shrugged at my reflection. Oh well. Live and learn, I guess.
I headed back to the room where the event was taking place, thankful that I had still worn comfortable shoes. At least I hadn’t let the thought of a hot guy change my footwear. I did way too much standing to put on pretty feet-killing shoes.
My table was back in the corner, so I stopped at a few tables on the way back to grab some business cards and other swag to keep track of books I hoped to read someday. The only thing I didn’t like about being a writer was reading. I was always fearful of accidentally copying someone’s style, and many times, after writing all day, I had no desire to look at other words.
By the time I retired, my to-be-read list was literally going to be a mile long. That was single-spaced, eight-point font size. Hopefully, I retired young and lived long.
I had my head down, scanning each table as I walked past in case something caught my eye or I saw someone I knew, so when I got to my table, I was a little shocked to see someone sitting and talking to Lexie.
Travis’s hair was longer than when I’d last seen him, and I almost didn’t recognize him. Maybe I shouldn’t have been avoiding him on social media because, damn, it looked good on him. It was thick, and I wanted to run my fingers through it.
He smiled when he saw me and stood. “Hey.” He leaned close and kissed me on the cheek. “Sorry I’m late.”
I blushed at his affection, but then I realized it was very Hollywood. I always noticed that when famous people greeted each other. He was being polite.
“Oh, um…that’s okay.” I scooted in between him and the table to take my seat in the middle. As I moved past him, my butt brushed against the front of his fly. My previously warm face was now on fire. “Sorry about that.”
He laughed. “It’s fine.”
“Travis was just telling me that he had to go to his younger cousin’s soccer game this morning, and that’s why he just got here,” Lexie said as I took my seat.
“I’m glad you could make it,” I told him.
“Yeah, Sydney thought you’d changed your mind or just forgot.”
I spun my head around. “Lexie.”
She shrugged. “What? It’s the truth.”
“He doesn’t need to know that,” I pointed out.
I could hear Travis laughing behind me, so I looked back at him. “I’m sorry about that. Sometimes, I think that teenagers don’t have a filter from their brains to their mouths.”
“I do, too,” Lexie objected from behind me.
Travis held up a copy of Beautifully Broken. I hadn’t even noticed he’d been holding it.
“This looks great.”
“Well…you are on the cover.” Way to open your big mouth, dummy. Quick. Say something else. “I mean, you both look good.” I tilted my head to the side. “Is it ever awkward, posing with someone like that? Is it hard to pretend?” I mentally patted myself on the back. Good job. He thinks you’re just interested in his profession.
“Occasionally, it’s awkward if I don’t know the other person. You have to pretend you have some sort of intimacy with a complete stranger. On the other hand, if it’s someone I do know, we start to laugh and can find it hard to be serious.”
I tried to picture myself modeling. “I think you all deserve more credit than you get. I know it’s not easy.”
He smiled. “Oh, have you ever done it?”
I gave him a deadpan look. “You’re joking, right? I might be cute, but this”—I waved my hands down in front of my body—“isn’t model material.” Before he could think I was fishing for compliments or waiting for him to protest, I added, “I used to watch America’s Next Top Model.” I put my finger to my lips. “The older I got, the more ridiculous the contestants got, but I couldn’t stop watching.”
He laughed. “Will you sign a copy for me?” he said and handed the book over to me.
I lifted my brow. “Did you pay for this?”
“Uh…”
“I’m kidding. You can have it for free.” I grabbed another book from my pile and gave it to him. “But I’ll only sign yours if you sign mine.”
“And I would like you to both sign my copy,” Lexie said.
“But you can’t even read it.” I quickly turned to Travis. “She’s only sixteen.”
“Too late. I already did.”
I gasped. “Alexis Harting.”
“Syd, I’ve read all your books.”
“Your parents are going