Page 12 of Long Story Short

‘I was invited to be on the panel discussing writing popular fiction; they thought they would experiment and have one panel that featured authors from all genres to get different perspectives, not just romance.’ Davis shrugged ‘Maybe they thought that would be beneficial for romance writers. You know, learn from the best and all that.’

I rolled my eyes as I saw Jake tense up further at Davis’s very arrogant implication he was a better writer than Jake.

‘I’m on that panel too,’ Jake said with a panicked expression.

Davis grinned. ‘Oh yes, I know, and that definitely was a big reason I agreed to do it. I’ll see you there.’ He grinned and swept past us like he’d just done a mic drop.

I raised my eyebrows, watching him go. Had he come all the way to this conference just because he knew it would piss Jake off? I looked back at him and saw that if that had been Davis’s goal then it was definitely working.

‘Fuck,’ Jake said with a puff of exasperated air. ‘I need to get out of here now.’

I nodded, sensing their interaction had caught people’s attention and we definitely didn’t want this to set us back so early on. ‘Let’s go.’

We hurried out of the door and out of the hotel, crossing the road to the Waldorf and walking towards the lifts, all in silence. Jake looked even more brooding than usual, his eyes smouldering, his shoulders stiff, his mouth set in a tight line. My heart was still racing from that encounter. It had been so awkward. Were Jake and Davis just author rivals? It had felt more personal than that somehow. I was so curious to know why they were such enemies and I was worried about how Davis being here might affect our plan to save Jake’s career. That was going to be hard enough without someone trying to sabotage us.

The lift doors opened, we stepped in and then watched them close, side by side.

Finally, I couldn’t take it any more. ‘Davis Mulberry isn’t one of your friends, then?’ I enquired quietly.

‘Definitely not,’ he said firmly. ‘I had no idea he was going to be on the same panel as me. Hayley didn’t tell me.’ His tone betrayed his anger.

‘Why wouldn’t she tell you?’ I asked, surprised. Hayley was nothing if not a consummate professional.

‘Because she knew I wouldn’t have agreed to do it if she had,’ he replied darkly.

‘Oh.’ I longed even more to know what was up between him and the crime author.

We reached our floor then and stepped out of the lift, walking to our neighbouring rooms.

‘Do you want to back out of the panel?’ I asked reluctantly as I paused by my door and watched him step past me towards his.

‘Right now, I want to,’ Jake said.

‘Maybe that’s why he’s here, though: to wind you up,’ I suggested, hoping he wasn’t going to let Davis do just that.

‘Oh, he lives for it,’ Jake said bitterly. He turned and must have seen the anxious look on my face. He sighed. ‘But no, I won’t back out of the panel – I need to do it, I know that. And Davis has already almost ruined… everything. I can’t let him ruin this too. Goodnight, Freya.’ With those parting words, he let himself into his room, disappeared inside and shut the door.

I stood there for a second, confused, before walking into my own room. I discarded my bag and heels and flopped on the bed. What with the crazy journey here and that event, I was now exhausted. And more nervous than ever about the start of the conference in the morning. Because Jake was being watched by everyone, and now it seemed his rival could make things even more difficult. I grabbed my phone and sent an email to Hayley asking what was going on between Jake and Davis Mulberry because I needed to be prepared. Jake had two events tomorrow – the podcast interview and his panel with Davis. And I wasn’t sure if we could make it through them in one piece.

After I sent the email, I got up to get ready for bed. I glanced at myself in the bathroom mirror as I went to take my make-up off and I couldn’t help but allow myself a little smile as I remembered Jake taking in my dress, his eyes trailing down my body with a hint of approval in them. I bit my lip as I thought about how he looked in that suit. We had looked good walking in that room together. Not that we had been together, of course, but still.

My phone vibrated then and I checked the reply from Hayley, who kept her phone with her at all times and replied even from her bed.

Davis Mulberry was the author Jake was talking to when the journalist heard him slagging off romance books. They have been rivals for years, and I think Davis was winding him up about writing romance. I knew Jake would have turned down this trip knowing Davis was attending, so I kept it from him because this conference is his only shot at repairing the damage from that article. Just keep them at arm’s length, Freya, and it’ll be fine.

I read the email twice before sighing and putting my phone down. I had an uneasy feeling that Hayley had made a mistake in agreeing to Jake and Davis being on this panel together. And if it did end up going badly tomorrow, I’d have to pick up the pieces. I had no idea how to keep the two men at arm’s length when they were due to spend an hour discussing books together.

Talk about being thrown in at the deep end.

* * *

After a restless sleep, I headed downstairs to meet Liv for breakfast. I messaged Jake and asked him to meet me before his podcast interview so we could strategise about what he was going to say. I was hoping that a strong coffee and some bacon would help fuel me for what was looking like a long and stressful day ahead.

I went to the buffet and filled up a plate then searched the room until I saw Liv, who waved. I smiled and went over, seeing that she wasn’t alone but had been joined by fellow romance author Tessa Elliot.

‘Hey, ladies,’ I greeted, sitting down, feeling better for seeing the two friendly faces. Liv and Tessa had become friends through Liv’s best friend Stevie, who was Tessa’s publicist, and we had all hung out together a few times. Tessa was Liv’s age, with highlighted hair and while Liv and I both wore dresses this morning, she looked cool and comfy in jeans and a t-shirt.

‘I went a bit crazy at the buffet,’ I told them with a rueful smile.

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