Page 179 of Smoke and Fire
She blinked. "The launch?"
Too late, I realized my blunder. With a smile meant to smooth over a bolt of fear, I said, "Yes! The new Jess book? I wanted to be in on the action."
"Oh, right!" She squealed, her petite hands clapping. “The new book. So good. Totally worth it. I read it in four hours in between coding new prebuilt components before I worked on issues with JavaScript plugins. Hello? Not surprising. Love me some bootstrap, right?"
My brain scrambled every time she slipped her website programming into our talks. Seeing my expression, she brightened.
"In other words—I knew it! Romance is changing your life. You went from a hater to a believer. I’m the shiiiiiz.”
My mouth remained open, torn. What could I say? While mostly right, she wasn’t entirely wrong. I never hated romance. I . . . danced around it. I inwardly sighed. Holding Bastian's secret wasn't easy. Let her have her moment. The woman was pregnant. She needed every win.
“You were right, Lizbeth. These books are incredible.”
Admitting it caused me no pain, although I would have expected it to kill me just a few weeks ago. It had been just under twenty days since Lizbeth first introduced me to Jess, and I was already done with all twenty one novels. My high school English teacher would have fainted with pride.
Lizbeth sobered, leaning one arm against the counter.
“I know. The books really are that good. The launch a few days ago? It was abigdeal. People plan vacations around these launches. Fandoms everywhere let out a collective squeal the moment the books arrive on our e-readers. I also hosted a party in the bakery for my local Jess fan club. Twenty women showed up as strangers and left best friends. Romance at work.”
By sheer willpower, I managed to keep a straight face.
“So I’ve heard.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket with a text. Could it be Bastian? The thought sent a thrill through me. He would return home today at some point and every single minute dragged by. Excitement sent frissons of giddiness into me at odd intervals, and I ended up making a quiet giggle-squeal every seven minutes.
Lizbeth’s left arm held the twenty-first Jess novel anchored firmly against her ribcage. A ratted napkin—her bookmark, I presumed—frayed out the end of the book. A contemplative expression had come over her.
“Jess did an interview, you know?”
Real interest piqued my voice higher. “Oh?”
Lizbeth waved a hand. “Written, of course. She does those every now and then. There was a secret, quiet hope amongst a bunch of her fans that this launch would be when she revealed more about herself. There was more social media noise, as expected, but nothing concrete.” She rolled her eyes. “Not counting that stupid post from that Kat girl.”
My heart almost stopped. All my considerable willpower barely kept my restraint in place. I cleared my throat.
“What post are you talking about?” I asked.
Lizbeth tilted her head back and groaned. “This one girl claims she found Jess, but she has yet to provide any real evidence.”
“You said her name is Kat?”
“Katrina?” Her perky nose wrinkled. “Something like that? Dunno. I’ve seen her before in some of the groups, but not often. I thought I saw a comment about her being a filmmaker or something? Anyway, these kinds of things surface now and then, but nothing comes of it. Everyone wants to figure out who Jess is. Sometimes, I think I’d rather Jess stay hidden. The mystery of it is kind ofnovel.”
She released an adorable laugh. I loved it when she cracked herself up. My hands snuck into my apron pocket for my phone, but I closed my fingers into a fist to stop them.
Wait until Lizbeth is gone to look,I thought, filled with the urgency to find that post right now.Don’t jump the gun and act all weird now!
Lizbeth let out a long breath, then winced. She held a hand against her lower back.
“You okay?” I asked.
She huffed a smile. “Fine. I’m just ready to ditch this pregnancy and get her in my arms already. I’m tired of having her on my hips.”
“Soon the many eternities of the third trimester will be over.”
A weary smile came next.
“I'm barely starting the third trimester, so it certainly feels like an eternity. Any news on the fire?”
