Chapter 14
Ismeralda
I get the best sleep since we’ve embarked on this whirlwind tour, waking up feeling refreshed and cheerful, the loveseat surprisingly comfortable. Gabe has a bad case of bedhead, but the sight of him across the room still makes my heart flip. He’s already up and ordered donuts and coffee, which are sitting on the coffee table in front of me. Gabe’s sipping coffee as he reads his phone from his spot in that ridiculous bed.
I tumble off the loveseat, glad that I wore shorts and a T-shirt rather than my usual frilly night gown.
“Thank you for the coffee and donuts,” I say, pouring myself a mug of the steaming beverage and snagging a donut.
He looks up and nods, causing my heart to do another summersault. Maybe it’s just the ambiance of this honeymoon suite, but I think I’m falling for him.
“Please assure me that you didn’t book us as newlyweds at the dude ranch,” he says a few seconds later.
A laugh slips out. “I assure you I did not book us as newlyweds at the ranch.”
His eyes narrow. “But did the General?”
Shifting on the tiny sofa, I hedge. “I’m not certain. He thought it was a great ruse to help put off the stalker when he booked us here.”
Gabe grunts, the sexy sound causing goosebumps to rise on my arms. “Winston is going to get an earful from me when we get back.”
Suppressing laughter, I point to the bathroom. “Do you want to go first?”
“No, I already showered. You take as long as you need.”
I guess his bedhead was shower head, but either looks sexy on him.
Collecting my suitcase, I saunter off to the bathroom, anxious to get the book signing behind us so we can hide out at the ranch. Yeehaw!
~*~
My uncle prepared the bookstore personnel, and everything is set up when we arrive. Today’s signing is an early morning event, the only one I’m doing during this book tour. I wonder how well attended this timeslot will be since it’s a weekday and a lot of people will be working. Uncle Barnaby told me not to worry because Reno is a tourist town, and a large contingency of the locals work at night. He also said that the morning schedule would draw in the tourists and not conflict with their nighttime gambling at the casinos.
The event starts out slow as people trickle in with never a waiting line. My heart sinks that I’m wasting my time as well as the store’s.
“Off to a bit of a sluggish start,” Gabe comments after I sign a book for a couple from Minnesota. The woman is a big fan, but her husband was just tagging along.
“No kidding. I guess this early morning time was a terrible idea,” I say with a frown.
Another thirty minutes tick by at an excruciatingly slow pace. Gabe stifles a yawn while I scroll through my phone watching funny cat videos—I already finished signing the big stack of books the store will try to sell later.
Just when I’m ready to say we should close down, a tour bus pulls up in front of the store. Men and women flood out, laughing and talking as they enter the store.
“Where’s the makeup gal’s book signing? That app said she’d be here,” a portly man wearing a Hawaiian shirt asks. The store manager instructs them where to stand and a line quickly forms. When another bus arrives, the store is suddenly filled to capacity.
Wondering what app my agent posted the book tour times and locations on, I pick up my pen and plaster on a smile as a diminutive woman toddles up to the table. “Who do I make this out to?”
“Betty Rubble,” the woman replies. I hear Gabe stifle a laugh behind me.
Thinking this must be a joke, I play along. “Are you with Wilma Flintstone?”
The woman throws me a glare that could strip wallpaper. “Of course not!”
Oops. I quickly sign the book and hand it over. “Have a lovely day,” I say as she grabs it and scurries off.
“Open mouth, insert foot,” Gabe says in a low voice.
“Thanks for that helpful comment, Captain Obvious,” I mutter and Gabe chuckles.
After the incident with Betty Rubble, I’m not going to comment on anyone’s name, even if they tell me to make the book out to Cinderella, Marge Simpson, or Princess Leia.
Tourist after tourist has me sign their book. One tour bus is from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and I learn that they have a makeup club there that follows all my videos.
“We get together once a month to try out your new tips. It’s helpful to try them as a group because we can watch each other,” one woman says. “It takes a steady hand to keep the smokey eye from looking like a racoon, don’t ya know,” she chortles in her lilting Wisconsin accent.
One man has me sign a book for his mother. “She doesn’t have a clue about makeup,” he says, and I wonder how well received my book will be.
“Going makeup-free is a prerogative that I support, but she might find my skin care tips useful,” I say.
He laughs. “Too late, her face is as wrinkled as one of those Shar-Peis!”
Thrusting that image aside, I sign the book and hand it to him with a smile.
~*~
The book signing isn’t a complete bust; the tour buses stopping by were a big win. At precisely one o’clock we shut down the signing room and I pack up my stuff. We’re driving to the dude ranch in Utah, so we need to hit the road as soon as possible.
“Thank you for everything,” I say to the store manager.
“We appreciate you stopping at our store,” he says. “We’ll feature your book at our New Releases table for several weeks.”
Waving to the other store personnel, Gabe and I head to the limo parked at the back of the store. He makes a show of scanning the area for threats and I smack him on the arm.
He grins. “We can’t be too careful. Betty Rubble and her gang may be waiting to jump us.”
“She was harmless as a flea,” I say with a giggle.
Gabe shrugs as he climbs into the driver’s side. “How about we grab some fast food and then get on the road?”
This has become our routine, and I hate to admit it, but I’ve come to love stopping at these fast-food places. A burger here. A chicken sandwich there. Two tacos and an enchilada. A seemingly endless variety of choices.
“Sure! What are you hungry for?” I ask.
“Something that doesn’t have any sugar,” he quips. I guess all those donuts he ate for breakfast are coming back to bite him.
“Let’s live on the wild side and you surprise me.”
He laughs. “I know just the place.”