the man of the hour?” she called, and I sighed a little before I turned to head back to the center of the store. I found her and her parents waiting for me there, all smiling as readers gathered, leaving a circle in the middle for us to stand.

“Here he is,” she said, when she saw me. “Come on down, Mr. Wright.”

I smiled at her, waving to everyone as a round of applause started, and the cameras that had been following me all started to go off at once. Toni’s fiancé hung back at the edge of the crowd.

“Now, for those of you who don’t know,” she started, looping her arm through mine, setting off the type of sensation I could have sworn was some shit I put in books just to spice up the interaction, “Part of the reason we are so excited to have Justin Wright with us today is because he is one of our own. Almost ten years ago, he sat in this very store and signed copies ofSkipped Beats– his very first book.” She paused, to smile at me – a pretty ass smile that hit me right in the chest – then turned outward, to the crowd. “Think about your favorite… whatever, who started out small, and it felt like you were their only fan, and you loved them fiercely. Protectively. And then they got bigger, and now everybody loves them, but quietly – or maybe not so much – you like to say to yourself…” She turned to me again, batting her eyelashes as she leaned in and looked me right in the eyes. “I hit it first.”

I threw my head back and laughed at that, and so did everybody else. Toni waited for it to die down before she continued. “But at the same time, you’re happy for them. Happy that they got bigger, that they got better… thrilled, on their behalf, that they havearrived.” She looked at me, and nodded, with a distinct glossiness in her eyes. “Ten years later, Mr. Wright. Ten years, eight books, and here you are. Known to your brothers as “Mr. Bestseller”. Known to some readers as “That damn Justin Wright. What is he going to do next?”” She said, setting off another round of laughter.

She unhooked her arm from mine, grabbing my hand instead. “And known to Tones & Tomes asfamily. It is ourhonornot just to host you on tonight… but also to celebrate you. Welcome home,” she finished, squeezing my hand.

“Wow,” I said, more for her ears than anyone else’s. “Thank you.”

I let go of her hand and pulled her into a hug, which she warmly returned. I forced myself to let her go sooner than I wanted to, and moved to hug Marjorie and Greg.

“Okay y’all, let’s buy some books!” she said into the mic, and I was swarmed with people wanting pictures. By the time I worked my way through the crowd, she wasn’t anywhere near me anymore, and I went back to the table to sign more books.

Every once in a while, I spotted her in the crowd, talking and interacting with people. Every time I saw her, ol’ boy was hanging near, like he was trying not to let her get too far away.

And I mean… who could blame him?

I got up to take another few minutes to walk around, and noticed them away from the group, at the end of one of the shelves. Toni had her arms crossed, and he looked like he was trying hard to explain something that Toni… wasn’t trying to hear.

Reese tapped me on the shoulder, drawing my attention away to hold up a book. “Mr. Wright, I amsucha huge fan! Can you sign this for me?”

“Anything for the girl who goes toe to toe with my baby brother,” I told her, putting an arm around her shoulder to lead her back to the table. After I had signed hers, I did a few more, and then I really did need that break.

I snuck off down the hall to the dressing room and slipped inside, closing the door behind me. I felt eyes on me, and looked up to find a surprised-looking Toni standing on the other side of the room.

“Hey,” she said, immediately moving toward the door. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be all in your space. I’ll step out.”

“No, you’re good,” I said, catching her hand. With her right in front of me, I could see that her eyes were still glossy, and a little red, like she’d been crying. “Or… are you?”

“I’m fine,” she said, but the way her voice cracked told a different story. She shook her head, slipping her hand away from mine so she could turn in the other direction.

“Whoa, wait a minute now.” I stepped around her, tipping her chin up. “What’s wrong?”

She met my eyes for several seconds before she shook her head again. “Russell. I… wasn’t expecting him to be here, and… he is. And it’s messing with my head.”

“Why is it messing with your head for your fiancé to show up to an event you’re hosting?”

She scoffed. “Because he and I aren’t… we aren’t…”

“You’re not… on the best terms right now?” I asked, since it seemed like she was having trouble finishing.

“That’s one way to put it.”

I chuckled. “You want to talk about the other ways you might put it?”

“No,” she shook her head. “I absolutely donot.”

I dropped my hands to my sides, slipping them into my pockets before I shrugged. “Okay. You want to talk about that speech then?”

“What speech?”

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