The Write Stuff (Write Stuff 1)

"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 nervous 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."