Page 40 of Slow Burn Summer

“Kate, it’s okay,” Charlie said. “If you’re not comfortable with it, you can absolutely say no.” He locked eyes with her and everything in his stance and tone told her he’d have her back on this. She didn’t need to do anything she didn’t want to do. Relief watered down her alarm to a manageable level, a cooling sprinkler so she didn’t need to get up and leave the room.

“But for the record,” he continued, “you absolutely could do this. Your natural ability to communicate is extraordinary, people will sit up and listen to whatever you have to say. There’s no better spokesperson for the book than you, and a spot like this is promotional gold dust. Everyone around this table knows you can do it. I have faith in you, and the author themself thinks you’re pretty damn special too.” He paused, choosing his next words carefully. “You’re better at this than you think you are, Kate.”

He held her gaze steadily, and she felt his words settle into her brain and make themselves at home. She could do it. She could sit her guardian angel backside on that famous red sofa and tell the world all aboutThe Power of Love.

“It’s tomorrow,” Prue said.

“Tomorrow?” Charlie and Kate said in startled unison.

“Not going to be a problem?” Rachel said, crossing her fingers in the air on both hands as she fired them her most winning smile.

Charlie looked only at Kate. “We can go grab a coffee downstairs and have a chat about it if you’d like?”

She appreciated his offer to escape for a breather, but she’d made her mind up.

“It’s okay,” she said, consciously forcing her shoulders down from her ears. “I’ll do it.”

The relief around the table was palpable; Rachel looked as if she could do with a double brandy.

Charlie’s intent gaze silently double-checked she was okay with it, and she nodded.

“I’ll make sure I get an early enough train this time.”

Rachel sat down. “No need. They want you on site by eight in the morning at the latest so they’ll send a car for you at six.”

Kate looked at Charlie. “What do you think?”

What she was really asking wasWill you come with me?,but she didn’t want to sound needy in front of the whole team.

“I think it’s a terrific opportunity, as long as you’re comfortable with it. You could always stay over in London tonight if you’d prefer, be on hand in the morning without worrying about the early start?”

He was right, of course. In a previous life, she’d have had to juggle childcare and organize meals in advance to have a night away, which was vanishingly rare. There was something liberating about being able to say yes without the need to consult anyone else.

“I need to go home first and throw all of my clothes around in a panic while I decide what to wear, but staying nearby definitely sounds less stressful,” she said, raising a knowing laugh around the table.

“At least you won’t have too long to panic about things,” Prue said, checking the time on her mobile. “In less than twenty-four hours, you’ll be on the sofa with Ruby and Niall.”

21

Spending a night alone ina hotel was a first for Kate, and she’d been impressed by the publisher’s upscale choice of venue. She’d hung her dress ready to go in the morning, and set her makeup out ready to apply even though they’d most likely do it again when she got to the studio.

Charlie had said he’d swing by for a drink in the bar, probably concerned she’d work herself up into a ball of anxiety if left to her own devices.

He was there already when she headed downstairs. She’d expected he would be. He’d told her at their first meeting that he’d be beside her every step of the way, and as long as he wasn’t on a different continent, he’d been a man of his word.

She spotted him sitting at a table with what looked like a Scotch in one hand, his head dipped to read paperwork. It was a quiet midweek night in the hotel, a sparse scattering of patrons, a table of women over on the far side. Straight from the office, Charlie had laid his jacket on the empty chair beside him, no tie, dark hair falling forward as he studied the papers. Were they something to do with the book, or did they concern someone else entirely? He always managed to make her feel as if she was his only focus; it was easy to forget he had a roster.

“Fancy seeing you here,” she said as she drew close.

“And now I feel underdressed,” he said, putting his paperwork away as he took in her short pink summer dress and heels.

“And I feel overdressed, so we’re even,” she said, smoothing her skirt over her thighs. The dress had seemed longer the last time she’d worn it; she was glad to at least have the benefit of some summer color.

“Pink looks good on you,” he said.

She’d think nothing of the compliment coming from Liv, but from Charlie it was enough to send a matching flush up her neck.

“Thank you,” she said, then waved a hand in the vague direction of his shirt. “And, umm, black suits you.”

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