Page 46 of Austen Persuaded

Rainn shook his head with a lopsided smile. “Not falling for that. I’m notthatdrunk. But it’s cute that you tried.”

“I had to try.”

“And what about Kylan?”

My smile faltered, and my words slurred a bit. “W–w–what about him?”

“What are you going to do?”

I stared at Rainn. “I don’t know what you’re asking. What is there todo, other than hope we don’t run into each other again? I can’t guarantee that unless I … like, move to another country or become a hermit. It’s tempting, but a little extreme, even for me.”

He searched my face and stared for a long moment. “Annie, is that what you want? To just hope you never cross paths?”

“I—well—”

“Haven’t you even thought about trying to reach out?”

I swallowed with some difficulty, beginning to wish I had some water to drink instead of another shot. “I don’t … no, I haven’t.” I shook my head, feeling a bit queasy. “No, I haven’t considered that. What’s the point?”

“The point,” Rainn said, studying me far too closely, “is closure. This stuff with him has been tearing you up for years. It’s driving you crazy even now. Maybe talking to him would help bring you some peace, finally … I don’t know.” He chuckled. “I mean, I’m no expert, just an IT guy, and a drunk one at that, but closure is what you’re supposed to find in the rom-coms, right? Worth a shot.”

I shot him a dubious look. “I—I don’t know. I really think he’d just refuse to talk.”

“But would that really be worse than where you’re at now?” he asked.

“Oh, it could definitely be worse. If he did agree to talk, it wouldn’t be some magical healing conversation but just something to open old wounds and make me feel even worse. I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it. Let’s just … talk about something else.” I shook my bracelets on my wrist. “Tell me about the agency. What’s it called again?”

“Franchersantz Agency.”

“Fran–cha–what?”

“It’s a made-up name that combines all the founders’ names. Kind of cool but also kind of unfortunate, if you ask me. Franchersantz.” Rainn smiled. “It’s a cool place to work though. I like it so far. You know, I’ve actually been meaning to ask if you’ve thought about agency work. You’re interested in book publishing, and obviously literary agencies are a key part of that. I don’t know all the ins and outs of what positions and duties there are, since I’m just an IT guy, but I could find out if there’s anything that might interest you. Or you could go on the Franchersantz website under the Careers page. No, scratch that. Let me find out for you—I’ve got a good friend in HR, the one who referred me to the place. Remember Robin Johnson? You met him a few months back. Anyway, maybe withmy connections, I can get you an interview faster or something.” He scratched his head. “Sorry, that was a ramble and a half. Don’t mean to be pushy.”

My jaw was nearly on the table. “No, I … can’t believe I never thought of that. You work in a freaking literary agency. This could be an amazing connection for me,Rainn! Yes, please do whatever you need to do to hook me up with something there, however menial. I’ll do third-shift toilet cleaning if I have to.”

“Anything for you, my sweet,” he said. “Ugh, why couldn’twebe soulmates? Not even a tiny spark. Stupid fate.” Then his eyes widened in alarm. “And don’t you ever tell Rafael I got drunk enough to think about a ‘soulmate,’ much less utter the word. I’d never live it down.”

I stood up and started bobbing my head as I tried to pull him off his stool. “Come on, Rainn. I think this calls for some of our hot BFF moves.”

“Can we even stand up straight enough for this?” he asked doubtfully as we clasped hands.

I bent back and spun around, and I smiled. “We don’t have to stand up straight—that’s the great thing about dancing.”

Chapter 13

My fingers shook a bit as I unlocked my phone, cursing my poor choice to wear a casual, thin-cotton yellow dress today. Today was a bit colder than I’d expected, but April in Minnesota was notoriously unpredictable. By the time I’d realized how cold it was, I was already on my way to Target and didn’t feel like returning home to change. Charlie was fairly well adjusted at this point, but leaving him was still tough—I’d rather not do it again so soon.

Scanning the notes app on my phone, I opened the shopping list. I needed supplies as part of my book club project, specifically the publicity part. I’d decided against asking Hakeem for a budget for such things, wanting to show him I could do a lot with a little. I scanned the crafting aisle, a bit bewildered. Maybe I should start in the paper aisle instead? Where was the posterboard anyway? Why didn’t I think to go to an office supply store? I palmed my forehead in regret.

Be reasonable.

I could pick up a few things here and then head over to the office supply store later. Maybe I could rope Rainn into coming along; surely he had some experience with this sort of thing. With that inmind, I started browsing and grabbing a few things that caught my interest. Before long, I realized this was kind of fun.

“… Besides, he hashernow. Oh—oh no, Jane, I’ll have to call you back.”

I knew that voice.

I took a deep, calming breath and walked toward the voice. “Viv!”

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