Page 95 of Not on the Same Page

“Fuck. Get a room, will you?” Isabella finally pipes up.

Imani cracks up so hard, she bends sideways and her face falls out of the frame.

“We have a room!” Trina cries out, facing the screen now. “We are in the room!”

“It’s a figure of speech,” I say.

Trina tries to shove me, but I grab her and lock her in a bear hug so she can’t move.

She writhes in my arms, but I hold her tight. “Don’t use editor speak on me.”

“Anyway,” I say between fits of laughter. “Imani, if you want to take a while to think about this⁠—”

“Nope.” She cuts me off. “Send the contract. I’ll sign right now.”

Trina finally breaks free of me and scoots her chair as far out of my reach as she can while still being in view of the camera. “Well, you need to give Northbridge thirty days’ notice, then you can sign with us. But in the meantime, I’ll still be working with Casey on your debut as long as he can keep his hands off me.”

“Not going to happen.” I shake my head.

She narrows her eyes at me. “And I’ll work on transferring everything to Isabella.”

Isabella leans forward, her smile softer but no less bright. “I like to keep things light, but I promise your books are in good hands with me. I’m very serious about literature, even if I’m not serious about much else.”

“I trust you,” Imani says. “I trust all of you. Thanks for taking a chance on me.”

“Thanks for taking a chance on all of us,” Trina returns. “We’re all in new roles now.”

“It’s exciting, isn’t it?” Isabella asks.

“Yeah,” Trina answers. The three women share a moment where it’s clear they’ve forged a bond. I have a feeling this one is going to be unbreakable.

“Okay,” she says once the moment has passed. “This is our last appointment of the day, so if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go make out with my boyfriend now.”

Isabella’s eyes grow wide. “Who’s lacking professionalism now?”

“I’m off the clock,” Trina counters before smiling sweetly and waving at the camera. Isabella gapes, and Imani laughs as Trina clicks the button to end the call and closes the laptop.

“Not gonna lie,” I say as she straddles me right where I sit on the chair. “I was surprised you told them you were in love with me.”

She lifts a shoulder, her eyes growing hooded as she studies my lips. “It’s true. No sense in hiding it.”

“No argument here.”

I kiss her deeply, wrapping my hands around her waist and slipping them under the hem of her shirt to feel her against my palms. When she pulls away and locks eyes with me, she smiles. Her smiles come so easily now. And I still soak up every one of them.

“I’m yours forever,” I remind her. It’ll be a while before she feels secure enough to believe it. In the meantime, I tell her at least once a day.

Those red lips stretch even wider, and I can’t help but kiss them again.

“I’ll love you always,” she whispers against my lips.

That’s new, but I like it so much that I grip under her thighs and press kisses to her neck as I stand. She immediately wraps her legs around my waist as she lets out my favorite little moan. I capture it for myself as I lower her to the bed, and we spend the rest of the night loving each other in all the ways we know how.

EPILOGUE

TRINA

Six Months Later