Page 65 of By The Book

18

“I’VEGOT SOME GREAT NEWS, Luke,” Matthew Hargreaves, his agent, bellowed from NewYork.

“What is it?” Luke asked blearily, blinking and trying to find the clock so he could confirm that it was much too early to be awake and talking toanybody.

His agent always forgot the time difference to the West Coast, despite repeated reminders from Luke, who’d been awake long after Shari had fallen asleep in his arms last night. He’d never spent a weekend like it. They’d barely left his bed since coming home from the wedding Saturdaynight.

They’d made a game of the advanced positions in the latter chapters of the book, trying out every single one. It had been magical, funny, searingly sexual and scary ashell.

He’d finally snuck out of bed around three this morning. Not wanting to wake her, he’d bypassed the computer and grabbed paper and a pen and taken them out to the couch in his livingroom.

It had been a waste of time. He couldn’twrite.

He’dpaced.

If he’d been a smoker, he’d have puffed through a pack, one cigarette after another. If he’d been directing the scene, he’d have called for black and white and a solo sax wailing in the background. That’s what kind of a night it had been, what kind of a mood he’d beenin.

Shari’s scent was on his skin just as surely as she was sleeping in his bed. Every time he caught a whiff of her fragrance, or thought about her, he felt both panicky and relieved; in terrible danger and yet more secure than everbefore.

Something was different about the way he was with this woman than he’d been with anyother.

He was very much afraid that something waslove.

Halting his pacing to stare blearily out his window at the first streaks of dawn over Mount Rainier, he wondered, was this what happened to his father? Time aftertime?

Could Luke be different? Or was he merely starting on the path to letting women downlater?

How could hetell?

He’d crawled back into bed a few minutes before six-thirty, because he’d wanted to be there when she woke. He loved watching Shari wake up. This morning he’d watched her eyes blink the minute the alarm went off, then she’d eased back for a full-bodied stretch. Next she kissed him, and he’d realized he was kissing her for the first time knowing he was in love with her. He’d pulled her flush against him and tried to tell her with his body what he couldn’t yet say inwords.

“Stop, or I’ll be late,” she giggled, then rolled out of bed and whispered to him to go back tosleep.

Amazingly, he did, feeling a sense of contentment that was both new andwelcome.

Now he blinked again, forcing himself to concentrate on his agent’s words. He hauled himself up to a sitting position and snapped on a light. He’d sent his novel to Matthew to read. Had he looked at it already? Did he like it? Luke wasn’t normally nervous about his work, but this book meant something tohim.

“Hey, Luke. You still there?” Matthew’s voice dragged him back to his search for the time. Not quite seven. Well, it wasn’t that bad. He was usually up by now, but he was functioning on so little sleep it felt like the weehours.

“Yeah, I’m here. What’s thenews?”

“Ginger.” Matthew stretched the word out like saltwater taffy, treating each syllable as though it were a complete word. “Gin.Ger.”

Silence. What on earth was the man talkingabout?

“She wants you on hershow.”

“Oh, that Ginger.” He made the connection. Daytime talk show woman. Right. He yawned, and moved his neck around to get the kinks out. Chapter twelve should come with a chiropracticwarning.

“What is your problem today? Thereisonly one Ginger. And she reaches a core viewing public of a couple million every day. I sent in your sex book. She wants you. Next week. You fly down to L.A. Tuesday, appear on the showWednesday.”

“You’ve been conned, Matt. They book those things months ahead.” All Luke wanted to do was to go back to sleep. He wondered vaguely if Matthew had taken updrinking.

There was a short pause. “I’m going to level with you, Luke. She had another one of my authors scheduled. Guy did a prima donna act and now he’s not doing theshow.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “So it’s me you need a favor from. You want to slot me in a vacantspot.”

“It’s still the opportunity of a lifetime. I’ve already contacted your publisher. They’re salivating. Already going back to press onTotal Morons.This is huge, my friend.Huge.”

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