Chapter 4
Bailey
I’m thrown back before I can tell what’s hit me. My balance, lost on the high heels Hollis insisted on earlier, nearly takes me down just as a forearm covered in a map of tattoos pulls me right back up.
But the arm, and the man attached to it, have already turned and gone too quickly to hang on to after I land on my feet.
So, I reach for the next closest thing to steady myself — the elbow of the woman nearby — since the man who nearly just ran me over is already sprinting away. Fast. Pushing through the crowd while I’m left wondering what the hell is making that guy run out of here like his hair’s on fire.
“Don’t move!” he calls over his shoulder, turning his face just enough for me to do a double-take. “Back in a sec!”
His eyes, those two icy blue pools, knock me back again. This time, I manage to steady myself with my hand still clenched around the woman’s arm beside me.
Rhett’s eyes are exactly how I remember them. Intense, like the man they belong to, lined in lashes so thick and black that it never really seemed fair.
He turns away and then disappears into the crowd.
“Rhett?” I choke out the name of this would-be mirage, knowing damn well that there’s nothing fake about him being here this time. I’ve imagined him in the crowd at six of these events, tonight being the seventh, but none of those fantasies are as good as seeing him here for real.
Except, I’m about to read an excerpt from the book.
This book.
My heart begins to race all over again.
“What, dear?” the woman asks.
I turn, still gripping her arm.
“Sorry,” I tell her, letting go, shaking off the shock of nearly getting mowed down.
By him. If someone poured a bucket of ice water over my head right now, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between that and the shock racing down my body.
I can barely feel my legs right now. “I came over to help clean all this up after that tray got knocked over and . . .” But I trail off, watching the door get shoved open, followed by a thick head of dark hair running out.
I blink, watching him go.
“Where’s that man off to?” the woman muses, following my eyes. “He seemed to be chasing someone.”
“I have no idea,” I whisper, knowing she’s probably wrong. Rhett’s more likely to be running away from me than chasing anyone else.
“Friend of yours?” she asks.
“It’s Rhett.” My lips part into a smile that I can’t stop. He’s here. “And yeah, kind of.”
“Well, I hope your kind-of friend is coming back soon. Us girls could use more of that in here tonight.” She nudges me with a wink. “Reminds me of the guy on your cover.”
“Right,” I tell her, feeling my cheeks redden. “Weird coincidence.”
Ugh.
I smooth the sequins down my stomach as the tray that spilled earlier passes with a heap of napkins piled on the top. The young, red-in-the-face waitress walks beneath it.
The crowd resumes its book chatter, and the volume returns to filling every nook and cranny of the space, echoing up toward the vaulted ceiling, practically making the room vibrate.
“Enjoy your night,” I tell the woman, smiling, then step away and glance at the door. It’s still shut without any trace of him.
This is my cue to read the planned chapter from my book. Now. As fast as I can before he walks back in.
Finding Simon’s face across the room, I mentally will him to look at me. When we do make eye contact, I twirl one finger above my head, signaling that I’m ready to get this show on the road.
“Now?” he mouths back. His brows tighten when he checks his watch. It’s earlier than we’d agreed for me to read. “It’s not time yet,” he mouths, shaking his head.
I make a beeline for him, glancing over my shoulder to make sure the door remains closed.
“Time to read!” I say brightly when I reach him, fully expecting the eyebrows to spring to life. Which they do, on cue.
“You have another thirty minutes of mingling,” he reminds me. “Would you rather spend that time signing a few books instead of chatting?”
“I’ll sign them after I read. I’m just feeling antsy to get it all over with, you know?”
He eyes me suspiciously. “You doing okay?”
I shake my head. “Hollis’ brother nearly flattened me just now. Did you see him run out of here like that?”
Simon’s eyes flash toward the door, then shift back to mine.
“Rhett ran out? Did he mention a reason?” Simon suddenly looks around the room like he’s searching for something.
“Nope. He just told me not to move, but I would love to disobey that and get this reading over with. ASAP, please.”
“You don’t want to wait for him to come back? You said you were—”
I shake my head without letting him finish, then take off toward the stage. I don’t need to answer more questions; I just need to get through this chapter.
Stopping at the side of the makeshift stage, just a foot off the ground, I shift my weight back and forth, waiting for him to introduce me.
Glancing over my shoulder to make sure Rhett is still roaming around the streets of New York instead of standing in this room right now, I nod toward the microphone, then grin broadly at Simon. Cueing the room and whoever else has their eyes on me that it’s time to get my reading started.
While I wait, I shoot Rhett a text: Coming back?
There’s no immediate answer.
The noise of the crowd dies down.
Simon follows my lead and takes the mic while his brows form one long caterpillar beneath the rim of his glasses. He clears his throat.
I grab a glass of water from a traveling tray and swallow half of it. Hoping it keeps the parched desert in my mouth hydrated enough to get through this.
When Simon finishes, the room fills with applause, and he welcomes me up to the podium with an outstretched arm. The dress I’m wearing throws a million prisms around the room as I get up under the lights, just as I predicted.
“Hello,” I say, pausing to smile at a few of the faces I recognize in the crowd.
One’s a man I’ve seen at every book release party since the very beginning.
He’s easy to recognize since he’s adorably enthusiastic each time I sign another new copy for him.
A loud group of readers standing off to the side gives a little whoop.
One of them, I notice, is dressed up like the woman on the cover of my new release.
I grin and point her out to the crowd, telling the room that I love her outfit choice.
The crowd chuckles as she does a little spin, then they all look back at me.
“Thank you for coming,” I start. “This book is . . .” I pause, collecting my nerves.
“Well, it’s really special to me. I actually began writing it years ago, before any of the others.
This one includes the first official chapter I ever wrote as an author, which is the one I plan to read to you here tonight.
Even though I wrote it a long time ago, I sat on this story for many years before finishing it because I never wanted anyone to read it.
” The crowd chuckles along with me when I pause.
“And why?” I ask, not totally sure if I’ll ever be ready to share the real reason with anyone.
“The thing is, some of the books I’ve written have traces of me tucked inside the pages, while others are like writing about a stranger I’ve never encountered in my life.
This one has a little bit of both. Because sometimes the people we know, or think we know, are so often strangers at the end of the day.
Places can be like that, too. Certain places, once so familiar, can turn into something we hardly recognize anymore.
No matter how much we wish they’d stay the same.
” I blink, reminding myself that I just need to get through this one single chapter.
“Anyway, thank you all for coming out tonight. Your support means the absolute world to me. Now, bear with me as I read this, the prologue from my latest book, Heartbreak.”
Taking one last gulp of air, I open my book to the first page, glance over the crowd to the door, still closed, and then open my mouth to start.