She was shaking her hand off and hopping up and down. “I need my hands. That will teach me. Is your ass like a freaking stone or something?”
“You grab it enough in bed, you should know.”
“You’re all muscle,” she said, giggling. “I forgot.”
“I wouldn’t say all muscle,” he said. Though he tried damn hard to be that way. Less chance of injury.
“Come on,” she said. “This surprise might not be as good in your eyes, but I couldn’t resist.”
They moved to the front of the house. He’d only walked past her office and hadn’t noticed the extensive collection of books lining the shelves. He wouldn’t have seen it unless he walked in.
“What the hell?” he said. “Do you like having your books here?”
“Oh,” she said. “That’s for my store.”
“Your store?” he asked.
“Yes. I sell my self-published books through my store also. I sign them and ship them out. Some retailers also sell them, but it’s much harder to get into those retailers and often not worth the effort. I leave my publisher to tackle that with those books.”
“I had no idea,” he said. It’s not something they talked much about. “What’s that?”
“A bookmarker. I send them out with the books. Just a cute thing.”
He picked one up with her logo on it. “I haven’t held a book in my hands to read in years. It’s so easy to throw my Kindle in my bag when I’m on the road.”
“I think most readers feel the same way,” she said. “But you’d be surprised how many people want an actual book. Anyway, this is why I figured the other gift was better.”
She moved to her desk, picked up a hardcover, and held it out to him. “This is for you. You said it’s one of your favorites.”
He reached for the Steve Spencer novel that he’d read years ago. He’d reread it several times. “Thank you,” he said.
“Open it,” she said, crossing her eyes. “I wouldn’t just give you a book that you’ve already read.”
He opened the cover and saw it was signed. Not just signed, but personalized.
To Warren, I hope to see a lot of War Shows this year...in more than one way. Steve Spencer
“First, how did you get this? And second, I wonder what that means.”
“It was pretty easy,” she said. “We share the same agent.”
“You never said that,” he said. “Sweet. I’m going to leave it here for now so I don’t damage it in my bag with clothes. I’ll put it in my car when I leave in a few days. I still have no idea what the heck it means.”
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out soon enough,” she said. “Could be about putting on a show on the field and off.”
He shrugged but couldn’t figure out the smirk on her face. “Have you met him?”
“Who?” she asked.
“Steve Spencer?” he said. “There are no pictures of him anywhere. No one knows what he looks like. I’m not sure how the heck he’s so popular without anyone knowing.”
“I think it’s part of the mystery,” she said. “Are you ready to go?”
“Yeah,” he said. “It’s just your immediate family, right?”
He was thrilled she invited him to a family party. Though he was aware her family knew about their relationship, the same as his did, they hadn’t talked about meeting.
“It is,” she said. “It’s been about two months since our casino date, and though my parents know who you are, they’d like to meet you personally.”
