Page 30 of A Storybook Wedding

“Yeah. Why?”

He eyeballs me. “No, I see it. I’d say that suits you.”

“Did you think I was just coasting through life with no day job?”

“No. I figured you did something. Just didn’t know what. Honestly, you give off a bit of a kindergarten teacher vibe, so this development is quite on-brand for you. I think I know the answer to this, but I’ll ask anyway. What made you choose that career path?”

“I mean, all the obvious reasons. I love books; I’m passionate about literacy; I think a good story can heal a broken child in very much the same way as the right medicine can. I grew up in a house full of people, hiding from the noise with my nose in a book. And I like kids. Although I’m not sure that I want any.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It’s kind of funny, actually. My family is very traditional. Women go off and get married and have babies, and sure, they can have careers too, but not at the expense of their families. Family first, right? That’s the mantra. But I don’t see that as being in the cards for me. So I figured if I write a book, then I have a legacy that I leave behind when I die, in much the same way that people have children so they can point to their lives and say, ‘There. That’s what I did during my time on earth.’”

“So quite literally a book baby.”

“I guess so, yeah.”

“And what did you say your new manuscript is about?”

“Funny you should ask. It’s loosely based on what happened to me in real life—you know, with my sister and my ex.”

“He must be the dumbest man in America,” Nate says.

The barista calls his name, and Nate holds up a wait one second finger before leaving me there to digest that comment while he retrieves our beverages.

“Here you go,” he says, setting my coffee down carefully.

“Thanks.”

“Can I ask how that thing with your sister happened exactly?” he wonders.

“It was a coincidence. They were both in the right place at the same time, and whatever. I’m over it.”

“Of course. You’re so over it that you wrote an entire novel about it in three months.”

“It’s not like that.”

“So then, are you dating anyone?”

The question is like a shot in my arm. “Why? Are you propositioning me?”

“No,” he replies, his laugh lines on full display. “Just wondering—if you’re so over it, I’m sure you’re currently seeing someone. Or perhaps multiple someones, given how you’re the life of the party.”

Unable to come up with a quick one-liner, I take a sip of my latte.

“Okay then. Let me ask you this. Do you go around kissing guys onstage regularly?”

Oof. I did do that.

He’s smirking.

“I’m sorry,” I say, suddenly swept away with the realization that Nate Ellis might very well have a girlfriend. “Oh my God,” I go on. “I didn’t even think of the fact that you might be with someone. Did I just—”

“Relax, CJ. I’m not with anyone.”

“This is why I don’t drink.”

“Because you just can’t keep your mouth off people? Is that the issue?” He laughs, blowing on his tea.

---