Chapter Nine
ELLIE
Istepped into Matt’s Diner the next morning and smiled when his grumpy voice shouted at me from behind the counter to “Sit anywhere!”
And thus found myself here.
Nora was at my table with her pot of Joe as soon as I sat down. “Coffee hun?”
I jumped at her appearance. I’d been lost in my own head again.
“I’m sorry. What?” Spending the day with Drew—and kissing him—still had my brain all mixed up.
We needed to be planning out how we were going to make our fake relationship look real.
I shouldn’t be obsessing over the way Drew’s lips felt against mine every time I was alone. But it did cross my mind.
Every other freaking second.
Nora’s chuckle echoed in the open space. At 7:00 am, there were only a few other patrons besides myself. “Did you want coffee?”
“That would be great. Do you have any that come with an IV drip?” I grinned.
“We’d make a killing if we did.”
I ordered the breakfast special with my coffee and then reached into my bag to pull out my laptop. A big smile stretched across my face.
This was it.
This was the inspiration I needed.
This was going to be the most amazing writing sprint I’d ever done.
Being here in this town had jumpstarted a million different ideas for scenes in the small-town romcom I was writing. Last night at the B&B, I’d finished noting my impressions of Ruby River, the people I’d met, and ways I could incorporate the little nuances of it all into my book.
Fifth grade may have been a long time ago, but I’d never lost the love of crafting stories or the thrill of seeing the characters I dreamed of in my head appear on paper.
And if it wasn’t for briefly reconnecting with an old friend—who had read my grade school and high school stories, encouraging me to give it a try—I don’t know if I’d have taken this leap to writing a book or not.
I’d been secretly or not so secretly writing since my family found out. The story itself had been in the works for years, but they made me doubt myself and wonder if I could really do this. And they were the first to remind me that you didn’t just hit it big because you wrote a book.
But I wanted to try. I needed to know that I’d done everything I could to craft the story I’d kept in the recesses of my heart.
To share it with the world and let the readers decide.
It was scary to know that my soul was woven into each word, each page, and how one negative review could tear it all apart.
I had to believe I was tough enough to handle it.
That my book would resonate with those that needed to escape or needed to know they were loved.
Because I was going with my gut. I was writing heroines that looked like me.
People who weren’t the perfect size six and still found the love we all wished for.
I was going to show my readers that every single roll, dip, curve, dimple, and stretch mark was beautiful.
And that if you put yourself out there, love would find you.
And that belief that love will find people was ingrained in me. I had this deep-seated desire to show others who might have felt like I did over the years—that my weight defined whether I was worthy to find love—was what overrode the voices in my head, telling me I couldn’t do it.
I would do this.
No matter how long it took.
With my heart bursting with all the emotions over my ‘why,’ I opened my laptop. Visiting this small town was going to help me add the realistic day-to-day moments readers would love, and I was totally here for it.
Nora dropped off my food while I reread the previous few paragraphs I’d typed the night before to get my head in the game.
The characters took center stage like they always did, and began telling me their story.
Who they were, what they did, and how they’d react to each other and the problems I created for them.
I peeked over the top of my computer screen to make sure no one else was close by to see what I was typing.
Once verified, I popped in my earbuds and the 528 Hertz music was already set up to help me focus.
Finally, I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath to center myself and to set my intention for this session.
I wanted my creative side to have free rein and to let the story flow as it needed to.
My two main characters were finally giving in to their desire for each other.
Their kiss took on a whole new level of intimacy and raw need as I relived my kiss with Drew and put it into the scene.
This time though, I let my female lead do all the things I’d wanted to do to Drew.
She ran her hands up and over his abs and pulled his body flush against hers so she could feel his erection pressing into the softness of her belly.
I squirmed happily in my seat as the words flowed from my fingertips, erotic and sweet all at the same time.
A soft smile played on my lips as I imagined me and Drew as the main characters and what it would be like for us to be together in this way.
The hero slid the heroine’s pants down as she sat on the bed, his mouth so tantalizingly close to her wet core.
He kissed the crease where her thigh and hip met, and his beard scraped against her tender skin.
She trembled as he took his time, his breath ghosting along her seam.
Two fingers tapped the table in front of me. Twice.
My heart seized in my chest.
My fingers froze.
My lungs were now full of the air I gasped in and came out in a loud, high pitched scream that they likely heard in the next town.
I whipped my head up, my wide eyes meeting Drew’s startled ones from across the table. He jumped in his seat, tipping his chair back in the process. The legs rocked precariously until they finally settled back down.
“Oh, my God. Don’t ever do that again.” I let out a long breath, trying to calm my rapidly beating heart.
I groaned as other diners around me muttered, but a few laughed.
My gaze darted to Matt. He stared at me, and I had the oddest feeling that his gaze was either telling me he’d be watching me or he was fighting off laughter.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. Especially if it was the one that meant I got kicked out or banned from the diner.
“I called your name, Ellie. You didn’t respond.
” Drew slid his hand down over his beard and past his mouth.
For a second, I thought maybe he was mad at me for embarrassing him.
Until his shoulders started to shake and biting his bottom lip didn’t stop the deep chuckles escaping his mouth.
“Wow. I think you missed your calling. You could have been the screamer in slasher flicks for sure.”
“Shut up,” I grumped, but now I was laughing, too.
I did have one hell of a scream. Not that I used it much.
The last time was when I was in my bathroom, drying my hair upside down, and when I turned my head to look up there was a spider dangling an inch above my face.
My neighbor called the cops, who came rushing over and practically broke down my door thinking I’d been attacked.
“What in the world has you so enthralled?” His hand tugged my computer towards him. “A new show?”
“No!” I shrieked again and quickly shut my mouth as I frantically ripped my computer from his grip.
If I kept this up, Matt would definitely ban me from his diner, and I’d gotten so many good words in this morning.
“I mean, no thank you,” I said in my calmest polite voice which apparently he took as a challenge.
A wicked glint entered Drew’s eyes. “I’m going to find out your secret.”
“I can’t wait to see you try. I’m excellent at keeping secrets,” I taunted him, not sure where this bold side of me was coming from.
“We’ll see about that.” He grinned and I couldn’t help myself, so I grinned back.
I didn’t think we’d been staring at each other all that long, but suddenly Matt’s voice boomed across the room. “Buy something or give up your seat to a paying customer, Kingsley.”
Drew rolled his eyes. “I’m going to grab a coffee to go. Want one? Dad messaged me this morning. He set up a meeting at the shelter and wanted us to stop by to get a sense of their needs before we present it to our employees.”
Number one million and seven why I loved Kingsley Jewelry. They asked for their employees’ opinions and actually listened to what they said.
“Yes, to the coffee. Milk, no cream or sugar,” I replied as I slid my laptop back into my bag. After that fiasco I felt like I needed another cup.
Drew shuddered. “How do you drink it like that?”
I laughed as I packed up my things. “Right. Like your cream and sugar with a dash of coffee is sooo much better.”
With a disgruntled look, he headed toward the counter.
I couldn’t stop my eyes from lingering on his retreating frame.
He was in another suit, but this one clung to his arms, highlighting his biceps.
The pants were tailored to perfection, and though I was a total arm porn kind of girl, that ass was vying for first place.
He glanced my way when he finished ordering, and the smirk he shot me pretty much meant I was busted. He totally knew I was checking him out.
And instead of hiding my head in embarrassment or pretending I didn’t know what he meant, I grinned and shrugged.
It felt like the last few months of us slowly getting to know each other had been leading to this. And whatever this was, I wasn’t sure I knew what to do with it or with the certainty that my little crush on him wasn’t going to stay so little anymore.
Drew drove us to the animal shelter located about ten miles from the diner. When we arrived, the manager met us at the door. He shook Drew’s hand, and they gave each other the bro hug, back slapping thing.
“Theo, man. How have you been?” Drew asked.