Page 12 of Sheets & Giggles
Ellie
Icannot seem to wipe the smile off my face as I walk around the city, running errands and thinking about my morning run-in with Ashton. Sure, I’m about half an hour late behind for the day. But it was worth it. Just to have those words ringing in my ears.We were always more than that. Much, much more.
Things between us are moving rather fast, but I’m not complaining. Especially because, con: after the most amazing weekend of my life, I was already falling in love with him anyway. The man is just…amazing. Both in and out of the bedroom. He’s smart, he’s funny, he knows how to do things to my body that even I wasn’t aware it could do, and on top of that, he feeds me delicious food. Sure, he doesn’t cook that food himself, but for a girl whose best friend is Uber Eats, anything homemade is amazing. What more could a girl want?
I’m happy to be throwing my pros and cons list out the window. No more temporary fuck buddy status for me, seems I’ve moved into possessive girlfriend territory. And I am not complaining at all. I’m so smitten with the guy, he could demand I have his babies, and I’d say,sure, how many?
It’s quite ridiculous how carried away my brain is getting with him. If I wasn’t slightly obsessed with him while writing him into my never-to-be-published wall banging story, now that I actually know how amazing his banging skills really are, I’m writing him into a whole new story that’s filled with instalove, mind-blowing sex, and happily ever afters.
My new editor—who I’m meeting with today—is going to be impressed. Dee said he ‘has an innate ability to draw the absolute best out of his authors’ so once I hear what he thought of my outline and the few scenes I managed to get down when I went back home for an hour or two to work while Ashton slept, I know we’ll spend the rest of the meeting talking about the budget we’ll need to make a run at the New York Times Bestseller list.
I’m practically giddy with excitement as I bounce along the street, my bag over my shoulder with my laptop inside. When I get to the front of my publisher’s building, I stand outside and take a deep sobering breath, smiling to myself as I look up at the skyscraper then head inside. I had my doubts about my muse after my meeting with Dee last week, but now I’m renewed and restored, ready to get this book out into the world as soon as possible.
After signing in with building security, I take the elevator up to the thirteenth floor and step out, checking in at reception before being led to the conference room I’ve seen many times during my decade long writing career. Then I’m served a coffee and told to wait. Normally when I’m sitting in here, I’m filled with nerves, but this time I have nothing but excitement. I know this book is going to be great.
My new editor doesn’t keep me waiting long either, the door opening before I’ve managed to finish my first mouthful of coffee. He smiles and says, “Hi,” which is exactly when our eyes meet, and my coffee goes spraying across the table as the words, ‘Holy fuck,’ leave my mouth.
“What the hell are you doing here?” we both ask at exactly the same time. I’m trying to wipe the coffee that’s running down my chin, while he’s grabbing napkins and mopping it off the table. We’re also trying to answer each other at the same time too.
He’s saying, “I work here.”
And I’m saying, “I’m supposed to meet my new editor.”
Then he stops and just laughs, dropping the coffee-soaked napkins in the nearest trashcan. “Iamyour new editor. Ellenore Jones, I assume?”
“This isnotfunny, Ashton.” It’s horrifying actually. Isent him my outline and sample chapters.Now he’s got my innermost private thoughts and over the top fantasies of marrying him and having his babies printed in a folder in his hand.I’m dyyyyyyying!!!!
“It really is,” he says, smirking as he takes the seat across from me and drops the folder on the table in front of him. I’m contemplating whether I should just grab it now and run for my life, hire a hacker to wipe his hard drive and then find someone on the dark web who can erase my entire identity and give me a new one. Then, and only then, will I be able to recover from the nightmare in front of me. “And it explains why the activities in this proposal felt very familiar to me when I read them this morning.”
My heart stops beating.
My eyes bug out of my head.
I squeak.
My body jerks.
And somehow, my chair flies backward, sending my ass straight to the floor.
Kill me now.
“You OK down there?” Ashton’s beautiful face comes into view, his eyes dancing with mirth.
“Yep,” I say, stretching my arms above my head. “I’m just…resting. I had a big weekend, you see.”
A grin spreads across his face. “I’m aware. But why don’t you let me help you up?”
“Did you readeverythingI emailed through to you?” I ask, looking at his outstretched hand.
“Yep,” he says, popping the P.
“In that case, I’m quite comfortable here. Just leave me to rot in peace, please. My life is already over.”
He laughs at that, the sound a gentle rumble that tingles over my skin. “Why didn’t you tell me you were an author?” he asks, folding his large body into a cross-legged position on the floor beside me.
I fold my hands across my ribs as I shift my gaze to meet his. “Because people get weird when you tell them you write romance. I prefer to understand someone’s character before I offer that information. I get quite put out when someone asks if I writemommy porn.It’s not mommy porn, it’s beautiful, passionate escapism.”
“Romance novels are highly underrated,” he agrees. “I can understand your skepticism.”
