Chapter 12
Eve
“So,it’s been a few weeks now. How are things going with Max?”
Anjannette dragged out the name, turning the single syllable into three.
“Things are great. We’re having a good time.”
“And the book?” Keera asked.
“I’m happy to say the words have been flowing. I just passed the halfway point this morning.”
Keera screeched and clapped her hands.
“I told you getting the juices flowing would help,” Sophie said.
I rolled my eyes.
“Well, I guess I can’t argue with you since I literally started this book the night after Max and I had sex for the first time.”
“So what have you guys been doing? Besides boning.” Keera asked.
“Boning?” I snort-laughed. “I haven’t heard that word since high school.”
“It’s retro.” She shrugged. “And just answer the question.”
“We’ve just been doing regular date stuff. You know, dinner, hiking, walks on the beach. Tomorrow night we’re having dinner and watching a movie at his place.”
“Ooh, a Netflix and chill night,” Anjannette said.
“I’ve used that term in my books, but didn’t even realize that’s what we’d be doing. Now I’m even more excited about the date. I’ll be checking an item off my bucket list I didn’t even know was on there.”
“You know, as much as I miss you, I’m so happy you went to Seaside. Even through my crappy computer, I can see how good it’s been for you. You’re totally glowing,” Keera said. “And I swear it has nothing to do with the fact that you’re writing again.”
She drew a cross over her heart with her fingers as she said that last sentence.
“What does Aunt Winnie think about you and Max canoodling?” Sophie asked.
“In true Aunt Winnie fashion, she thinks it’s wonderful. I told you, she was lobbying for us to get together from the start.”
“What about Grace?” Anjannette asked.
“I haven’t told her.”
“Are you going to?”
“Probably not.” I scrunched my nose. “I don’t think I need to, do you?” Before they could answer, I continued. “I mean, I’ll be back in Scranton at the end of the summer so it’s not like this can go anywhere.”
Even though that thought has been in the back of my mind since Max and I got involved, somehow saying it out loud makes it more real. And more depressing.
“You never know. Things always work out in our novels. Maybe real life will mimic our art,” Sophie said.
“You might want to at least casually mention Max to Grace just in case he ends up being her step-daddy.” Keera bobbed her eyebrows.
I rolled my eyes.
“Now you’re getting way ahead of yourself,” I said. “Besides, Grace isn’t telling me about the boys she’s dating out in England.”
“How do you know she’s dating anyone?”
“Because she’s an accent whore just like her mama. Those guys would be hard to resist.”
I stuck my tongue out to punctuate my words then took a sip of wine. Anjannette opened her mouth to say something but I waved my hand in front of my camera to halt her words.
“Enough about me. Tell me what’s going on at the studio.”
Eventually I’ll have to figure out how Max and I are going to handle the end of the summer, but I’ll put that off for as long as I can.
Max
“Sorry about the takeout.I’d planned on cooking, but ended up working later than expected.”
I had just enough time to pick up the food, get home, and take a quick shower before Eve arrived.
“No, this is great.”
We spread the assortment of appetizers I’d brought home from Mo’s Seafood and Chowder out on the coffee table.
“Rough day?” she asked as she filled her plate.
“No, the opposite actually,” I said as I did the same. “Pop planned on the job taking two days, but by three o’clock, we were eighty percent finished, so we decided to push and finish today.” I smiled. “That means I have tomorrow off.”
“That’s a nice surprise.”
“It definitely is.” I popped a piece of shrimp into my mouth and settled against the arm of the couch. “How’d the writing go today?”
“Wonderful. I finished the black moment right before I headed over here.”
Before meeting Eve, I wouldn’t have had a clue what that means. But now I know it’s the point in the book where the happily-ever-after is in peril. I also know that it means she’s at least three-quarters done writing the book.
“That’s awesome.”
“I’m so happy the words are flowing again. When I couldn’t write, I was so scared my career was over.” She chuckled. “I wouldn’t know how to act if I had to go out and get a real job.”
“From what you’ve told me about writing and marketing books, your job is as real as it gets.”
“You know what they say, ‘Love what you do and you won’t work a day in your life.’”
“Truer words have never been spoken.”
“Do you love being a handyman?”
I thought about how to answer that as I finished chewing a crab Rangoon.
“Love is a strong word. I mean, I enjoy the work. But what I like most about it is working with Pop.”
“That’s really sweet.”
“He seems like a curmudgeonly old coot sometimes, but he invited me to move in with him when I had nowhere to go and no plan. Then he hired me as his assistant and had the patience of a saint as he taught me the necessary skills.”
“So you didn’t take classes or anything?”
“Nope, Pop taught me everything I know.”
I finished the last bite on my plate and set it on the coffee table. Before Eve asked more about my education or work background, I decided to change the subject.
“Did you have a movie in mind?”
Picking up the remote, I turned on the TV and pulled up the apps.
“I don’t,” she said. “I’ve never had a Netflix and chill night so I’m not sure which genre is best.”
I raised my brow.
“Is that what this is?”
“When I told my pole ladies what we were doing tonight, they labeled it as such.”
“If the pole ladies said it, it must be true.” I clicked on Netflix. “Let me know if something catches your eye.”
“Besides you?”
She flashed a sexy smirk that turned into a giggle. Placing the remote on the coffee table, I moved over to sit next to her.
“We could chill and Netflix.”
I tugged at her shirt to expose her collarbone then I kissed my way across it and up her neck.
“Mmm, that sounds like a wonderful idea.”