Cover Girl. Nic Tatano
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so that’s why the heroine is named Lexi.”
“Uh, yeah. In any event, I always represent my cousin in business matters and she trusts my judgment.”
“Good to know,” said Keira, whose spectacular turquoise eyes locked with his for a moment and sent a bolt of electricity through his body. Her warm smile was accented with dimples and freckles, her face framed by shoulder-length red tangles. Overall it made her look like a little girl. She was tall, about his height, maybe five-nine or five-ten, and skinny, with not much on top but a great pair of legs shown off in a knee-length emerald-green dress. Not stunning by any means, but beyond girl-next-door cute. What Bella saw as plain, he found irresistible.
Definitely his type.
And the look she was giving him told him he might be hers.
“Well,” said Bella, taking a seat behind her desk, “what sort of gifts does my favorite editor come bearing?”
Keira sat in one of the seats opposite the desk as Alex took the other, then reached into her satchel and handed Bella some papers in a blue cover that Alex recognized as a legal document.
A contract.
This is it!
Keira leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs, rocking one shoe on her toe. “Well, you were right. We want this badly, Bella. And I hope this is the number you had in mind that will knock your socks off.” She turned to Alex. “And those of your cousin. It’s a three-book deal, so we’re looking to build a brand. I assume she’s working on the next one.”
“Absolutely.”
Bella looked at the contract, smiled, and nodded. “Keira, this is extremely generous.”
She handed the contract to Alex and it was all he could do to keep his jaw from dropping as the dollar amount jumped out from the legalese. “I, uh, would say that’s more than fair.”
“You think she’ll be happy with that?” asked Bella.
Alex nodded. “I feel certain she’ll accept. In fact, I know it.”
“Good,” said Bella, who got up. “Let me give her a call and make it official.” She shot Alex a wink.
“You want me to wait outside?” asked Keira.
“Nah, you two get acquainted.” Bella smiled at Alex as she pulled out her cell phone and headed out the door. “Be right back.”
Alex looked at the contract and tried to sort through it. Keira slid her chair next to his a bit, bringing with it a hint of floral perfume. “If you have any questions about all the legalese, fire away.”
He tried to concentrate, but the perfume was very distracting, as was the glimpse of her legs visible over the top of the contract. “So, uh, do you have a ballpark publication date for the book?”
“I’d like to fast-track it, so about nine months. That’s actually lightning-quick for publishing as we often move at the pace of continental drift. But I’ll be editing it personally and I’ve got a great idea in mind for the cover, so I’ll get with our art department later today. Assuming of course, your cousin accepts.”
“She’d be crazy not to.”
“Good. I’ll look forward to working with her.”
Time to tap dance.
Like Richard Gere in Chicago.
“Well, you’ll probably be working through me a lot. But don’t worry, I’m intimately familiar with the book.”
She raised her eyebrows as she leaned back and folded her hands. “Really? You read romance?”
“I know, I should turn in my male membership card, but I got hooked a while ago. There are some terrific writers in the genre. Anyway, I’ve read Ring Girl several times. Even did the proofreading.”
“Well, my compliments. I hardly saw any typos or grammatical errors. If you ever wanna be one of our freelancers, let me know. By the way, what do you do for a living?”
“Used to work as a TV reporter. Now I teach journalism at a small college.”
“Oh, that’s interesting—”
“Deal’s done!” said Bella, as she blew back into the office and extended her hand to Keira, who stood to shake it.
“Excellent!” Keira let out a loud exhale. “Whew. Now I can relax. I was so nervous I couldn’t eat this morning.”
Bella’s jaw dropped. “You couldn’t eat? Stop the presses.”
“Smart ass.”
Alex saw an opening. “I didn’t have anything either. I, uh, would be happy to take you guys to breakfast.”
“Thanks, but I already ate,” said Bella, obviously getting the message. “You two go.”
Keira turned to him and smiled. “I’d like that.”
“Uh, okay, great. So, I gotta ask… why were you nervous?”
“Long story. Feed me something sweet and I’ll be happy to tell it to you.”
Bella laughed and turned to Alex. “You will shortly discover that the way to Keira’s heart is through her stomach. With sugar.”
Keira sat up straight and smiled as she watched Alexander make his way through a Denver omelet. The Greek diner was a throwback: a hundred things on the menu, huge portions, a jukebox selector at every booth. He’d offered to take her to an expensive restaurant, but she loved this place. The dozens of different smells that wandered by every time a waitress passed their booth, the classic oldies that filled the air. It offered comfort food; something she’d needed a lot lately.
But it all took a back seat to what had fallen in her lap in the past twenty-four hours.
A sure-fire bestseller.
And the fact that she’d be working with a very cute single guy while putting it together. Who ever thought that buying a book written by a morbidly obese author who wouldn’t leave the house could bring a bonus?
She took a bite of her pancakes that she had turned into a maple-soaked sponge and let the sugar flow into her veins. Not that she needed a rush because the man sitting across from her was sending her pulse up a good bit.
Down, girl. Breathe.
Jill, I got your cardio workout right here.
Fifteen minutes into her conversation with the man, she knew something was there. Something she hadn’t felt for ages. Something she hadn’t seen across a dinner table in, like, forever.
Something right out of a romance novel.
He was about her height, dark and slender, with terrific eyes. A lean face with dimples running the length of his cheeks. A bit nervous, but that might be chalked up to intimidation, as she’d seen the same body language from most rookie authors who walk on eggshells around their first editor. But he was funny as hell. Not at all classically handsome but boy-next-door cute. Very much her type. It had become obvious that the author had used her cousin Alexander as a template for the hero in Ring Girl. The men in her romance novels actually existed. Who knew?
But was Alexander the richly drawn character in the book or simply the physical version of the heroine’s love interest?
And was he attached? Surely a guy like this with a great personality had a girlfriend.
Inquiring minds wanna know.
“So,” he said, washing down a bite with a sip of orange juice, “you were gonna tell me about why you were nervous this morning. I thought authors were the only ones who had that problem.”
“I guess Bella never told you about Jennie