Page 153 of Lucky Shot
“Is that bad? It feels bad.” My stomach dips with unease.
“Relax. Everything is fine. The promotions for the book went so well this weekend, she probably wants to talk about the tour schedule. We need to lean into the excitement.”
“All right.” I’m not convinced but I have other priorities right this minute.
Nick and I start to walk off and she calls after us, “Twenty-nine minutes!”
In the hallway, people are sitting along the walls, resting and recharging before the next event. There’s a final party tonight, karaoke and dancing.
Nick takes my hand as we move quickly.
“Want to come see my room?” I ask.
“I want to be wherever you are.”
“Me too.” I stop, prepared to tell him exactly how I’m feeling.
He takes a step, then pauses and glances back at me. “Everything okay?”
Before I can answer him, Matt approaches us from the side, smiling like we’re old friends. “Ruby, hey.”
Nick tenses beside me, then steps closer.
“Who’s your friend?” Matt asks, though I’m ninety-nine percent sure he already knows.
Instead of giving him any information, I cut to the chase. “What do you want, Matt?”
“Just being friendly.” He holds up both hands defensively and shoots a befuddled expression like he can’t imagine why I’m being so sharp.
“We’re not friends.”
Matt’s gaze slides from me to Nick.
He holds a hand out between them for Nick to shake. “You’re that hockey guy, right?”
Nick’s jaw flexes as he glares at my ex-boyfriend.
Matt pulls his hand back, still somehow looking smug. He looks to me. “Genius move having him show up here. Did you come up with that or Molly?”
My stare narrows on him. “Not everything is a marketing ploy.”
“No?” He shrugs. “Anyway, nice to meet you. I’m Matthew Rose.”
“I know who you are.” Nick’s voice is low and gritty.
“Oh cool. Do you want me to sign something for you?”
“Why would I want that?”
“I’m kind of a big deal.” Matt’s brows pinch together, then he laughs it off. “I wrote a little book you might have heard of,Becoming Alaric.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of it,” Nick says. “And I also know you stole the idea from Ruby.”
For only a second, guilt flashes on Matt’s face but he recovers quickly. “You can’t steal ideas.”
“Can and should are two different things.”
Once again Matt laughs. He turns his attention back to me. “I wrote the biggest book of the year, maybe the century. Do you really think you could have said the same if you’d written it?”
