CHAPTER 56 Sophie Summers
Love Conquers All
“It’s so lovely to finally meet you,” I say. I’m putting on a brave smile even though it feels like my heart is breaking on the inside.
I haven’t spoken to Miller since the call three nights ago. He’s tried calling. He’s tried texting. But I’m too scared I’m going to spill the beans that I’m pregnant. I tell him everything, and I can’t keep this big of a secret from him.
I just never imagined telling him like this. I never imagined him staying with me out of obligation. I never imagined any of this, to be honest, and I’m a goddamn romance author. Imagination is my entire jam.
The doctor’s appointment yesterday was good. It’s confirmed. I’m pregnant. They said I’m due April tenth. It’s anyone’s guess if I’ll have Miller there by my side in the delivery room or if I’ll be by myself.
I can do hard things.
I’m here alone today, right? I’m about to sign books in public for the first time ever.
Victoria hugs me and nods to one of the chairs in front of her desk. “I can’t believe you’re really here! And engaged to a pro football player. Did we just become best friends?”
I giggle as I sit, and she perches on the edge of her desk in her office at the back of the bookstore. There was already a line out front when my Uber pulled behind the building to drop me off, and I’m suddenly a little nervous.
All these people are here to see me?
But why?
I’m just a girl who likes to make up stories.
“I think maybe we did,” I say, forcing the nerves away.
“If only he played for the Aces instead of that silly team in San Diego,” she laments.
“Maybe Travis should come play for the Storm,” I suggest. “You know, summers in San Diego top out at like eighty. How are the summers here in the desert?” I ask knowing full well their temps rise above a hundred.
“Drier than yours,” she teases.
“Yeah, the humidity really does nothing for my hair.” I fluff the bottom of it.
“As much as I want to talk weather with one of my most favorite authors, can you please, please, please tell me what you’re working on next?” she begs.
I pretend to zip my lips.
“Oh, come on!” she says. “You know everyone in line out there is going to ask you. Oh, that reminds me. Are you still okay with a little Q and A before you take your seat to start signing? Maybe you could read a passage from The Accidental Roommate !”
I nod. “A short Q and A is fine, but reading a passage?” I pull a face. “I don’t know about that.”
“I marked a few I thought could work, but if you don’t want to… ”
I blow out a breath. “Fine,” I relent. “I’ll do it.”
She punches a fist in the air. “Yes! And thank you so much for being here, Summer…I mean Sophie . I’m just thrilled to meet you. You’re welcome back here any time.”
“That’s really kind of you. I appreciate it.”
“Have you seen the line out my door? I already love my new bestie, but there are definitely selfish reasons driving that offer.” She laughs, and I laugh along with her. “You ready to get started?” she asks.
I nod.
“Can I get you anything? Water, coffee…”
“Some water would be great,” I say, my throat suddenly dry as nerves climb up my spine.
“You got it.” She opens a small fridge behind her desk and hands a bottle over to me.
I suck down half the bottle in a few sips, which does nothing good for the nausea in my stomach, and then I draw in a deep breath and follow Victoria out to the makeshift stage.
Rows and rows of chairs are set up to listen to me talk about my newest book. Every chair is taken, and people stand behind the rows of chairs and along the sides to see me.
Me.
I’m still in shock that people would show up here on a Friday afternoon to meet me.
This is absolutely beyond my wildest dreams.
It feels like an out-of-body experience as I sit on one of the chairs on the stage and Victoria stands at a podium with a microphone.
“Welcome to Harts and Harps Book Nook! I’m Victoria Woods, the owner of the store, and today I’m beyond thrilled to introduce you to Summer Love.
” She reads my biography from a sheet of paper.
“Bestselling author Summer Love has loved making up stories since she was a little girl, and her debut novel, Just the Two of Us , is a testament to her belief that love conquers all.”
I freeze at that line.
Is that even true of me anymore?
I used to believe love conquers all. I used to believe love was enough.
I’m not sure I still do after everything we’ve been through over the last few months.
She continues reading, but I tune her out as I think about Miller.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Summer Love!” she says, and the applause snaps me out of my thoughts.
I smile and wave to the crowd.
“We’d love to begin with Summer reading a short passage from The Accidental Roommate , which is now available right here in this bookstore!” Victoria nods at me, and I stand and switch places with her at the podium.
“Hi,” I say awkwardly to the room. It’s a sea of unfamiliar faces. I can do this. I used to teach high school kids. I’m used to speaking in front of large groups. This shouldn’t be scary or intimidating.
Except…it is.
For so long, I kept my identity a secret. Now it’s out.
People know it’s me.
And that’s a little scary. It feels like I’m exposing myself and my innermost thoughts to the world.
I open to the tabbed passage Victoria chose for me, and I remember writing these words. The memory washes over me like a warm blanket.
I’m about to start reading the passage when I glance up at the crowd.
“Victoria chose the passage, and before I start reading it, I just want to give a little background if that’s okay.
” I glance at Victoria, who nods. “I remember writing this exact scene. It was ten o’clock at night.
I needed to go to bed since I had to get up and teach a class full of high school juniors the next morning, but I was engrossed in the story.
I was engrossed in the characters. I couldn’t make myself slow down.
I couldn’t stop. And really, that’s my favorite part about crafting stories.
When I’m so into what I’m doing that everything around me seems to disappear.
” I lift a shoulder, a little embarrassed about baring my soul that way, and then I look down at my book.
My book.
This is my twelfth book.
Four years ago, I threw one out there as an experiment. Now I have twelve of them.
Life is sure magical and crazy and strange.
I think about that moment when my fingers were flying over the keys and I couldn’t stop writing these characters until I got them through the conflict in this scene.
I stayed up until three in the morning that night.
I was exhausted at school the next day, but it was worth the pain for the result on the page.
Will I still be able to do that with a child?
I force the thought out of my mind since I have a room filled with people staring at me, waiting for me to read the passage.
I do it, and my face is bright red as I get through the words that my brain created in private and I’m now sharing in public.
This book is selling well. It’s hitting the charts. It’s doing everything I ever could’ve imagined.
I just wish Miller was here to celebrate in this joy with me.
After I’m done reading the passage, I return to the chair I was sitting in as Victoria heads back to the microphone.
“Whew!” she says, fanning herself dramatically. “Did it just get hotter in here, or was that Summer’s words?”
The crowd laughs at that .
“I’m going to open the floor for a few questions before we head over for Summer to sign copies of the book. Who would like to start?” She points to a woman in the audience.
“What inspired you to write this book?” she asks.
Victoria hands me a microphone so I can answer the questions without having to get up.
“Honestly, I was reading another book about accidental roommates, and I loved the idea of that forced proximity. But I wanted to spin it into a fake engagement, so I took that inspiration and ran with it.”
“Are your characters inspired by people in your life?” another person asks.
I think about the book I’m working on now, and I think about how I wrote the two characters first getting together. He was always there for her. He showed up whenever she needed him. He performed these acts of service that spoke to her love language.
He’s Miller.
And that is why I’ve been blocked writing the end of their story. I don’t know what the end of my story with Miller is yet.
The realization dawns as it also dawns on me that she’s waiting for an answer to my question.
“Some have some characteristics of people in my life, but none are direct copies of anyone I know.” Except the hero in the book I’m working on now. I don’t dare say those words.
“Is it true you’re doing this full time now?” another person asks.
I nod. “Long story short, I quit my job teaching, and I’m a full-time author now.”
The crowd cheers for that, and I field a few more questions before Victoria says, “We can take one more question, and then we’ll move over to the signing area. ”
Half the crowd starts to scramble over that way, but there was already a decent line waiting in that direction.
I answer the last question, and then Victoria leads me from the back of the stage over toward the table where I’ll be sitting and signing.
I see another bottle of water, a stack of Sharpies, and more stacks of books for sale in case anyone in line doesn’t have one.
Desi is there, too, to help me out with anything I might need, and it’s a welcome relief to spot another friend.
There’s a row of workers ahead of me who are selling the book while I sit at the end of the table. One worker will write the next person’s name on a Post-it so I know how to spell it, and another will push the books over to me in order.
On the other side of the table are two more workers—one who will take photos and the other one who will direct the line. The one directing the line is currently blocking my view of the line, which is probably a good thing so I don’t get intimidated.
Victoria is running around taking photos and videos already, and as the organized chaos begins, she stands across from me to take video of the first book I will sign today.
The worker with the Post-its passes the first book to me, and I open it up and gasp when I see the name at the top.
Miller .
I glance up at the worker, and she’s smiling. There’s writing inside the book, and I recognize it immediately as Miller’s scrawl.
Tears heat behind my eyes.
Congratulations on your twelfth book. I’m so proud of you, and I will always be your biggest fan. I love you. I’ve always loved you, and I want to be by your side cheering you on for your thirteenth book, your thirtieth book, your hundredth book, and every book in between and beyond. Forever.
Whatever happens, I promise to be by your side forever. Not out of fear. Not out of obligation. Simply out of love. I have never loved anyone the way I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life showing you how much you mean to me.
“Oh my God,” I murmur, and when I finish reading, I glance up to find Victoria to tell her I need a minute before I start signing.
But instead of Victoria standing in front of me, it’s Miller Banks.
And he’s kneeling on the floor in front of my table.
I have no idea how he’s here.
All I know is that those words on that page? That’s what I want, too.
Forever.