Page 44 of Fighting Words

He doesn’t protest. He just dips the tea bag in and out of the water, in and out, in and out.

We’re going to kill each other before these plotting sessions are through, I know it.

“Figure out what they’re going to do on that damn planet,” I say, walking away.

“Amelia and Julian are going to end up together.”

I stop dead in my tracks and whirl around. “What did you just say?” I sound deadly serious because I am. Deadly, that is.

Amelia Turner—excuse me,Captain Amelia Turneris the interstellar mission commander. For the entirety of book one and two, Nate has carefully crafted a fledgling romance between her and the spacecraft engineer, Dr. Marcus Nguyen. I love them together!

“How could she possibly end up with Julian?!” I spit out his name like it’s the most horrible thing I’ve tasted all week.

“It’s been there the whole time,” he replies mildly, continuing with that damn tea bag. “The writing was on the wall, I just didn’t see it before.”

The writing wasn’t on the wall. What is he talking about? Marcus is respectful and quiet, a voice of reason on the crew. Meanwhile, Julian is a hothead—egotistical and combative. He’s done nothing but rile Amelia up since their very first encounter when he mistook her for a lowly flight assistant rather than his captain. I thought there was more likelihood of AmeliakillingJulian than ending up with him.

No…this can’t be.

And then all at once, I begin to see it as clear as day. Scenes jump out at me. In book one, Amelia had a scary-high fever that wouldn’t break for days and Julian refused to leave her side, claiming it was part of his job. The whole time he acted as if he was begrudgingly taking care of her, draping cool cloths across her forehead and spoon-feeding her…but was he? In book two, they’re paired together for an inventory check. I tore through that scene—barely coming up for air—because I assumed they were going to come to blows when they accidentally got stuck in the airlock chamber for four hours. Their banter was electric.

Beyond that, he’s always just needled her in the most aggravating ways. He’s always called her Blondie, which Amelia has always claimed to hate, and I’ve felt that hatred as a reader. She’s his captain! To call her that is disrespectful and rude. Amelia is so careful and buttoned-up with the rest of the crew, the perfect leader, but with Julian, all that flies out the window. He is her weakness.

“He loves her. He always has,” Nate says, finally turning to look at me over his shoulder. “I understand that now in a way I didn’t before.”

My fingers feel tingly. I want to be enraged that Nate’s just given away a spoiler like that, but then I have to remember that’s what we’re doing here—writing the novel, inevitably spoiling it.

“I didn’t like him in the first two books,” I say faintly. I’m not talking to Nate so much as working through this revelation out loud.

“No one did. Not even Amelia.”

My gaze flits up to his, my heart pounding. “When does she realize it?”

“Not until it’s nearly too late.”

I drag my hands down my face, exasperated by this turn of events. This changes everything! The internet is going to break over this news. Fans have loved Amelia and Marcus together for years. There are thousands of fan art images and videos inspired by their love story.

“How does it first happen? How do they get together? Have you envisioned it or—”

“During a fight.”

Of course. Amelia and Julianloveto fight.

“Does he kiss her then?”

I swear Nate is almost smiling as he nods. “Yes.”

God, I bet that’s a good kiss. Nate will write that kiss so that a million hands will curl into fists, a million hearts will race with anticipation and longing. I feel like I need to sit down. “I’m not sure he’s good for her in the long run.”

Never mind that we’re talking about fictional people. They feel real to me. Itisreal, at least here and now.

“He is,” Nate confirms. There’s no opening for an argument. He sees what I can’t. He knows the truth.

God, Amelia and Julian?! How…

I realize something and wince. Again, my gaze captures his. “Does Marcus get hurt?”

His mouth flattens into a frown. “There’s no way to avoid it.”

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