Page 4 of Duke It Out
“Annabel! Hi. You were amazing,” I say truthfully.
“I managed to stick to the script,” she says chuckling. “Although I get the impression that I’d have been dragged off stage kicking and screaming if I’d said anything contentious.”She looks me up and down. “I love that dress on you. Who knew under all those baggy writing clothes, all this was hiding.”
She makes an hourglass shape with her hands and pulls an exaggerated face of surprise which makes me laugh.
“I thought I’d make an effort.”
“Well, you look quite beautiful.” She lifts a lock of my hair. “Fox red hairanda red lip. Very daring. I love it.”
I look around, slightly panicked. Annabel peers at me with a concerned expression. “Everything okay?”
I nod. “Charlotte gave me strict instructions not to talk to you or be seen with you this evening. She’ll have me strung up if I piss off the publishers.”
“What nonsense.” Annabel gives a derisive snort. “I wasn’t going to head off into the night without saying thank you. The book wouldn’t exist without you.”
I shake my head. “It’s your story.”
“And your skill,” Annabel says, taking hold of my wrist and looking at me directly with her huge amber eyes. “Don’t hide your light under a bushel, Edie. You’re a talented writer. It’s time you started believing in yourself.”
I press my lips and nod. “I’ll try.”
“What are you doing tonight?” She glances toward a group of readers approaching fast, clutching their signed copies with eager expressions.
I make an open-handed gesture. “I’m not sure.”
She turns, waving an arm in the direction of the window where the lights of the traffic are glowing softly in the falling dusk. I don’t want to tell her that I was thinking of going back to my hotel room with a burger and fries. Maybe she’s psychic. She looks at me with a slight frown and raises a finger.
“I’m going to tell you, Edie, what someone told me on my first night here, a million lifetimes ago. If you walk into New York with your head held high, she’ll open her arms to you. Go and have an adventure.”
And with that, she shoos me away, turning to the fans with a welcoming smile. I spot Marcia in the distance, heading our way to annex Annabel and take her over to meet an assortment of men in suits who’ve appeared out of nowhere.
Outside it’s getting dark,and the air is warm and heavy. A yellow cab passes by, and I hear a siren blare somewhere in the distance as a boy whizzes past on a skateboard, the rap music from a speaker in his pocket blaring.
Directly across from the entrance to Barnes and Noble, there’s a beer garden with strings of lights hanging from poles across the entrance. It’s packed, but there’s a table in the corner, and I make my way over, weaving between people. It’s not much of an adventure, but it’s better than McDinner on my hotel bed.
Just as I reach for the chair, a hand closes over mine, and I turn around.
2
EDIE
I lookup into the face of the hot bartender from Barnes and Noble. He’s taken off his tie and loosened his collar and he is not looking any less hot.
“Go ahead,” he says, gesturing to the chair with an open hand in a strangely old-fashioned way.
“You’re the guy from…” I lift my arm and point towards Barnes and Noble, and he gives a brief nod and a half smile.
“I made my escape.”
A brief wind ruffles his dark hair, and he reaches up, raking it back with one hand.
“So…” He looks from me to the table with a faintly amused expression.
“Oh. Yes. Um—” And I have no idea where this comes from, but maybe it’s three glasses of champagne or Annabel’s pep talk, but my mouth forms the words before my brain has time to put on the brakes. “There’s only one table left. You can share if you’d like?”
He smiles. “That sounds like the perfect solution.”
Oh shit. Now I’m sitting at a table with a man who is objectively very handsome indeed. “It was a glass of wine here,” I babble, “or a Big Mac and a strawberry milkshake in my hotel room.”
