Page 107 of The Nicest Thing
"You don't know that."
"I do, Finn.You know what they say.Liars never prosper."
"It was one tiny lie, Rose."
"Yeah"—I sighed—"and if it gets out, I'm finished.The backlash from the book community will be devastating."
He shrugged."Then we don't let it get out."
"I'm not sure I can keep lying…or if I even want to.You're involved, and that's not fair to you."
"Hey," Finn said, "I like being your book husband."
I smiled despite myself at his words."I like it too.But even without karma coming to bite me, who'd want my books when I'm surrounded by so many amazing romance writers?"
He shot me a stern look."Tons of people."
"What if no one comes to our table?What if we end up having to bring all these books back home?"
"That's impossible," he said."You had some preorders.Right?"
I did.
But not enough to fill the back of his SUV.
My eyes travelled to the stacks of boxes, and I winced.
"It'll be fine," Finn repeated.
"Yeah…I hope so," I said.
"I know it, Rose."
Lightning split the sky mere moments before a crack of thunder boomed.Was that a sign?Rain pelted the windshield with a vengeance.We were on a small backroad, having taken a detour because according to the GPS it was supposed to save 10 minutes.It was midday, but it was dark enough to be nighttime.
"Anyway, I meant this," I said, staring out of the windshield, squinting to see through the rain and failing."I can't believe this weather."
"It's not so bad," he said.
Two more bolts of lightning shot through the sky in quick succession, the thunder hot on its heels.We must've been right in the center of the storm.
I shot Finn a look, and he shrugged.
"Okay, so maybe it is.But we'll get there, slowly but surely."
"Slowly but surely," I repeated.
But the truth was I wasn't so sure.
The rain started when we were about an hour into the drive.It'd only gotten heavier, the drops running together, pouringdown in sheets like a waterfall.I'd never seen thunder and lightning like this, but the rain was the scariest part.It affected not only the roads but visibility.Honestly, if things kept going or got worse, I wasn't sure how much farther we could go.
"How can you see?" I asked Finn.
"No worries, Rose.Your book husband has perfect vision."
I grunted."You forget I've seen your reading glasses."
"Okay, 20/30, but the doc says that's even better."
