Page 53 of Austen Persuaded

Could I bear it? No? But I had to.

Ihadto. This book club was important to me. It was part of my new life, the one I was crafting for myself. I could be polite, professional, even friendly.

Sai stiffened beside me as a different voice began to speak. It was the boy, introducing himself as Zachary, a college freshman intent on majoring in literature and women’s studies. I snuck a glance at Sai as he spoke. She was staring open-mouthed. So the grumpy teen girl had a crush on a bookish college boy.A tale as old as time.My mouth twitched as I imagined how cute they would be together, how satisfying it would be to nudge them together through the book club.

My smile wavered as a deep voice jolted me, reaching deep inside me, filling me with an awareness that was both terrifying and exhilarating. I tried to steady my breathing as he began to speak. “Hi, I’m Kylan Quinn. I work with a big literary agency in New York, but I’m in Minneapolis on a rather extended visit.”

“Youwork withthe agency? Aren’t you its head?” said a pretty brunette raising her eyebrows a few seats to his left. “I’ve heard of you. You’re a big name in New York City!”

Kylan ran a hand through his sun-streaked hair and chuckled. “I don’t like to toot my own horn, but I do lead the agency, yes. I wouldn’t call myself a big name though.”

“And he’s modest too,” said a blonde woman next to the brunette, nudging her friend. His gorgeous full lips formed an easy smile that the women lapped up.

I began to seethe inside.

Was he going to steal the whole damn show?

I wasabout to prompt the next participant to introduce herself when another woman spoke, this time on the other side of the circle. “What do you like to read, Mr. Quinn?”

“Oh, call me Kylan. I read a little bit of everything, really,” he said thoughtfully as he absently stroked his angular jaw, which was stubbly as usual. “And yes, my career will tell you I’m obviously invested in traditional publishing, but I read indie published books too. If I had to choose, hmm, let me think on that a moment …”

I dared myself to glance at him just briefly, just to acknowledge that he was speaking and then I could go on ignoring him. A jolt of shock passed through me as I found his eyes intently focused on me, and I couldn’t move.

He has to stop doing this to me.

He has to stop.

I need to find a way to make him leave.

“I like literary fiction,” Kylan continued, “but lately I’ve been on a fantasy streak. Really, I will read or represent almost any genre. Well, except romance. Can’t stomach it.”

There were audible gasps in the room, and I hoped mine hadn’t been one of them. He was still looking at me, as if daring me to look away. Or maybe to keep looking.

He hates the entire romance genre because of me? Is that what he’s saying?

Or am I making a giant leap? Flattering myself, really. I probably didn’t mean enough to him to have such an effect …

Finally, he broke contact and flashed a casual smile to the others in the circle. “Don’t get me wrong. Romance is an amazing genre. I love selling it, I love that people enjoy it, and as a businessman, I obviously love how much money it makes.” Laughs erupted around the circle. “It’s just not for me.”

I noted some disappointed looks from some of the younger women but not from the brunette, who looked ... determined? How odd. Well, maybe she was into that sort of difficult man.

She can have him then.

Itried to ignore the lead ball feeling in my abdomen.

When the introductions were finally over, I announced a 10-minute break. “Go get some water, have a cookie, or whatever. I’ll see you back at 8:00, and then we’ll spend the last half hour discussing our future book selections. The cookies are nut-free, by the way.”

Most people rose from their seats and wandered off. A few people stayed in their seats to chat or look at their phones. Carlina immediately started chatting up the woman next to her. Before I had a chance to worry about what Kylan would do and where I would hide, I was surrounded by a group of three mid-30s-ish women who wanted to know where I taught ballet. Two of them were looking to enroll their children in ballet and looking for recommendations.

Before I knew it, the break was over, and I called for everyone’s attention to sit down again. I had no idea where Kylan had spent the break time, but when I stood up to speak, he was already in his seat, his long legs stretched out in front of him as he chatted with the boy next to him.

Who cares where he was during the break? Why am I even thinking about this? I’m not his keeper.

He’s nothing to me now.

And I’m obviously nothing to him.

After recapturing everyone’s attention, I described the plan to focus on a certain genre or theme each quarter and choose a handful of books per quarter matching that theme. No one had any objections, so I went on. “So now we just need to choose a theme. We can go broad, or we can be really specific.” Nods all around, and people looked thoughtful.

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