Page 100 of Whisper Sweet Nothings
“You aren’t speaking. Uh, was that too much?” he asked.
“Not at all. I was swooning.” I chuckled and added, “I think we found something special, too. And I didn’t know how to bring it up. It’s probably weird because I live in your home, and obviously I don’t want to complicate things with Melody.”
“We’re on the same page. But I think she knows we’re friends, and we don’t need to say more than that. My mom asked if she could have Winnie for a sleepover tonight. I thought maybe I could take you out for dinner. Just you and me.”
“You and me, Archie. I can get on board with that.”
“Yeah? All right. It’s a date, beautiful.” Even the way this man spoke was sexy. “Did you finish the read-through?”
“I did. I just sent it off to my editor.”
“That’s amazing. Congrats. We’ve got something special to celebrate tonight.”
“Thank you.” I dropped to sit on the couch and sighed. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“Yes, you will.”
We ended the call, and I couldn’t help but smile.
Life was good.
When was the last time I’d thought life was good?
It had been a while.
I stood and headed to the hall closet to grab my coat, as there was still a chill in the air.
I decided to take a walk downtown to look for something to wear tonight and pop in to see my aunt and uncle.
“There’s my favorite girl,” Uncle Oscar said as he wrapped me up in a hug.
“Hi. Did you have a nice anniversary yesterday? And I know you spoiled Aunt Edith for her birthday.” I smiled at him.
“Of course I did. We had a great night. Ate too much, but that’s par for the course.” He chuckled.
“Good. And it’s pretty slow today, huh?”
“It is. What if I join you for a muffin and some coffee?”
“I’d love that,” I said.
“Did you send the book off to Laney?” he asked.
“I did. I sent it before I came here.” I slipped into the booth, and he took the seat across from me.
“It’s the best feeling in the world, right?” he asked as Edith came over and gave me a hug before leaving to get us coffee and muffins.
“It really is. And they want to send me on a book tour in April for theWhisper Sweet Nothingsrelease.”
“You don’t sound thrilled.”
“No, I’m excited about it. I just need to make sure I can get things covered with Melody.” I thanked my aunt when she dropped off our drinks and wrapped my hands around the warm mug.
“It’ll be good for you to go out and meet readers,” he said. My uncle was the one who inspired me to write my first book. He’d had a very successful career as an author of thrillers under the pen name James Covington, which he’d retired from over a decade ago.
“Says the man who never toured or did interviews.” I chuckled. He’d kept his identity very private.
“The landscape of the industry has changed, so you’ve got to change with the times.” He took a sip of his coffee. “That’s when I walked away. I didn’t want to do all that social media stuff, nor do I care for interviews. But you’re young, and you’re much more social than I am.”
