Page 114 of The Perfect Rom-Com

And I have to be crazy, but it looks like Amelia is nodding with a confident, “Absolutely.”

But there are my words on the screen behind her. Right? I can’t see the top of the screen, but what I am saying is being typed over her head.

“Mm-hmm.” Melinda looks enraptured. “And how long did it take Bill to realize he needed to escape back into the city?”

“What city?” I say, my voice rising. “I don’t— There’s no city involved in this story. Maybe . . .” My wheels are turning, trying to process what’s going on here. “Maybe you’re thinking of one of my earlier stories? Sunset over Santorini?”

But Melinda is nodding and bobbing her heel as she listens while Amelia answers.

“Amazing,” Melinda says.

“What’s amazing?” I cast a bewildered glance over to Jack for the first time. “This is not what I said,” I hiss. “I don’t—”

And there Jack is, however, with a curious little smile on his face. The tiniest flicker.

And it hits me.

Hard.

In the chest.

I’ve seen that expression on his face. The memory of those first days, the first time we ended up peeling off to do something not specifically work related. We were having a business lunch. It was going well. I was sharing my thoughts about a manuscript; he was bouncing back ideas. It was merely two weeks after our first meeting. And then his phone alarm went off. He made a face as if he knew he was caught losing track of time and had just remembered another commitment.

He said, “Care to continue this conversation on the move?”

And before I knew it, my feet were on the fan side of a peewee field, and I was motioning madly with the other moms and dads and aunts and uncles for a little three-and-a-half-year-old boy named Jack—named after his uncle Jack—after he hit the ball with his little bat and started doing front rolls instead of running to first base.

We didn’t end up talking more about work that day. But we did talk about what felt like everything else under the sun. And that day, when his nephew slowly front-rolled his way to first base, was when I first saw that look on Jack’s face. Pride.

Quiet pride.

And that’s exactly how he is looking at me now.

“And for all new or soon-to-be fans out there, I think it’s time we do a fun little game with your backlist of books. A hot seat, if you will. Shall we, everyone?”

Amelia’s smile looks stiff as Melinda glances around the audience, and an eruption of cheers ensues.

“I think we have our answer.” Melinda laughs as she shifts her attention back to the camera and audiences everywhere. “Okay, Amelia, the rules are simple. I name a character; you name what book they’re in. Ready?”

“Sounds fun.” Amelia grins. I can see her mind though. She’s just as confused about this as me. There are no fancy lipsticks to draw on dolls blindfolded. There’s no dramatic story to unfold here. Just . . . quiz work. Dull at that for the nonreader. And yet the audience is going wild for it.

Melinda draws up a finger.

Pauses as we hear a buzzer.

“And here we go. Josie,” she says, and all of a sudden, the timer starts.

“Sunset over Santorini,” I say like rapid fire, spurred on by the sound of the timer ticking loudly over the speaker.

“A Room for Rose,” I hear Amelia say with a confident smile.

“What?” This time I stand. Point at the TV. “No. No.”

“Denton?” Melinda says challengingly.

“A Leap of Faith,” I spout.

“A Room for Rose also.” Amelia grins even wider.