Page 49 of Change of Heart

“Go on, but be careful. Violet makes them strong. Get something to eat, too.”

I filled a plate of fancy snacks at the buffet table Violet had set up, grabbed another martini from the tray, then moseyed back to my perch on the sofa.

Stacks of my books were piled on the coffee table and a few other tables around the shop, ready for me to sign when the question-and-answer part was over.

I needed to get into character. I should have worn a suit; Keli Marlowe didn’t bother with little black dresses. She was all about power suits and intimidating glam, with dark red lipstick and black framed glasses, just like Dahlia’s. Like a fool, I had dressed like myself tonight and my nerves were about to send me running off into the night.

I inhaled a deep breath and cleared my mind—which was pretty easy to accomplish, since I was halfway back in my happy place trying to ignore reality.

Violet stood and held up her drink. “Let’s raise our glasses and toast to the author of our favorite murder mystery series,TheAdaline Paige Files,Miss Keli Marlowe, otherwise known as our own Charlotte Cassidy! We’re so glad you’re here, Charli, I mean, Miss Marlowe.” She winked and beamed her gorgeous smile at me and I was grateful because her support and love was doing a lot to keep me sane right now. “Thank you for coming.”

“I wouldn’t miss it. I’m so happy you invited me to be here. And, in Sweetbriar I’m just Charli, like always. Let’s keep it simple.”

“Perfect! Let’s jump right in and start with some questions.”

“Oh, oh! Me! Me! Me!! I have one. I have been waiting for this.” Gwen’s sister, Elizabeth from the Quickbriar Stop and Go, shouted, and waved her copy ofBeg for Itover her head. Crap, that was my dirtiest book. I ducked my chin into my chest and sank down in the sofa.

“Okay, Elizabeth, you’re first!” Violet laughed as she gave her the floor.

Cade strode through the door exactly as Elizabeth stood up to ask her question. I waved him over and he smiled.

“Charli, I have to know. How do you get your ideas for all those spicy love scenes? And I want you to sign page sixty-nine of my book. Did you plan for that scene to go on that exact page, by the way? Like how?” I shot a glance to Gwen as Elizabeth pursed her lips and turned away from Gwen’s angry glare.

“Your fricking sister is going in a book!” I hissed at a horrified Gwen. “Next time I’m in her store I swear I’m stealing some stuff.”

Gwen shook her head. “I can’t believe that girl sometimes. No shame, that one. I’ll talk to her.”

“Dude, it’s too late now. The dirty cat is out of the bag. Is my face red?” Gwen nodded.

“Don’t be embarrassed because I’m here, Charlotte.” My father shouted. “Your momma didn’t get you and your brothers in her belly through immaculate conception. Go on and answer the question.” Everyone laughed. Meanwhile, I felt like at least a year had been taken off my life because I had just metaphorically died of humiliation.

“Holy fricking hell,” I mumbled under my breath as I mentally forced myself back into my happy denial bubble and tried to come up with a plausible answer. “Uhhh...” Literally every dirty thing I had ever written about I had done with Cade, even the butt stuff. “Porn.” My shoulders shrugged up and I nodded. Was that a better answer than the truth? Probably not, but I doubled down anyway. “Yeah, I just—I watched a lot of porn for inspiration.”

“Moving right along!” Violet helpfully interjected. “Tell us about the new hot cop you debuted inReady for It, Officer Jaden Skeritt. Is he going to be Adaline’s new love interest?” Her eyes darted to Cade as he sat down next to me on the sofa, and a nervous laugh burst out of her. “Oh shit.” She hiccupped and sipped her martini. “I just got that.”

Gwen handed me her drink. “Chug it. I’ll go get you another one. No one should be sober for this.”

“You always have my back and I fricking love you for it,” I said as she headed for the bar set up next to the shop’s counter.

Cade looked at me with the absolute definition of “shit eating grin” unfurling across his face. He was loving this. His eyebrows shot up and his hand went to my thigh as he waited for me to answer.

“Uh, I’m a little behind on my manuscript. And as a writer who never outlines, I just don’t know yet. So, um, we’ll all have to wait and see.” My author skills didn’t include stuff like this. I could write the crap out of a fight scene and my characters could bang to everyone’s satisfaction for a chapter or two, but this? This was insanity. Why wasn’t there a handbook for how authors should behave in front of their readers? Someone should write one.

“What are Jaden’s odds?” Cade murmured under his breath. That big hand on my thigh squeezed possessively and I gulped.

Startled, I gazed into his amused brown eyes and answered without thinking. “I’d say the odds are in Jaden’s favor.”

His lips tipped up at the corner and he winked. “I love this.”

“I can tell.”

My cell phone on the coffee table pinged with an incoming text. Cade and I both saw the message as it popped up on the screen.

Trent:Charlotte, darling, everything is fine in NY so I’m flying into Portland. I’ll see you very soon. Nothing to worry about, I promise. I just miss your gorgeous face. XO

Cade’s smile vanished along with his hand on my thigh. “So, I have to get back to the station, Charlotte. I’ll call you soon, okay?”

“Cade, wait!” But it was too late; he was halfway across the shop, then gone. I couldn’t chase after him and make a scene, could I?

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