Chapter 6
Cranberry Romance Event
The Harborside Regency
Providence, RI
She should have faked her own death when she had the chance, Kristen thought as the really disgruntled-looking woman who had been glaring at her since she stepped into her line five minutes ago stepped up to her table and-
“I’ve been waiting over a year for your next book,” came the angrily muttered announcement that had Kristen struggling to bite back a wince.
Clearing her throat, Kristen opened her mouth to apologize only to have the incredibly angry-looking reader demand, “When are we getting another book?” before she could say anything.
“Before Christmas?” Kristan said, hoping beyond hope that she was finally able to finish a book by then, otherwise…
She really didn’t want to think about what would happen if she couldn’t pull this off.
For a moment, the reader didn’t say anything as she slowly nodded and placed her book on the table in front of Kristen to sign. Grateful for the reprieve, Kristen gave her a warm smile as she autographed the book and handed it back, watching the way the woman’s eyes narrowed on her.
“Before Christmas?” she asked after a slight hesitation.
“Before Christmas,” Kristen said, watching as the woman slowly nodded before she walked away, leaving Kristen sitting there, feeling sick to her stomach and-
She had no idea how she was going to do this.
For the past year, she’d been struggling to write.
But so far, she hadn’t been able to write a single word and she’d tried.
God, she’d tried. For the first month, she sat at her desk, staring helplessly at her computer, trying to figure out what she wanted to write.
By the second month, she’d convinced herself that she just needed a break.
So, she started taking walks, trying out new recipes, reading the books on her wish list, taking naps, and when the third month rolled around…
That’s when she started panicking.
When staring at her computer screen for sixteen hours a day didn’t work, she decided to change her routine, her diet, read every article and blog that she could find on writer’s block and tried anything and everything that she could think of to break out of it, but nothing worked.
That left her spending her days staring at her computer screen, hoping beyond hope that today would be the day only…
Nothing changed.
Every day, she dragged herself out of bed, took the dog that had yet to be named for a walk, made breakfast, cleaned up and put off sitting in front of her computer for as long as humanly possible.
When she finally ran out of excuses, she sat down only to stare at her computer until she found herself checking her email, scrolling online for hours, and giving in to whatever distraction was currently demanding her attention.
While other authors seemed to be publishing books every other month, she was debating adding another level to her Twinkie tower.
She hoped that by coming here and surrounding herself with other authors and readers that it would help, but so far, all it did was remind her that she was an absolute failure.
She really wished that she hadn’t come here, Kristen thought, biting back a sigh as she forced a warm smile when the next reader stepped up in line.
Twenty minutes later, her line began to die down when the book models started taking off their shirts, leaving her with no other choice but to finally open her laptop and stare helplessly at the screen while she waited for the words to magically appear.
When nothing happened, she reached into the goodie bag that one of the volunteers had left for her earlier, grabbed the bag of chips, tore it open and popped a chip in her mouth before she went back to staring helplessly at her computer screen.
She-
Found herself frowning as she watched a large tan hand pluck the bag of chips out of her hand. Telling herself that she was just imagining things, Kristen turned her head and found herself wondering what she did in a past life to deserve this.
“Can I help you?” Kristen asked, blinking at the large man helping himself to her chips.
“You can forgive me,” Garrett said, popping a chip in his mouth as he took in the large ballroom lined with tables, readers making the rounds getting autographs, swag, and pictures, and the authors that actually belonged here.
“That’s never going to happen,” Kristen said as she went back to staring at her computer screen.
“We’ll see,” Garrett said, sounding confident as he helped himself to her juice. “Where did your line go?”
“Why are you here?” Kristen asked, absently gesturing to the women lined up on the other side of the ballroom, hoping for a chance to meet the half-naked male models posing for pictures.
“Moral support,” Garrett said as she typed the word “The,” deciding that was the best place to start.
“So, you’ve decided to up your game after years of leaving bad reviews?” Kristen asked as she kept her fingertips hovering over the keys, waiting for the next word to magically appear.
“I deleted those reviews,” Garrett said, shrugging it off as he finished off her juice.
“Oh, you mean the reviews that you left for books that you never read? Are those the reviews that you’re talking about?” Kristen asked, blinking at him.
Clearing his throat, he muttered something that she couldn’t quite understand.
“I’m sorry. What was that?” Kristen asked, watching as he turned his attention to the goodie bag.
“I said that I read them,” Garrett said, taking her by surprise.
“If you hated them so much, why did you keep reading them?” she asked as he helped himself to a brownie from the bag.
“I meant, I read them recently,” Garrett said, tearing open the brownie and took a bite.
“Do you mean after spending years ripping my books apart and making my life a living hell for nothing?” Kristen asked, reaching over and plucked the brownie out of his hand and finished it off.
Sighing, Garrett reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out, swiped his finger across the screen, tapped something, and then placed the phone in front of her.
Frowning, Kristen glanced down at the phone and found herself reading a five-star review.
When she was done, she clicked on the reviewer’s name and found herself scrolling through ten more five-star reviews for her books, all of them writing about how good her books were and-
That whoever Tristan was based on was obviously the epitome of manliness.
When she looked up at Garrett, his lips pulled up into an incredibly sexy smile that had her eyes narrowing dangerously on him as he shot her a wink.
Nodding slowly, Kristen said, “I still hate you.”
“You never stopped loving me,” Garrett said, absently gesturing to the authors surrounding them. “Your books are better.”
“Have you even read their books?” Kristen asked, still wondering why he was here.
“Don’t have to,” Garrett said, shifting his attention to her computer. “What are you working on now?”
“Nothing,” Kristen said, biting back a sigh as she reached over and closed her computer.
“I can see that,” the annoying bastard murmured.
“I’m going to need you to go now,” Kristen said, gesturing to the exit.
“You haven’t accepted my apology yet,” Garrett pointed out with a heartfelt sigh and a sad shake of his head.
“Will you leave if I do?” Kristen asked, sounding really hopeful.
Garrett seemed to think that over before he slowly shook his head and stood up. “No, but I will help you,” he said, sighing heavily as he reached for his shirt, leaving her sitting there, unable to help but frown in confusion.
That is, until he reached for the first button.
“Garrett, I really don’t think that you should do that,” Kristen said, trying not to panic as her gaze shifted to the small group of middle-aged women to her right.
She watched as their gazes turned assessing while they slowly ran their eyes over him, taking in everything from his incredibly handsome face to his expensive shoes and everything in between as they debated whether or not he was worth giving up their spots in line.
“Shhh, not while I’m helping,” Garrett said, pulling his shirt free while she noted the exact moment they decided that he was more than worth it.