Chapter 29
Lara
Attend seasonal events like Novel Haven’s Fall Fair to present your books and needlework.
Music echoes through the room like we’re at a club.
Visitors come piling in with the same level of enthusiasm as a crowd hearing their favorite song, ready to hit the dance floor.
The floor-to-ceiling windows of the ballroom have been blocked out, all the better to show off the lights of the booths, and the bigger publishers in particular make the whole place look like a funfair.
Mr. Crow himself has just opened the doors with Elsa, and now we’re ready to welcome our first few visitors.
Though I’ve been trying to convince myself all morning that I’m no longer nervous, I can feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins now.
At least it flushes away my thoughts of Luca. Or a little bit, anyway.
“Let the Hunger Games begin,” Sophia mutters next to me. The way she’s bobbing up and down on the balls of her feet, she must be just as anxious as I am.
“Only no one’s going to die,” I tell her, and Sophia snorts.
“No. Shame.”
“Excuse me? That’s a bit murderous for the cozy setting and all.
” I raise my eyebrows at her, but she gives me a dismissive wave.
I can’t press her on the subject, because at that moment, two men walk up to our booth.
The blue ribbons on their wrists mark them as influencers, and they look vaguely familiar to me.
Maybe I’ve seen them on YouTube or Twitch before, or maybe they were on Nataly’s content-creator invite list.
“Welcome to Novel Haven,” Sophia greets them with a smile. “Are you streamers?”
“I am. I’m Austin, hiya. My mate here does a bit of YouTube on the side.
” Austin jerks his thumb at a man with dark-blond hair and brown glasses, who rolls his eyes.
Then he turns back to Sophia. “To be honest, I’ve never played a cozy game in my life, but I’ve managed to snag a streaming slot this afternoon, and I wanted to show my viewers at least three of the new games here.
So I thought I’d have a poke around. Your booth looks amazing. ”
Sophia’s eyes start to gleam. No surprise there.
If Austin was assigned one of the coveted streaming slots, he must be a real big-name content creator.
Once Novel Haven is open for early access, we’ll send out keys for the game to streamers.
But this would be our first chance of getting that sort of attention for free.
“Make yourself at home,” Sophia says, indicating the gaming chair with a sweeping gesture. “Would you like something to drink?”
While Sophia gets Austin a Coke Zero from the minifridge, his mate claps him on the shoulder.
“Have fun. I’ll go make sure the girls don’t nab anything from that horror booth.
Wouldn’t put it past them.” He grimaces, waves at us again, and leaves the booth.
There are several groups waiting out front now.
Since Sophia is busy showing Austin the game, I take a deep breath, and then I take a step forward.
“Hey,” I greet the people in front of our booth. They’re obviously too shy to come in. “Welcome to Novel Haven,” I echo Sophia’s words. “Have a look around in your own time, and just let me know if you have any questions.”
It’s like my words have broken a spell. People start shuffling into the book nook.
The oohs and aahs from everyone as they discover the comfortable armchair, the mounds of fairy lights, and the small items on the bookshelves put a smile on my face.
People take pictures and videos and reach for the free bookmarks and pens.
I hope we’ve brought enough promo materials, considering what a crowd we’re attracting already.
We only get one time slot per day for crafting miniature books.
When we sent Elsa our plan, she warned us we might be overreaching otherwise.
And she was right. Time flies, and I hardly notice Austin leaving our booth and new people stepping up to the PCs.
The chairs are occupied constantly. I answer questions about the game, about the development process, hand out drinks—all with a constant smile fixed on my face, until the corners of my mouth start to tremble from exhaustion.
I can barely hear the music in the room over the loud babble of the crowd now.
There’s no time to check how the teams at the other booths are faring, but our booth is fit to burst, and there’s a little queue out front.
We could have easily made the book nook a few square feet bigger and rented another PC, but that would have strained our budget even more, probably.
That’s for when we win, I tell myself, and looking at the many happy faces taking in my lighthouse, my home, winning no longer feels out of reach.
“Bye, we hope you had a good time!” Sophia tells two girls of maybe eighteen who are just leaving our booth with beaming smiles on their faces after recording several TikToks and playing the demo.
“I need to wee,” I say. “And I’m going to take my time, because I really need to sit down for a bit.”
Sophia laughs. “Maybe you should join Nat for roller skating sometime if you’re already feeling it in your bones. This is just day one.”
“Oh, don’t you start too!” I roll my eyes at her. “Can you manage by yourself for a bit?”
“Sure. Once you’re back, I’ll go pick up some more drinks. We’re running out of energy drinks, and we’ll be out of Coke soon too.”
I give her a thumbs-up and wind my way through the crowd and out of the booth.
There are still people flocking to our book nook.
Now that I’m in the aisle, I see for the first time how full the place is.
Visitors stroll past the booths, and two girls are posing for their parents in front of an Animal Crossing photo backdrop.
Back by the streaming area, I spot Austin’s mop of brown hair and several men and women out front, probably waiting for him to finish, to take photos with them and give them autographs.
I even recognize Mr. Crow’s silver hair as he stands right in the middle of the aisle.
A few seconds later, I see why he’s there: He’s giving an interview for the press.
But I can’t tell for whom, because I’m distracted by the sight of a familiar, broad-shouldered figure: Luca.
His booth is about as crowded as ours, and he’s in the middle of a conversation, but when he glances up, I can see him falter mid-sentence.
Time stops for a moment, and damn it, it shouldn’t, not around all these people.
That’s what I promised myself after we were nearly caught yesterday.
We should be focusing on our respective tasks, not on each other.
Someone bumps into me, and I mutter, “Sorry,” tearing my gaze away.
Away from Luca’s eyes and my thoughts of our kiss, of his hands wandering over my skin, his muscles tensing under my touch . . .
Nope, nope, nope, I think with every step that carries me away from Luca and toward the loos.
I pull out my phone and open the group chat.
There are countless messages from Nat and Aria waiting for me.
There was no chance to read them in all the hustle and bustle earlier.
I don’t read them now either, but I write the confession I should have written yesterday.
Lara: fml
Aria: You OK? We wondered why you didn’t text. Did sth happen?
Nat: Was that Shane wanker an arse to you again? Should we come join you? I’d totally sacrifice my savings and buy a ticket!
Lara: I kissed Luca.
Nat: NOW?? YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING!
Lara: Last night. And tbh, during the prelims too, but I thought it’d be a onetime thing then.
Nearly got caught yesterday, and I decided to put the whole thing out of my mind and keep things professional.
I thought: Hey, no prob, just get a grip at the fair and take care of the rest afterward.
But how?! His booth is way too close to ours, and there’s another networking do tonight.
Nat: EXCUSE ME?! And you tell us this NOW?
Aria: Was it nice?
Lara: Ugh, it was.
Nat: Are we just going to ignore that she kept this to herself for two weeks? And that she had time to FaceTime us all night yesterday after the kiss?
Aria: I dunno, I think it’s romantic. A secret affair between two competitors at a remote ivy-covered estate.
Nat: So we’re ignoring it.
Lara: I was gonna tell you, but I wanted to get the competition over with first. And now everything’s gotten so bloody complicated . . .
Nat: You’re gonna win GameChanger.
Lara: Complicated with Luca, I mean. How am I supposed to focus on the competition if my focus goes out the window the second I see him?
Nat: Then look the other way!
Aria: Nat, seriously!
Nat: It’s only three days. Win this thing, and then we’ll be safe, his big-shot studio will catch him when he falls, and then you can date him to your heart’s content. His ego’s just gonna have to take the blow of you and Sophia flattening him.
Lara: Guess you’re right. I can’t afford Shane stirring up the mood against me any more than he already has.
Nat: Fuck Shane. I’m just worried about you. I know you, and if you fall for that guy, you’ll want him to win more than yourself.
Aria: Slow burn. You can still talk and stuff.
Lara: I’ll keep you posted.
Sighing, I lock my phone screen and leave the ballroom for the toilets.
There’s a cosplay repair corner out front where a young woman is patching up her Princess Zelda costume, carefully reattaching a golden ornament with a needle and thread.
There’s a separate stall for us exhibitors so we can get back to our booths as quickly as possible.
This means I can skip the queue by the loos.
I lock the door behind me and let out a big breath of air.
I’ve been so caught up in my work over the past few hours that I’ve barely had time to think about Luca—but now, my thoughts run wild.
I was always so reluctant to catch feelings, let alone date someone, that this feels like the first time my heart has ever been drawn to someone like this.
And maybe it’s the truth. But the fact of the matter is, Nataly is right: The more I learn about Luca and Desolate Dread, the more I want that win for him.
A win we need for ourselves, and badly. I’m going to get a grip. What are three days, anyway?