Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 97073 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97073 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
“So Elaine did what I’m doing,” Summer says with a terse expression.
I mostly succeed in hiding my wince. “It was different.”
Her green eyes spark with annoyance. “In what way? You two slept together on a bed instead of a couch?”
I squeeze my eyes closed and sigh. That I deserved. That and so much more.
“I’m sorry,” she says, and when I blink my eyes open, I see her anger has been replaced by remorse. “Just…forget I said that. Go on.”
I down the rest of my drink like it’s a shot and welcome the burn. It’s deserved, after all. Suddenly, I want to be done with this conversation, done with explaining myself.
“I was with Elaine for two years. She meant a lot to me.”
“And?” Summer prods, no sympathy in her voice.
She leans back in her chair, her arms crossed aggressively. She’s behind a plate of steel now, armored against me.
I furrow my brows and tilt my chin up as I try to sift through the memories. “Let’s see…did I find her in bed with Lucas first? Or was that after she told me she was going to work for Black House?” My words are acerbic and mean.
“Lucas who?” Her eyes widen. “Not Lucas Sheridan?”
Of course Summer knows of him. Lucas is a well-established author with Black House Publishing, a big fish in a big pond. Though we don’t write in the same genre, our paths have crossed frequently enough for me to know I can’t stand the guy. He’s pompous and arrogant, a creative writing professor at NYU who thinks he’s God’s gift to mankind.
“Him,” I say in sharp confirmation.
I reach across the table, already grabbing for her drink before I ask if she’s going to finish it. She nods, giving me permission before I down it like I did my own.
Summer stays quiet. Maybe she’s at a loss for words or maybe she’s just trying to give me the space to get this all out. I’ve never repeated the story before. When it was happening, people just knew. Everyone at InkWell, everyone at Patrick’s agency. There were a lot of condolences, a lot of pitying stares, a lot of averted gazes. It felt like my name was on everyone’s lips.
I press the back of my hand to my mouth before I set Summer’s glass back down on the table and focus my attention there. “Elaine waited to get sloppy with her affair until after the publication of Echo of Hope. Couldn’t have the demise of our relationship fucking with my head before we’d finished book two. After all, her professional reputation was on the line as well.”
“I’m surprised she didn’t stick it out until the end then,” Summer says. “Until book three came out…”
The same thought had occurred to me. “I know she would have liked to see the series through to completion, but Lucas was tired of sneaking around and Elaine wanted to be with him. She was done waiting. She left InkWell and me and in one fell swoop, I lost the woman I loved and my professional crutch on the same day.”
The silence is unbearable, and I look up to see Summer swipe a tear from her cheek. It’s astounding to me that she has any capacity for tears right now. It confirms she’s the person I already know her to be: compassionate and kind. She’s fierce too, but above all, she’s a good person. I doubt she could stomach half of what Elaine did during the end of our relationship.
“Anyway, Elaine works with Lucas now and she’s more successful than ever. Last I heard they’re living together and planning their wedding. But who knows. It’s been a while… They could already be married.”
Summer scowls. “That’s not fair. She doesn’t get to be happy! She’s supposed to get her just deserts. Lucas needs to break her heart or something and then she’ll come crawling back and you’ll say, Nuh-uh-uh, not so fast.”
I give the idea a moment to take root, but there’s no deep font of revenge to draw from anymore. “Don’t get me wrong, in the beginning, I would have loved that, but now enough time has passed that I’d almost be disappointed, I guess, if things didn’t work out for them.”
Summer feigns a gag. “Truly?”
“Truly.”
“So you don’t want me to sabotage their relationship?” Her eyes narrow. “You know I could dress up real sleazy, try to seduce Lucas and all that.”
The idea of Lucas even looking at Summer makes my blood boil.
I hold up my hand. “No espionage necessary.”
She sighs like I’m ruining all the fun. Then her expression sobers as she studies me. “Y’know, I realize now that I’ve heard some of this story. I didn’t know the key players, of course. Not Elaine and Lucas, and certainly not you, but now it’s easy enough to put the pieces together.”