Page 151 of The Nicest Thing
I shook my head."You didn't know it was coming.Neither did I until a few hours ago.Plus, Emmy, you had things to do.Hockey things."
"Rose," she groaned as the others perked up.
"Sorry," I said, speaking over the rapid-fire questions currently being flung at her from all the members of the book club minus Finn."I needed a break from the attention.Love you, Em."
"Yeah, yeah," Emmy mumbled."Love you too."
"Signing off now."
"We hope you and Finn enjoyed our present," Honor said, throwing me a wink, and I laughed.
"We did, thanks," I said.
Emmy frowned."What present?Why wasn't I consulted?"
"Trust me," June said, "you wouldn't have wanted to be.Not this time."
"But I give the best gifts!" was the last thing I heard Emmy say as I ended the call.
After posting that video, I may have been a pariah, but I was filled with love and thankfulness for my friends.Even if the world hated me, I knew they'd always have my back.My girls, my family, and Finn were my real ride or dies.Having friends like that was a powerful thing.And though everything may have changed irrevocably, even if I never sold another book in my life, I knew in my heart I'd be okay.
"Excuse me, can you sign this for me, please?"
I looked up in surprise, meeting the eyes of a girl who looked young, like she must still be in high school or maybe just graduated.Her mahogany hair was up in two cute little buns on her head.Her t-shirt read "Chariot Public Library," and she had a stack of books under one arm.The thing that really stood out, though, was her smile.I wasn't sure I'd seen a brighter, sunnier one.And it was directed right at me.
"Sorry, I spaced for a second."
"That's okay."Her smile grew."I do that all the time."
She held out her book—which was actually one of my books from the table.
"Could you possibly sign two?I'd love to have one for me and one for the library."
"Of course," I said, signing them both in record time."I'm not sure how many people will want to read these after today, but thank you so much for stopping by."
Her cheeks glowed with pleasure."Oh no, I'm sure they will, and thank you.I'm always recommending your books.I love them."
"Really?" I said."That's amazing!Do you have a favorite?"
"I love them all," she said, "butA Love So Twistedis probably my #1."
"That's mine too—well, one of them."
She laughed then shifted from one foot to the other.
"I've taken up enough of your time.I better go."
"What's your name?" I asked.
"Charlotte Kent," she said with a blush, "or Lottie or Lotte.You can take your pick."
"So many good names."
A tall shadow suddenly fell over her, and I looked up…and up into a pair of dark brown eyes.The guy was strong yet pretty, built like a soccer player with the face of a K-pop star. But I was sure no one would ever say that to him.The deep scowl he wore was a little scary, yet the girl didn't seem intimidated in the least.The way he placed a hand on her waist told me they were together.How she melted against his chest let me know she liked his touch.The sheer amount of romance books he carried in the other hand told me one or both of them loved the genre.
"You ready, Kent?" he said gruffly.
"Almost," she said.
