Chapter 22
22
Jake’s second panel thankfully went smoothly. The conversation was good and when it came to questions at the end, most focused on actually asking for writing tips. But there were a couple directed at Jake that made me shift uncomfortably in my seat.
‘What do you think about people who say romances are too predictable, that once you have the meet-cute, it’s too obvious there will be a happy ending?’ one woman asked. ‘I mean, we know you haven’t exactly been complimentary about writing love stories so you must have a view on that?’
Davis chuckled beside me. ‘They are completely predictable.’
‘Why are you here to listen to how to write one then?’ I whispered back, annoyed at him.
‘As if I would need any advice,’ he hissed back.
I just rolled my eyes then leaned forward to listen to Jake’s response to the question.
‘You go into reading a romance knowing there will be a happy ever after, yes, but the journey to get there isn’t predictable. You can relax reading it knowing you’ll get the pay-off at the end but the drama, the conflict, the chemistry, the slow burn in the middle, that’s the story. It’s life itself, isn’t it? It’s about the journey, not the destination. That’s why I haven’t become tired of writing love stories,’ Jake said with passion. Everyone was listening hard. He was so good at speaking. ‘My latest one, that I hope I will be able to bring out soon if you would like to read it, is about two people who meet years previously with no clue that they will become special to one another. It’s called When I Met You and it’s a story of how you don’t know when you meet someone how they will affect your life.’
Glancing around, I was relieved to see some of the readers in the room smiling. One in front of me whispered to her friend that she hoped they could read that book. I smiled. He had made people curious about his novel and that could only help in encouraging his publishers to offer him a new deal for it. I grabbed my phone and quickly typed out a post about what Jake had said and I shared it on the agency’s social media, tagging him. I’d get him to share it afterwards so everyone following him online could read what he said.
The other question that made me nervous was: ‘How do you think you can still give writing advice for romance writers if you don’t respect the genre?’
Jake looked at the person asking the question. ‘I said yesterday that what I said wasn’t what I really think. I was trying to distract someone from something I didn’t want them to know. I made a big, stupid mistake to say what I did. I have written ten romance books. Why would I do that if I didn’t love reading and writing romance? It would be a pretty miserable way to have spent my working life. I know I upset a lot of you. I am so sorry about that. I want you to remember how you felt reading one of my books. If you enjoyed reading them then hopefully, you will realise that I enjoyed writing them.’ He then turned to me and I gave him a nod. That had been a good answer.
‘Jake gave me some great advice when I was starting out,’ one of the other authors on the panel said then. ‘And he read one of my early manuscripts. That meant a lot to me, and I believe the reason I got my first book deal was because of the feedback he gave me. You can’t fake that kind of interest,’ she added with a grateful smile at him.
‘You’re really talented,’ Jake told her.
‘Probably shagged her,’ Davis whispered in my ear.
I refused to respond to that.
The panel chair ended the session then. I listened to readers as everyone shifted and got ready to leave, and the comments were definitely more positive about Jake.
‘He answered those questions well.’
‘I like that he has supported other authors.’
‘God, now I really want to read the book he spoke about!’
‘I wonder when it’s out?’
When I heard that, I tapped the woman on her shoulder. ‘You should ask his publishers that on social media.’
‘Good idea,’ she said.
I smiled with satisfaction.
‘It’s gone really well,’ Liv said quietly to me.
‘I think so too,’ I said back. A little bit of hope returned to me that this trip wasn’t going to be a complete failure after all. I quickly typed out another email to Hayley to say the panel had been a success and things were improving and to look on social media. I was praying she would see we were working hard to make it right.
Davis turned to me then. ‘I can’t believe Jake’s managing to pull the wool over people’s eyes like this,’ he groaned.
‘If you hadn’t pushed him to say what he said, he wouldn’t have to try to save his career,’ I replied.
‘Aren’t you worried about what his big secret is?’ Davis challenged me. ‘How about we go for lunch and we can talk about it?’ He gave me a lewd grin.
‘I’m busy, I’m afraid,’ I replied shortly. I understood why he had pushed Jake that night to slag off romance books – he had an uncanny ability to piss people off.
‘Outstaying your welcome again, Mulberry?’
We turned to see Jake standing beside us, eyebrow raised.
‘Not at all – Freya and I have been having a delightful chat, haven’t we?’ Davis said, turning to me with a smile.
‘Yeah, right,’ Liv said with a snort.
Davis ignored her and carried on. ‘I’ve been explaining to her that just because you write romance novels, ladies shouldn’t expect any romance in real life from you. What was your longest relationship again – six weeks?’ Davis cracked, looking up at Jake smugly.
I shifted uncomfortably in my chair as Jake looked stonily down at Davis. The air around them was thick with tension.
‘Look, both of you, we’re in public and the two of you need to?—’
‘I find your obsession with me unsettling,’ Jake interrupted me. ‘Freya is right, though; you’re not worth interacting with. Freya, Liv, let’s head out and leave Mulberry to his own thoughts: the only person who cares to listen to him.’
I noticed Davis’s face turning red so I hastily jumped up before things got any worse. ‘Yes, we have work to do. Bye, Davis,’ I said quickly, before he could say anything else to Jake. The last thing we needed was the two of them getting into a fight and undoing the work we were doing to repair Jake’s opinion in the romance books community.
‘I need to get going for sure,’ Liv agreed, also getting up.
I took hold of Jake’s arm and steered him out of the room with Liv behind us, not hanging around to let Davis say anything else. I kept my hand on Jake as we hurried through the hotel lobby and out into the midday New York sunshine. Once outside, I let go of Jake and could breathe again.
‘I know, I know,’ he said, running a hand through his hair. ‘I need to stop letting Mulberry get to me.’
‘He’s a twat,’ I agreed.
Liv chuckled. ‘A very apt description, Freya. He enjoys getting a rise out of you, Jake. And seems to want to charm you, Freya.’
I grimaced. ‘Well, I wish he wouldn’t bother because I definitely don’t find him charming.’ I glanced at Jake, who was watching me intently. ‘Anyway, we don’t want anything to ruin our progress here. So, I suggest we all stay out of Davis Mulberry’s way for the remainder of the conference. And yes, I’m aware I’m being very bossy right now.’
Liv grinned at me. ‘Bossy women get stuff done as I’m always telling my boyfriend, Aiden.’ She looked at her watch. ‘Right, I need to meet my editor for lunch now so I’ll see you two later.’ She headed off with a cheerful wave.
‘I hope you didn’t take anything Mulberry said seriously back there,’ Jake said as I watched Liv go. ‘You know what he’s like.’
I nodded. ‘I do but what he said…’ I trailed off, annoyed that I had let Davis get into my head about Jake’s intentions.
Jake stepped closer, the noise and sights of New York fading away as I looked at him. ‘Forget about him. Let’s go somewhere now, just us. Where else do you want to see in the city?’
I hesitated for a moment. I wanted to see more of New York and Jake had proved himself to be a great tour guide but I was nervous to be alone with him again. ‘I did want to walk along the Brooklyn Bridge…’ I admitted.
‘Then I’ll take you. If you want me to. Do you?’
‘Yes. I’m just wondering if it’s a good idea or not.’
‘Why don’t we decide that afterwards?’
I let myself laugh. ‘That is a dangerous suggestion surely.’
Jake grinned. ‘I can’t help myself. Please, Freya?’
I hesitated but I was too weak not to want to spend more time outside of work with him. And the panel had gone well so we could afford a couple of hours away from the conference. I wanted to get to know him more, to know if this could be something or not. So even though Davis’s words echoed in my head, I agreed to a walk with Jake.
We jumped into a yellow cab as Jake suggested walking from Brooklyn to Manhattan would give me a great view of the city skyline and then we could head back to our hotel. I watched the views out of the taxi window, in awe again, as we drove to Brooklyn. It still felt surreal to be here in the flesh.
‘You’re quiet,’ Jake said. ‘Did Davis upset you?’
‘I guess what he said made me think… I don’t know you very well.’
‘He doesn’t know me at all,’ Jake said firmly. ‘And he can see I like you, and you already know he tries to ruin anything I like. Why don’t we get to know each other better?’
I nodded. I did like the sound of that. I knew I couldn’t ask him what I really wanted to so I went with something else I was curious to know. ‘When did you first really think about writing a book?’
‘I haven’t thought about that for a while,’ he said. ‘When I was about nineteen, I went on holiday with my family and I had just finished reading The Catcher in the Rye . We were in this remote place in the Lake District, and it was raining, and I was bored. My mum had a copy of Emma and I reluctantly decided to read it.’ He smiled at the memory. ‘But I was captivated by it.’
I smiled too. ‘I love her books so much.’
‘I enjoyed it even more than The Catcher in the Rye . I liked the humour and the irony, the way Austen created these characters I could absolutely see in my mind, and the fact that they made mistakes but things worked out in the end. Which is something I think I use in my books.’ He paused and glanced at me. I nodded because he absolutely wrote very human characters that you believed in and rooted for. ‘When I told my mum I had loved it, she said it was her favourite book because she had been reading it when she met my father. Anyway, I was inspired and after that, I found myself choosing romantic stories over everything else. That summer was long and I ended up starting to write my own stories. It was ten years until I’d get a book published but that summer shaped me as a reader and a writer, and started me on that journey.’ Jake looked a little bit startled then. ‘Sorry for such a long speech.’
‘No, I liked it.’ I knew then he wasn’t lying about enjoying love stories. I could see it in his smile, in his eyes, the wistful look as he thought back to that summer. Whatever happened to make him say those things about romance books, it wasn’t because he didn’t love them any more. ‘I hope you get to carry on writing books, Jake. I think the world would be a worse place without them.’
‘That means more to me than you could know.’
We smiled at one another, and Davis Mulberry’s warnings about Jake faded to the back of my mind.
We reached Brooklyn then and the taxi dropped us off so we could walk up to the bridge and start crossing it. We started at the point where the suspension cables were anchored. I sucked in an awed breath to be walking above the traffic, feeling like I could almost touch the cloudless, bright blue sky. Ahead, I could see the Brooklyn Tower granite archway which I recognised from scenes of the bridge I had seen; it looked like a cathedral opening. Behind the arches and cables, in the distance, was the incredible Manhattan skyline. Below us, cars sped on by like they had no idea we were up here.
I felt all at once tiny and on top of the world too. It was overwhelming.
I had to stop walking then and lean against one side to take everything in.
‘Are you okay?’ Jake asked, coming to stand beside me.
‘Yeah, it’s just incredible. I honestly wasn’t sure if I’d ever get here. And in the run-up to this trip, I was so focused on what Hayley needed me to do and having to work with you, I didn’t fully grasp the fact I’d actually be here. Seeing New York below me like this just makes me realise I did something I’ve wanted to do for years.’
Jake smiled. ‘I’m glad you got to see this city, Freya. And I’m sorry if I made you feel like you couldn’t be excited about it with me. Being with you has made me see how far removed from myself I’ve been for the past few months. You seem like you always are just yourself.’
‘I’m not sure if that’s always a good thing, though,’ I admitted. I thought about how my advice to Jake hadn’t really panned out.
‘I wish you’d be more confident in your abilities. What made you want to be an agent?’
‘I’ve always wanted to work with books. I went to a book signing once and I met the author’s agent and she told me all about the job. It seemed like something I would love. But it took a long time to get the job with Hayley, and Liv was the one who kind of connected us, so maybe I’ve been struggling with a bit of imposter syndrome.’ I sighed. ‘That’s why I was so nervous for this trip and so desperate to prove myself, I suppose.’
‘Listen, I’ll talk to Hayley when we get back. Whatever happens for the rest of the conference, it’s on me, not you, okay?’ Jake said fiercely. ‘There should be no consequences for you. I promise, Freya.’
I could tell how much he cared. I had no idea if Hayley would listen to him, though. The six months I had worked with her had made me wonder if she listened to anyone but herself.
‘I appreciate that.’ I would have preferred the truth from him but he clearly wasn’t ready. He was trying to make things right. I had to give him that.
Jake looked across at me. My hair blew in the breeze and he touched a strand with his fingertips. I looked back at him.
‘I’d love to kiss you again.’