Writing A Wrong (Write Stuff 2)

"Looks like you could use a drink," Monica laughed, hitching her bag onto her shoulder.

"Would you think less of me if I said hell yeah?"

"Fuck no. That makes you my kind of girl."

After Greg and Chelsea checked us in, the entire group met at the small lounge adjacent to the hotel for dinner and a few drinks, but none of us made a late night of it. As a matter of fact, Michelle and I were in our room and asleep by ten.

The next morning I woke up feeling pretty good, which I was thankful for considering my inauspicious start the day before. I made sure to stock up with a plethora of snacks and took a Dramamine during breakfast. I still felt nervous, taking my spot in the front passenger seat, but all I could do was hope for the best.

"Ready for day two?" Greg asked, dropping his chauffeur hat on my head.

"Hey, jerk," I said, tossing the hat on the dashboard. "I think I'm ready." I had a giant cup filled with ice and Sprite in one cupholder and a spare bottle for refills in another. I wasn't taking any chances.

Greg grinned as he latched his seatbelt and placed the RV in drive. "It's nice having you up here. It gets lonely hearing all the chatter from the back, but being out of the loop."

I nodded. That's how I felt the day before after getting sick. Having Greg to talk to at least made the trip bearable.

"Just think of all the perks you get for riding up here," he said, merging onto the highway.

"Oh really? Do tell," I teased sarcastically.

"You mean they're not obvious?"

I snorted. "Fine. Please tell me why I should feel fortunate to be up here."

"Well, for one, look at this amazing view."

"It is pretty spectacular," I agreed, opening a package of Sour Patch Kids.

"And you have twice as many cupholders, which obviously you've already discovered. Plenty of legroom too. It's like you won the lottery sitting up here, and that's without me even mentioning the best part."

I rolled my eyes. It was like he was channeling all three of my brothers at the same time. "You sound like a car salesman. I'll bite. What is the best part?"

"My winning personality, of course." He flashed a wide smile like he was posing for some magazine spread.

"Oh lord. Well, thank you so-o-o-o much for giving me the honor of riding up front," I said, my voice dripping with honey-covered sarcasm.

"Are you always a smart-ass?"

"It's in my DNA. If you met my family you'd understand. How about you?"

"Hey, I'm from Jersey, baby. I have to stay up on my game."

"And all people from Jersey speak bullshit?"

"Oh, hey, bite your tongue. What you call bullshit, I call charming and witty."

I laughed and threw a Sour Patch Kid at him. It landed on his thigh, but he snatched it up, popping the candy into his mouth without hesitation.

Chapter 12

"Without further ado, I'd like to introduce the rock stars of historical romance," Maddie, the manager of a Barnes and Noble in Gainesville, Florida, boomed from atop a wooden chair where she was standing. She squealed and shook with so much passion, I thought for a second she was going to fall and bust her ass. A crowd of mostly women matched her enthusiasm by breaking into loud roars of approval and applause. Greg stood behind a shelf of books where he wouldn't be noticed by anyone but me, attempting to get me to laugh by obnoxiously winking. Somewhere between Tennessee and Florida I made the mistake of confiding my weakness for winking and how Alec doing it in particular was my kryptonite. Since then he had made it his mission to torture me. My revenge would come as soon as the opportunity arose.

We had already been on the road for ten days and Gainesville was our seventh stop. Today's crowd was by far the most animated we had experienced. There had to be two hundred people crammed into the store waiting to hear what we had to say and to get their books signed.

Seven of the people in the crowd I was able to claim as my own. Mom, Dad, and the boys, along with Olivia and Ashley, had made the drive to Gainesville since it was the most convenient stop on the tour to meet up. We would be in the area for almost a full twenty-four hours, so they booked rooms at the same hotel we were staying at to spend as much time with me as possible. Alec hadn't been able to tag along. He was making up the favors he owed for the trip to New York. Even though I wasn't expecting to see him there, I couldn't help feeling disappointed as I spotted my family's beaming faces.

Monica leaned in to whisper into my ear. "I spy with my little eye a pretty enthusiastic family."