Page 209 of The Virgin Romance Novelist Chronicles
Yup, still had it. I wasn’t Gaston fromBeauty and the Beast, standing width wise at barn height, but I was still chiseled.
“No carbs whatsoever. It’s been torture, I’m not going to lie.” Freddy gripped my shoulder as he spoke. “Lunches have been hard because I really enjoy a good hoagie from the corner deli. I have a lot of muscles; I have to feed them, you know.”
“You sure do.” Rosie continued to scan Freddy’s body, irking me with every pass she made. “You know, you would be a perfect cover model for books. Have you ever thought about taking your shirt off for the camera and flexing?”
“Damn, I like your girl.” Freddy laughed. “I’ve never really thought about it. You think I could be a good cover model?”
“Mm-hmm,” Rosie nodded, her finger in her mouth.
I repeat, her FINGER in her mouth.
“I’m in a bunch of book groups on Facebook, and when they’re not posting pictures of erect penises, they’re posting pictures of hot men. I think women would go crazy over you. I have some author friends who are always looking for the latest and greatest cover model. You could be him.”
“I might have to take you up on that offer.” Freddy scooted closer to Rosie. “I could do some penis shots too; I have no shame.”
“You should,” I said. Both Rosie and Freddy looked in my direction, and that was when I realized I’d said that out loud. To cover myself, I laughed and nudged Freddy’s shoulder. “Just bro-ing ’round with you.”
It took Freddy a second, but then he joined with my laughter, and I exhaled in relief.
“We’re always bro-ing,” he said to Rosie, still gripping my shoulder. “You should see us in the office. Like two peas in a pod.”
“I can tell, the camaraderie between you two is uncanny.”
“Okay.” I removed Freddy’s hand from my shoulder. “If you will excuse us, I’m going to take Rosie around. We’ll catch you later.”
“You got it, Brodeo. I will catch you and the little babe-bino later.”
Politely, I smiled and guided Rosie away from the douche-canoe and toward my campaign designs. “He was fun.” Mirth was prevalent in her voice.
“Yeah, you’ll pay for that later. Now, you were saying something about why you’re walking strangely,” I whispered, holding her close to my side, so no one could hear our conversation.
“Henry and Rosie, what a delight to see you both . . . together,” Tasha said, walking up to us, holding a glass of champagne in her hand and swaying a little too much.
Please let her be drunk. Please let her be so drunk she head-plants into the fondue display and sprays chocolate all over her mock-ups.
“Hey, Tasha. You remember Rosie?”
A snarly dog was now holding my hand; Rosie’s lip curled in disgust, and she didn’t even bother saying hi. Tasha picked up on Rosie’s attitude.
“Good to see you too, Rosie. Hey, I never got to apologize for when you walked in on Henry and me.”
“Nope.” I shook my head. “You’re not talking about that because nothing happened, and don’t you even try to make it seem like something happened. Honestly, Tasha, neither of us want to talk to you, so take your bad wig and alcoholic beverage and go make an embarrassment of yourself somewhere else.”
Tasha’s smile turned into a sneer, and she was about to say something most likely incredibly rude, when she saw someone from behind us approach. She straightened her posture and lowered her drink.
“Darlene, Danielle, you look fantastic,” Tasha said.
Carefully, I turned both myself and Rosie, so we opened up our little circle to let in Darlene, Danielle, Eric, and two executives from Legacy. I squeezed Rosie’s hand, trying to telepathically let her know these were important people.
“Thank you, Tasha, you as well,” Darlene responded. “Henry, it’s good to see you. And who is this lovely lady standing next to you?”
I cleared my throat and gazed at Rosie. “This is my beautiful girlfriend, Rosie Bloom. She works atFriendly Felinesas a columnist and is also writing her first novel. She is an incredibly talented writer.”
Rosie’s face went soft and her body relaxed. For the first time tonight, I felt the tension finally ease out of her muscles and let loose.
“Yeah, and we all went to college together,” Tasha cut in, slapping Rosie on the back. The pat flew Rosie’s shoulders forward causing her to catch her balance with her foot.
Clunk.
