The Write Stuff (A Write Stuff Novel Book 1)

  "Here, let me," Alec said, stepping in close behind me. The scent of his cologne wrapped around me like a warm blanket on the coldest of days. I closed my eyes, inhaling it in deeply.

  I finally turned around to face him, convinced I could handle it without cracking. I was wrong and right at the same time. Physically, I was able to hide my emotions behind a mask of indifference, but inside I was mess. "Fine," I said, stepping away from the banner. Dragging my chair with me, I slid around to the other side of the table and began setting up my books.

  I watched from the corner of my eye as Alec finished assembling the stand in no time at all. It didn't escape my notice when his shirt pulled up slightly, hinting at the full set of abs I had run my hands over intimately. Glancing around the room, it became evident I wasn't the only one who had noticed him.

  Alec was clearly the topic of conversation among several women who suddenly seemed more concerned with his ass than finishing the setup of their displays. I didn't know whether to laugh or flip them off. Actually, I couldn't blame them. I had firsthand experience with how sexy he was. I'd felt his hands and lips on my body. My legs had wrapped around his narrow waist, feeling every glorious hard inch of him.

  "I'll be right back," I said, rising abruptly from the table.

  Olivia looked surprised, holding a handful of bookmarks. "Wait, what about your table?"

  "Just put the finishing touches on it. I trust you. I'll only be a minute anyway." I had to get away to collect myself. The very body that I was sitting there lustfully reminiscing about was the same one that had left me hanging high and dry and practically humiliated. Several people tried to get my attention as I walked by, probably to ask about Alec, but I dodged them with the excuse of a bladder emergency as I quickly made my way into the main hallway.

  Thankfully, I found the bathroom empty. As it turned out, I hadn't lied after all. I really did have to pee. Once I finished, I deliberately stayed in the bathroom washing my hands as long as possible before I knew I absolutely had to get back to my table.

  Walking through the lobby on the way back to the banquet room, I spotted the long line of readers waiting to get into the signing. Their excited chatter echoed down the hallway, making the butterflies in my stomach flutter. Picking up my pace, I entered the banquet room and saw everyone at their tables, ready to go.

  "Two minutes," a voice announced over the loud speaker.

  I waved to a few more of my friends in passing before finally reaching my table, which looked fantastic. Olivia had outdone herself again. My books were creatively stacked and prominently displayed on one side of the table while my bookmarks were fanned out on the other. She had even laid out my two favorite signing pens along with a fresh can of Coke. "Thank you," I said, giving her a quick hug. "I'm sorry for acting like a freak."

  "It's cool. You know I'm here for you. Just remember what you're here for. This is your chance to shine." She squeezed my hand and collected the empty boxes to stack under the table and out of sight.

  Olivia was right and I knew that. I just needed to suck it up and do my job. Alec stepped out from behind the banner he had been moving into place. In my absence he had removed his shirt, which shouldn't have been shocking considering it was part of the plan. He looked amazing, which was why he was here. Now all I had to do was avoid any physical contact with him and I'd be fine.

  As I made my way around the table to my chair, my foot caught on the leg of the table next to me and I stumbled forward. I would have landed face first if not for Alec's firm hand reaching out to grasp my upper arm. He had saved me from possibly a bloody lip or a case of rug burn on my face, but my plan to avoid physical contact with him had lasted all of thirty seconds. That had to be a world record.

  His hand remained on my bicep even after I had found my footing. Our eyes met as I waited for him to release me. I was powerless to pull away. We both acted like we had something to say, but the time wasn't right. Not here.

  The buzzing of voices entered the room as the doors opened and the line of people that had been waiting poured in. Something in my eyes must have clicked with Alec because he abruptly dropped my arm. I scooted around him, sinking into my chair as he took his spot, standing at the front of the table. Olivia raised her eyebrows at me, but I shook her off. I could barely figure out my behavior, let alone explain it to her.

  It didn't take long for Alec to attract the attention he was brought here to get as clusters of women began converging on my table. Surprisingly, many of them were not shy about expressing their feelings for him.

  One woman in particular even asked for my opinion as she waited for her turn to get close to him. "Have you ever seen a set of abs like that?"

  "Of course. Right here," I replied meekly, handing her a Wicked Lovely bookmark. I wasn't ready for this kind of attention so quickly.

  "That's him? I think I've died and gone to hunk-a-luscious heaven." She fanned herself with the program she was handed at the door.

  "Oh sweet decadence," the woman with her said, snatching up one of the bookmarks for herself. "It doesn't come out till July? I need to read this now," she whined. "Will you at least sign these for us?"

  "My pleasure," I said, removing the cap from my silver pen.

  As they waited, one of them reached for one of my older titles. "And these are your other books?"

  "Yes. Do you read historical romance?"

  "Girl, I read anything steamy," she said, turning the book over to read the synopsis. "Wait. I've seen this on Amazon. I've actually had it on my to-be-read list. I might as well get it now so I can add it to my autographed book collection."

  "Me too," her friend added.

  Olivia handled the transaction while I finished signing and personalizing the copies of their books. The rest of the day progressed in much the same manner. The crowd never thinned out. I had to hand it to Alec and the way he'd handled the attention like a pro. He'd taken endless pictures, been touched countless times, tolerated pecks on the cheek and even a couple butt pinches. He had even been propositioned more than once and simply ogled more times than I could count. All the Wicked Lovely swag I had brought was gone, and the excitement for its release seemed tangible. It was a mentally draining day, but I couldn't help responding to the enthusiasm of everyone I met. My family showed up midway through the signing, and even they were excited to see that I was too busy to do more than give them a quick hug before returning to my table.

  "Holy fuck. That was insane," Alec stated, sinking into Olivia's chair when she abandoned it to go to the bathroom. The last attendee had been shuttled out the door a few minutes prior and the majority of the authors were packing up. I needed to decompress for a few minutes before I could think about leaving.

  I shot him a weak smile. I was tired, but I couldn't imagine how tough it must have been on him. At least I had a table to hide behind. "You did great. I appreciate you handling it so well," I said, speaking to him for the first time in four hours.

  "It was fun." He laughed when I raised my eyebrows skeptically. "Really. I'm being serious. It's not every day a guy has hundreds of women waiting in line just to take a picture with him. Well, unless you're Channing Tatum, I guess."

  I rolled my eyes. "I'm sure it didn't hurt your overly inflated ego. Of course, you're more a tease than anything else."

  He laughed. "Tease? That's the first time I've been called a tease."

  I looked away, afraid he would see through the shabby wall I had built.

  "Look, about the other night—"

  I cut him off. "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not talk about it, okay? You had your reasons, and I don't see why we need to rehash things. I got it. Loud and clear." I stood up, making busywork of packing up my stuff.

  "Nicole." He reached out to touch my hand, but I jerked it back like it was a venomous snake.

  "Alec, please don't," I pleaded as Olivia joined us.

  It was clear she knew she had walked in at a bad moment. Her eyes moved from Alec
to me, but I looked away. My nerves were frazzled and I was just ready to be done. I'd never been a glutton for punishment anyway, so today had definitely tested me.

  Knowing when to give me space, Olivia remained silent as she helped me clear off the rest of my table. Alec took down my banner without being asked, and I grudgingly thanked him.

  We carried my belongings out to the car, saying more goodbyes to some of the authors I knew. My family would be meeting us at a local Italian restaurant not too far up the road from the hotel. I would have just as soon bowed out of dinner, but I knew tonight was supposed to be a bit of a celebration since it had been the first time they had seen me in action at a signing.

  I could have done without Alec tagging along, but Olivia had already mentioned it and I saw no graceful way of taking back the invite. Plus, I would have looked like a mega-bitch after all his help during the event. To say he'd been a trouper would be putting it mildly.

  The dinner rush was in full force when the three of us arrived as the line of waiting customers overflowed out the front door. Luckily, Olivia had made a reservation. We shuffled through the crowd to get inside, spotting Mom, Dad and Ashley sharing a loveseat off to the side of the hostess stand.

  "Honey, you were amazing," Mom gushed, standing to give me a big hug. "I can't believe how many people came out to see you. You're famous."

  "Mom, really? You're attracting attention. Look at those people staring," I said, ducking my head in embarrassment.

  "What? Sweetie, it's my job to brag over you." She turned to the young couple standing to her right. "My daughter is a famous author."

  "Oh lord. Shoot me now," I groaned as Olivia stifled a chuckle.

  Mom couldn't have made more of a spectacle of me unless she had pulled out a bullhorn and shouted to the entire restaurant. My brothers returned from the bathroom, thumping me enthusiastically on the back. Tony took my hazing a step further by rubbing the top of my head with his knuckles, earning him an elbow in the ribs. "Knock it off, ass—" My voice trailed off when Mom tugged at my shirt, shooting me her famous glare. Alec looked on in amusement, getting a firsthand look at what I had grown up with. This dinner was going to be so much fun. Not.

  "Nicole, why don't you introduce us to your friend," my mom said, taking note of Alec, who stood quietly at my side.

  "Friend" wasn't the word I would have used to describe him. "Well, he's…" I stood like an idiot, searching for the right way to introduce him. I looked to Olivia for help. She shook her head, smiling.

  "It's all you," she giggled.

  Zachary jumped in when I still couldn't manage to put a sentence together. "For Pete's sake. You're Alec, right? You were kind of busy at the signing today, otherwise we would have said hello there. I'm Zachary. This is my girlfriend, Ashley." They shook hands with Alec as Zachary continued with the introductions. "Over here is our brother Tony, and that's the other one, Riley."

  "We already saw the cover, so you don't have to take your shirt off here," Riley joked, patting Alec on the back.

  "Good thing," he laughed. "I've spent the whole day shirtless. I'm due for a break."

  Alec handled the ribbing in stride, laughing with my brothers like they had been friends for years. Zachary finished up by introducing him to my parents as I practically hid myself behind Olivia. Luckily, Taylor showed up to save me from once again becoming a bullseye for any further humiliation.

  Tony's good mood suddenly slipped as he eyed his competition disdainfully. The hostess showed us to our table with Taylor leading Olivia by the small of her back. Zachary, Riley and I exchanged knowing looks. My fear was that Tony would say something stupid and make the dinner even more unbearable. As everyone began to sit, I quickly snagged the chair next to Olivia before Tony could take it. Only part of my intention had been to make sure he behaved. Really, I didn't want to be stuck next to Alec. With my chair angled just the right way, I didn't even have to make eye contact with him. He and Riley had seemed to hit it off anyway and pretty much stayed in constant conversation the entire time.

  Dinner turned out not to be the horror show I had anticipated. Tony managed to leave the Olivia-and-Taylor situation alone and the book event became the main topic of conversation for most of the meal. The rest of my family seemed as impressed as my mom with the bevy of activity they had witnessed at my table. I was just glad readers and bloggers had taken the time to stop by to see me. It would have sucked if I'd been sitting there twiddling my thumbs when my family showed up.

  Eventually, we exhausted all conversation about the signing and Mom turned her attention to Alec at the far end of the table. I wanted badly to hear what they were saying, but the guys had gotten into a heated debate over the baseball game from the night before. Knowing my luck, she was probably trying to play the dating game and set me up. I could have spared her the trouble. That ship had sailed.

  Chapter Nine

  "I don't know why you're even arguing. You know as well as I do it's a good idea," Olivia stated, pausing the movie we had been watching.

  "Liv, you know releases are stressful enough for me. The fact that I'm doing three back-to-back events is already freaking me out. I have no idea how I'm supposed to keep up with the blog tour and all the other promo stuff you set up while I'm gone for three whole weeks. There's no way in hell I'm going to add Alec into the mix."

  Olivia sighed. "Seriously, Nicole, you need to grow up. This isn't high school. Haven't we moved past the whole he doesn't like me, therefore I'll never speak to him again phase? The next three weeks are bigger than the silliness you're still holding on to. I'm not just saying this because you're my best friend. I truly believe in you, and Wicked Lovely is your best book yet. Don't get me wrong. You know I adore your writing like a mommy elephant loves her two-ton baby, but this book is special. It's like you dug down deep and wrote from your gut. It's raw, beautiful and true love at its finest."

  "Did you steal that from a review for another book?"

  "I'm serious, whore. You owe it to this book to give it your all. If that means biting the bullet to bring your cover model along, so be it." I tried to interrupt again, but she held up her hand. "You need to do this."

  I mulled over her words, gnawing on my bottom lip. I knew she was right. There was stiff competition in the book market and if I wanted Wicked Lovely to get the launch it deserved, I needed an advantage. I hated being boxed in a corner, but Alec provided that advantage. "I can't believe I agreed to all of this," I sighed. "Three signings back to back. I hope you'll miss me when all this kills me. Good luck finding another best friend who watches polygamy shows obsessively with you like I do."

  "I know you said before if you die I get all your stuff, but do I have to take Severus?" She glared at my cat, who took a swipe at her hand when she reached out to pet him. They had never been terribly close. "Keep it up, fleabag, and I'll turn you into a rug."

  I laughed when Severus turned his back in response, making me think cats were the superior species.

  Olivia took another sip of her wine. "That little shit just basically gave me the cat version of the finger, didn't he? All right, if you accepted your fate, I'll book Alec's side of the trip, okay?"

  "Are you sure we have enough cash in the marketing budget?" I already knew the answer, but I was grasping for one last out.

  "More than enough. Putting aside twenty percent of your earnings has given you a nice nest egg. If this book does what I'm hoping it will, that nest egg will become a dozen. This trip couldn't have come at a better time."

  I raised my own glass of wine but didn't take a sip right away. I absently ran my thumb over the stem. I wished I were as optimistic as she was. The entire trip had the makings of a nightmare as far as I was concerned.

  ***

  "Doughnut?" Alec opened the wax-covered paper bag and held it out to me.

  I sat back in my seat at the airport, crossing my arms over my chest. "No, thanks. I'm not hungry." My rumbling stomach said otherwise, but I felt too nervou
s to eat.

  "You sure?" He gave me a sideways look after hearing the evidence of my empty stomach.

  "I'm sure. I can't believe you eat those anyway. I would have pegged you for a healthier eater."

  "Usually, but I love me some Krispy Kreme."

  I looked out the large floor-to-ceiling window. The sun hadn't come up yet, so it was still too dark outside to see anything but my reflection staring back at me. Our flight to Nashville was due to leave in forty-five minutes and everyone at our gate seemed eager to start boarding. A fluttering of panic settled in my stomach, which increased in intensity as the minutes clanked by. If I left now I could go back to my nice, safe apartment. It wasn't that I was afraid of flying. It was the idea of spending the next twenty-one days with someone I couldn't connect with that had my mood as black as the sky outside.

  Alec, on the other hand, was like the freaking sun. "You know, we don't have to be enemies," he said, taking a large bite of his dreamy glazed breakfast. My mouth watered. Krispy Kreme doughnuts were one of my weaknesses.

  I tore my eyes away from the enticing glistening pastry. "We're not enemies. I don't even know you well enough to be your enemy. I don't want to know you well enough to be enemies, or anything else for that matter." I hated being mean. That wasn't my personality. Everyone who knew me would say the same thing. Most of the time I would bend over backward to make sure everyone was happy. My mom said I was a born people pleaser. She liked to joke that nice ran through my DNA like fleas on a dog.

  Alec didn't reply right away, but his eyes bore into me as he rolled up his paper bag. "Nicole, shouldn't you be happy I wasn't willing to take things further? That you weren't wasting yourself on a one-night stand?"

  I couldn't help looking around in embarrassment. It wasn't like we were sitting at an empty gate. "What do you want, a thank you?" I hissed through gritted teeth.