Page 44 of Room for Us

As soon as we left my mom’s, an intangible bubble of pressure broke. Ethan relaxed. I relaxed. Expectations of the night melted away. We didn’t speak, but in contrast to our ride over, the silence was serene.

And now we sit, swaying softly, sipping tea and staring at the stars twinkling above the tree line.

Finally, I ask a question that only just occurred to me, but would explain so much. Zander’s recognition and awe. Cameron’s starry-eyed attentiveness. My mom’s secretive smiles during dinner.

“Are you famous?”

His laugh is sharp, startled. “Why do you ask?”

“If you don’t want to answer, I could just Google you.”

His brows lift. “Why haven’t you?”

“Honestly, it didn’t occur to me until tonight.”

He pauses. Sighs. “They were careful, waiting until you left the room. Your mom told them not to say anything during dinner.”

“Huh? What?”

He chuckles softly. “You’re good for my ego, you know that?”

“I’m totally lost.”

“To answer your question—yes, I’m rather well-known. Have you heard of the Lost Wheel series?”

My lips part in shock. “Those super popular kids books? That take place on a distant planet or something?”

He groans. “Kids books. A distant planet or something. Zoey, you’re killing me.”

I grimace. “Sorry. I don’t know the lingo.”

“I kind of love that, actually. But anyway, the books are classified as young adult science fiction or high fantasy.”

I process this with some difficulty. “You’re supposed to be the next J.K. Rowling, right?”

“Ha, not quite. But I’ve been lucky. I have a big readership.”

E.M. Hart.

That’s the author’s name, I recall. His name. The man next to me is one of the most well-known and beloved writers on the planet. Netflix is in talks to bring the books to the small screen in a much-anticipated series. Holy shit.

“E.M. Your middle name is what, Michael?”

“Mitchell. My mother’s surname.”

I sit back. “Wow. You are famous.”

“Or famously failing, as my agent likes to say.”

I put two and two together. “You’re here to write a book and having trouble with it.”

He nods. “The final book in the series.”

“But I thought the last book was already out?”

He cocks a brow. “So you do know something about it.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, but I just remember all the displays in Barnes and Noble.”

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