Chapter 21
“Congratulations, Parker. You now have a two-book deal,” David Fox said, and named the amount of Parker’s advance.
It was more than Parker had hoped for. A two-book deal that came with a hefty advance. Who wouldn’t want that?
“Thanks, David. This is great,” he said.
“They’re excited to have you,” said David. “I’ll be sending a deal memo tomorrow, so check it over.”
“Will do,” Parker said. He had a book deal. Life was looking good.
He called his uncle to share the news. Not Mom. That would probably be more a case of breaking the news because he knew she
wasn’t going to be happy. He’d tell her eventually, but not yet.
“Congrats. Looks like you’ll be the next hot thing,” said Uncle Jerome. “The battle of the sexes lives on.”
“They’re giving me a two-book contract,” Parker said.
“And a hefty advance?” guessed his uncle.
“Probably not as much as you get but it’s a sweet deal.”
“Any idea what your next book’s going to be about?”
“No clue.”
“Title it Everything I Know About Women, then leave all the pages blank. It’ll be a great follow-up for this one. You can call it a memoir.”
“Funny,” said Parker.
“I thought so. Glad they’re giving you a decent advance. Make sure you spend some of it on your mom.”
“Of course.” Hard as she worked, his mom deserved some special treatment. Maybe a cruise. “You know what’s really great about
this? I can do whatever I want. No more jumping through hoops at the station.”
His contract was up for renewal come August. He could go anywhere after that. Maybe he would. His podcast was doing great.
He’d have money. KWOW needed him more than he needed them.
He frowned. They sure weren’t acting like it.
“You better keep playing nice at your job for a while,” cautioned his uncle. “You won’t get that advance in one lump sum.
They’ll dole it out to you.”
Parker almost heard his balloon of euphoria pop. His mom got royalties, but she’d never shared about her advances. All he
knew was that she was doing okay. And that his uncle was doing great. He did have it at the back of his mind that he’d be
rolling in a big lump sum like a happy pig in mud.
“This book could be a runaway hit, and you could be fine, but don’t do anything impetuous,” his uncle continued.
“Like?” Parker prompted.
“Like don’t quit your day job. I know everyone’s into streaming and podcasts, but radio still has a powerful reach. And it’s
paid you well.”
“Right now, I’m the one paying,” Parker said.
“Every job has its downside. Even writing. I know you’ve got talent, Parks. You just need to give yourself time to figure out how to harness it to something lasting, and the last thing you need while you’re doing that is to jump off the financial cliff.”
This wasn’t the conversation Parker had expected. He didn’t know whether to be encouraged or frustrated. Not a good way to
begin the day.
It got worse when he arrived at the station.
“It’s a go,” Jay told him. “We’ve got Alice. We can’t get her until Tuesday, but we’ll meet with her on Monday to help her
prep for the show. The bookstore is closed that day and we’ll meet her and her mom there at two. Arne will be along to film
a reel. We’ll put it up that evening as a tease.”
All those stupid stunts, and now here came the worst of all, right on the heels of getting a book deal. He wished he could
quit right then and there. Wished he had more money in savings. Wished he didn’t have a big, fat car payment. Wished he was
getting that large lump sum he’d been fantasizing about. Wishing wouldn’t help. For the time being, he was stuck.
“This is gonna get you off Harlan’s shit list. It’s a good thing,” Jay told him.
No, it wasn’t. “I just got a deal for my book.”
“Hey, awesome. Way to go, bro.”
“Except this isn’t exactly going to lay the groundwork for promoting it. It’s a nightmare with dynamite attached.”
“Nothing we can do. It’s a done deal. Anyway, it’s only a few days.”
A few days that would feel like a million. Parker wasn’t sure what circle of hell he was entering but he wished he knew where
the exit signs were.
He called his uncle again and filled him in on the latest complication in his life. “What would you do if you were me?”
“Wear shin guards.”
Real helpful. “Thanks,” he grumbled and ended the call. He’d find a way to spin this. He had to.
Jenny Riddle was reading over the latest pages she’d written on her new novel when her brother stopped by her house to let
her know about her son’s upcoming adventure in Romance Land.
“I hope they don’t push a bookshelf over on him,” Jenny said.
“He’s tough. He can take it,” Jerome assured her.
“He’s only tough on the outside.”
“He’ll find a way to make it work. Parker has a gift for always landing on his feet,” said Jerome.
Not always. He’d landed on his heart more than once. The last breakup had hurt his pride as well. Parker wasn’t one to let
go of insults easily.
In a way, Jenny couldn’t blame him. The horrible Luna had manipulated and used him when they were together and then had humiliated
him after he broke things off. She gave women a bad name, and as a romance writer she was a fraud because she didn’t really
understand the meaning of love. No romance heroine would be as selfish and vindictive as she was.
But then Parker hadn’t exactly been giving men a good name lately. He certainly hadn’t been making one for himself with his
silly jibes at women. Maybe the bookstore was exactly where he needed to be. Her shock-jock son ringing up sales on romance
novels. She had to laugh.
And she did.
The Chili Peppers were seated in a circle, busy discussing their latest read, when a new arrival settled on a chair behind Scarlet. She felt his presence before she saw him. Her nose picked up on the fact that he’d loaded up on her favorite cologne.
She looked over her shoulder and Mark gave her a tentative smile and a little wave. “What are you doing here?” she whispered.
“I came to see you,” he whispered back. “And say I’m sorry.”
“You have a lot to be sorry for,” she informed him, and turned her attention back to the discussion at hand. So do I. Say it! She clamped her lips shut. Yes, she’d handled some things wrong, but he’d started it.
Still, here he was. And her heart was beginning to beat fast.
“I love a good second-chance romance,” Lina was saying. She looked to where Scarlet and Mark sat. “Love when two people come
to their senses and realize they were meant to be together. In books and in real life.” She pointed at Mark. “Looks like we
got a guest. Weren’t you one of the strikers?”
Scarlet turned in time to see his face flushing red. “The strike’s over,” he said.
Lina’s smile was mocking. “It sure is. Are you here to join our book club?”
The red got darker. “No, I’m here to talk to my wife.”
“Second-chance romance,” cracked Georgia Bishop. She moved to the refreshment table and put a shortbread cookie on a plate.
“If you’re going to be here you may as well eat,” she said, handing it to Mark.
He murmured his thanks, not quite looking at her.
“So, what did you all think about the love scene at the end?” Lina asked.
“I think it was perfect,” said Kara Bane. “If my man had known how to talk to me like that maybe we’d still be together.”
“Men could learn a lot from these books,” Lina said, and looked pointedly at Mark.
Yes, they could, thought Scarlet. But some men weren’t teachable.
Still, here was Mark, sitting right behind her.
The discussion continued as the group analyzed how the characters had mismanaged their relationship.
“The problem was that Jackson didn’t want to admit he was wrong,” said Georgia.
“Big surprise. What man does?” sneered Kara.
“I want to,” Mark whispered in Scarlet’s ear.
Suddenly, she had no desire to stick around for any more of the meeting.
“I gotta go,” she announced.
She gathered her coat and purse and headed for the door, Mark right behind her. She was aware of both her mother and sister,
standing by the cash register, watching, probably both hoping for a happy ending for her.
She wanted a happy ending, too. Could they create one?
The minute they were outside, he grabbed her by the arms, pulled her to him and kissed her. “I can’t stand it any longer,”
he said against her lips. “I miss you, baby. Please, give me another chance.”
She was melting faster than a snowflake in the sunshine from that kiss, until she remembered how badly he’d behaved. How justified
she’d been in how she’d behaved.
She pulled away. “Why should I? Give me one good reason, Mark.”
“Because I don’t want to lose you.”
She shook her head. “Not good enough.”
He frowned. “I was wrong, okay?”
Now they were getting somewhere. But she needed to hear more. She waited.
“I watched you at the strike, being nice to all those guys and I realized . . .” He stopped talking, clawed a hand through his hair. “I could lose you forever. There are a lot of men out there who’d love to have you, and thinking about it makes me nuts.”
Very romantic. But selfish.
“You know, Mark. You’re still talking about you. And what you want. Where’s the us in that?”
“I want us to be together.”
“With you doing whatever you want and then using some stupid radio sports jock to justify it? We’re supposed to be a team,”
she pressed. “You haven’t been much of a team player lately.”
His focus shifted from her face to his feet. “I know. I was feeling . . .” His words trailed off.
“Feeling what?”
“Whipped. Like I had no say in anything.”
His words shocked her. “Of course, you had a say.”
“No. I just sort of went along, and then I got pissed because I did. But that’s on me, not on you. Look, Scarlet, I want to
start over.”
“Just like that?” she challenged. “You come home and we pretend you were never a jerk.” That wouldn’t work. They’d end up
right back where they were.
He shook his head. “Not like that. We go out, have some fun. Talk stuff over. Remember why we got together in the first place
and figure out how to stay together.”
She cocked her head, studied him. “A date.”