Page 152 of Lucky Shot
“Hopefully my presence clears that up.” He chuckles.
“Clingy, right?” I lean into him.
His head dips and he brushes his lips against mine. When he pulls back, I can see the same emotion and questions in his expression that I’ve felt all week.
“We better get you to your fans.” He opens up his stance.
I know he’s right, but I want more time alone with him.
The signing room is a huge space with two entrances and hundreds of authors and vendors set up in booths with tables and backdrops. I’m sitting at my publisher’s table with three other authors. There’s a nameplate in front of my spot and behind me is a banner for the upcoming book. I know the second Nick has seen it. He glances at me, mouth pulling up higher on one side.
“This is so cool.” He walks around the table to get closer to it, then pulls out his phone and takes a selfie with it.
“Want an ARC?” I grab one off the stack and hold it up for him. “They had to rush print these for the event, but they turned out pretty good.”
He takes it, then poses with it for another photo.
“I’m so fucking proud of you.”
My face heats with the compliment.
“I loved the ending. It was perfect.”
“You already read it?” I sent it out before I left for the conference, but I figured with hockey camp starting he’d be too busy to get to it anytime soon.
“In one sitting.” He sets the book on the table and closes the distance between us. With one hand, he brushes my hair away from my face and lets his fingers linger at my neck. “It was funny and sweet. Sexy.”
“I had some inspiration on that front.” I beam up at him. All I want to do is kiss him and talk about what we’re going to do next. When am I going to see him again? How will this work? I want him to be in my life every day instead of waiting months between weekend visits. But the other authors are coming in and I know the doors will open soon for readers.
Nick looks around. “Where do you want me so I’m not in the way?”
Molly shows up with a badge for him, a bottle of water, and an extra chair.
“Wow. You’re good,” he tells her.
“Obviously.” She winks.
Minutes later, it’s chaos. Readers speed walk across the room, dragging their carts of books behind them. Nick’s brows shoot up as he watches it unfold. I don’t have long to capture his reaction before there’s a line of people waiting with my books.
I smile and sign each one, sometimes adding a personalization or a quote, other times I get pulled into conversations about the characters. I love hearing theirperspective. It takes me back to when I was a kid and Olivia would read those first stories and tell me what she thought.
Several people recognize Nick. He’s polite when they ask him for a photo or signature, but he waves it off and tells them he’s just here to support me. Word must get around pretty fast because pretty soon I have a line that gets so unwieldy the event staff start turning people away.
“Your fans are coming to see me just to get a glimpse of you,” I whisper to him between people in line.
“Those aren’t my fans, baby. Those are all yours.” He sits off to the side, a foot behind me. He hands me fresh Sharpies when mine run out and reminds me to drink water by silently setting water in front of me, but otherwise, he just sits and watches, taking it all in with this proud look that I will remember forever.
We run out of early copies of the book well before the signing is over, but the line just keeps going. After the last person has left my table, I sit back and sigh.
“You did it!” Molly is giddy as she dances in front of my table.
“Now can I nap?” I ask hopefully. And by nap, I mean take Nick up to my room and get naked.
“You have thirty minutes.” She waggles a finger between me and Nick like she knows exactly where my head was at. “Then we’re meeting Doreen for dinner.”
“That wasn’t on the schedule.”
“I know. She requested it an hour ago.”
