Page 58 of Under the Mistletoe
He didn’t argue. She was right. But his head was a mess. He was halfway through the story, and he still hadn’t dealt with Anwar. Maybe he could focus on that. That and figuring out a way to get Rand and Astryn in the same country again.
“Okay, I’ll work on that.” The streets weren’t as crowded as when he’d visited New York, but there were definitely no acres of woods like Heritage. It was store after store as far as he could see, but most had lights or tinsel announcing the season. If he peered hard enough, he could just make out the Hollywood sign in the gaps between the buildings as they passed.
“This bumps up the timeline. We need you to submit a new synopsis for book four next week.” Sandy had her iPad out and was tapping it at a rapid pace.
“Next week?” His mind spun. They wanted him to take it a whole different direction? Didn’t they know how huge a job that was?
“I’m not trying to overwhelm you.” She took off her glasses and tapped the earpiece against her mouth. “But we have to keep pushing forward, now more than ever. Bringing in a coauthor might not be a bad option. And if you choose that, we need to get the ball rolling.”
They still hadn’t ruled out the idea of a coauthor? A tightness settled back in his chest. He’d hoped that what he’d written so far would build their confidence. But maybe it hadn’t been enough. “I’ll get a synopsis to you a week from today.”
“Make it Wednesday. Thursday we have an editorial meeting at PJP.” Sandy was now tapping into her phone. “That is six days.”
Mark glanced up from his phone. “They said everything will be wrapped up by ten tomorrow. So I can get you out on a flight by one, but since I need to give you time to find your bag in Chicago, you won’t get to Grand Rapids until close to midnight.”
“Take it.” He just wanted to get home. He didn’t care when it landed him there.
“So what are you going to do with your big check?” Sandy focused back on him. The tightness of her shoulders seemed to finally relax for the first time since he’d landed in LA. “Luxury vacation? A new cottage?”
He blinked at her, then flipped through the contract until he came to the amount agreed upon. It hadn’t seemed real until this moment. But there was that number, that large number, and tomorrow, he could deposit it into his account. There was that undeniable tugging again toward Easton,Alani, and Tyce.
He’d always seen himself as a writer. But maybe he was meant to be more. And that started with not just opening himself to the idea of romantic love, but opening himself up to the love he had to give.
He gave Sandy a shrug. “I don’t know exactly, but I have a feeling it’ll mean a big change.”
He pulled out his laptop. Big contract or not, he still had a scene due tomorrow. Then he had to plot out all of book four again if he had any hope of saving his story from falling into the hands of—he shuddered—a coauthor.
Stone of Anwar: Chapter 16
She had to gain control of her traitorous thoughts. Cambria was counting on her. Astryn used the garden shears to cut one of the long red roses off a bush and laid it in her basket.
It had been days since she’d seen Rand, and yet she could still feel his fingers on her neck. Hear the deep timbre of his voice as he said her name. The heated look in his eyes just before her father’s voice broke the silence. She’d believed—hoped—it would fade. But five days past and it was as fresh as the moment it had happened. What was she going to do?
Movement at the base of the plant jerked her attention. She pushed aside the ground cover and pulled up short. A bunny was struggling against a cord wrapped around its back paw. She reached out with a slow, gentle hand, but the rabbit didn’t bolt or fight, worn out from the struggle.
After closer inspection, the line appeared to be a poorly constructed snare. With care, she lowered the shears and cut the rabbit free, but the paw underneath was bloodied and mangled. She tossed aside the rose, placed the bunny gently in the basket, and stood.
“What will you do with it?” A tall, regal woman stood in her path. Astryn had never seen her before, but her garments were Anathian blue and of fine fiber. Perhaps she was part of Orin’s entourage. The woman stepped closer and raised her chin. Her right eye was a striking green, while her left eye was a brilliant blue.
“I will take it to my healer.” Astryn tried to put strength into the words, but there was something unnerving about the woman.
“Your healer cannot help. You know that if you search your heart.”
“Do you suggest I leave it here to suffer?”
“Do you not know the power of the pendant you wear?”
Astryn’s hand went to her bodice where the necklace that Orin had given her dangled. She had put it on every day since the kidnapping.
“That, my child, is Anwar, the Stone of Light. Hold the pendant in one palm and cover the rabbit’s injured paw with the other.”
When she didn’t move, the woman stepped closer, causing Astryn to look up. “I think if I?—”
“Do as I say.” The words were gentle but somehow more irresistible than a king’s shouted command.
With the way the rabbit’s breathing had slowed, it didn’t even have time for her to get to the healer, so what was the harm in humoring this strange matron?
With the basket hanging from her right elbow, Astryn wrapped her right hand around the pendant and covered the injured paw with her left. A searing, burning pain filled the palm that covered the paw. She yanked back her hand, but there wasn’t even a mark. The basket rocked, and she glanced down as the bunny twisted, trying to right itself.
