tie, which felt like a noose around my neck at this point.
The woman smiled politely, then glanced over my shoulder.
“Another question I know your fans are pondering…” Her grin widened. “Tell us, Jacob Wild, are you single?”
Shit. Why that mattered, I had no idea, but I forced a smile and nodded. “Definitely single.”
“Hear that, ladies?” The woman looked directly at the camera. “This sexy-talking bad boy is on the market. Any takers?”
I forced a smile, trying to pretend that wasn’t incredibly awkward.
This was brutal and I was now counting down the minutes until we were finished.
An hour and a half later, when I was safely back in my hotel room, my cell phone rang.
“Hey, Liz,” I greeted my editor reluctantly.
“Have I told you how much I love you, Jacob Wild?”
That wasn’t what I had expected her to say. “Not today, no.”
“That interview … brilliant.”
Brilliant? No, disaster seemed the more appropriate word.
“Everyone here sat on the edge of our seats watching you. The readers adore you. The fact that you’re so normal, I think they get that.”
“Normal?” I snorted. “Is that your way of saying screwed up?”
Liz laughed, a rough sound that I was familiar with.
“You’re not screwed up. You’re normal. Interviews aren’t easy, even I know that. But you did fine. I think it endeared people to you again. You’ve been out of the limelight for so long, I think they’ll be content just to look at your handsome face.”
Great. That was what I needed to hear. I’d screwed up so badly, the only saving grace was that I was at least attractive. I sighed.
Liz continued on, clearly not needing my response. “Well, I was hoping to get to meet you for lunch before you head back today, but I’ve got a meeting that’s come up. I hope you understand.”
“Sure.”
“But I’m excited to see what you do with Unexpected. Great title, by the way. We’re going to start working on a cover, and I’ll get it over to you as soon as I have it.”
A cover. The book wasn’t written yet, I wasn’t even sure exactly which direction it was going, but there was going to be a cover. Once again, I was starting to feel a tad overwhelmed.
“Oh, and I’ve been thinking…”
Great. Liz thinking. That was scary.
“When you get back home, I want you to find this Presley woman.”
“Oh, yeah?” That hadn’t been the direction I’d expected the conversation to take. Sure, I’d mentioned Presley when I’d spilled my guts to Liz yesterday, but I honestly hadn’t expected her to pay attention to that.
“Yes. I want you to find her and I want you to woo the shit out of her. Whatever she’s doing to you, it’s working. If you have to … you know … be with her in order to write this book, that’s what you need to do.”
I laughed and nearly fell out of my chair.
“But use protection.”
Lord have mercy. I couldn’t even respond to that.
“I’ll call you tomorrow, Jake. Have a safe trip home and let me know if you need anything at all.”
“Thanks, Liz.” I hung up the phone, knowing she was halfway out the door anyway. That was the way Liz was. She rarely sat still, always coming, always going. That was probably the reason she was so good at what she did.
As for me … I dropped into the upholstered chair and stared down at the notebook on the table. I knew I should spend the next few hours before I had to be at the airport writing, but, as had been the case for the past … too long to matter…
I had nothing.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Presley
Based on the way my luck had been going, I’d known that Gavin would call and invite me to go out tonight. And he had, asking me to meet him and Adrian at Lucky Lounge around ten. Since I’d spent most of the day at the shop, I knew I couldn’t use work as an excuse, so I had reluctantly agreed.
I hadn’t even bothered to go home and change, figuring it didn’t matter what I was wearing. The leggings and sweater I’d worn to work weren’t exactly an outfit for a night out, but again, I didn’t give a shit.
At least I hadn’t cared right up until the moment I stepped into the place to see Gavin, Adrian, and Jake talking.
Yep.
Jacob Wild.
I’d learned quickly that Gavin had run into Jake in the hall outside our place and had invited him to come along.