part more . . . true to life. Less ‘happy-ever-after’ and more ‘happy-just-for-now’ in a realistic way.”
Courtney raised her cup. “I hear that.”
I mock-glared at her. “I don’t agree. Love can be like you say, but for others it can also be filled with insta-connection, heart-felt romantic moments, which end up in permalove.”
Courtney snorted.
Brooks chuckled, glancing at her. “Right?”
“You two are jaded.” I crossed my arms, which was, well, not comfortable while holding my coffee cup. “I’m not changing a perfect romance storyline to suit your cynical guidelines, Brooks Keller.”
Courtney tapped her finger to her temple while Brooks and I sipped our coffees and simultaneously glared at one another in silence.
Finally, she snapped her fingers. “Okay, well, there’s one way to sort this problem out once and for all. Want to hear it?”
We both stopped drinking and looked at her expectantly.
“It’s simple. Put the book to the test.”
I looked at Brooks and then at Courtney, not grasping what she meant. “Huh?”
“A little experiment to see who’s right and who’s wrong.”
“I’ll do anything to prove to her I’m right,” he said.
“You can’t prove something that isn’t true,” I pointed out.
“Here’s what you do,” Courtney said, holding up two fists as if she were trying to contain her excitement. “Follow Michelle’s book to the letter. If the romance works out the way you say it will, Michelle, then you get the book deal, with no amendments needed.” She lifted Atticus off the pavement and cuddled him. “And if the romance doesn’t work out after following the book, as Brooks claims it won’t in real life, then, Michelle, you rewrite the scenes with Brooks’ more ‘cynical’ details.”
I squinted, not quite getting what she meant. “Um, huh?”
“Seriously? Do I have to spell it out?” she asked.
I nodded. “I think you do, yes.”
Courtney sighed dramatically. “Look, you and Brooks follow the chapters of the book, to the letter, and if Brooks falls in love with you then you get the book deal just as your book is written. However . . .,” she held her hands up as Brooks and I both tried to interrupt at the same time, “if Brooks doesn’t fall for you then you have to make the changes he wants. Either way, you get your book deal and receive the money you need to bail Phillip out. Again.”
I was horrified at how logical that sounded. “But, I don’t want Brooks to fall in love with me, which he will, obviously, because the plot is that good.”
Courtney shrugged. “But if that’s true then you get the book deal you’ve always dreamed about.”
“Hold on just a minute,” Brooks said, adjusting his glasses and raking a hand through his hair. “There’s no way a reenactment will work, because . . . I’m sorry to keep pointing this out, Michelle . . . but the romance in your book is totally unrealistic.”
Courtney shrugged again. “Then you have nothing to lose, either, Brooks. Because if you’re right then you get your way and acquire the book the way you want it.”
“Interesting,” he said, taking another sip of coffee.
“I would obviously win this deal, because I have absolute faith in my book, and it’s true that the advance would solve the trouble with Phillip’s debt.” I looked at Brooks, with a satisfied smile on my face. I mean, what did I care if Brooks fell in love with me? Maybe it was his turn to have a broken heart. Not that I wanted his feelings to be hurt, but it would be fitting in a karma sort of way. I held out my right hand. “I’m up for the challenge if you are.”
“You’re on, Michelle,” Brooks said, taking my hand and shaking it. “But do me a favor and don’t be a sore loser, okay?”
I laughed. “Oh, the pain will be all yours, my friend. I guarantee it.”
Chapter Six
As I walked through the gold double doors of the Geoffries hotel, heading to the lounge to meet my friends for a drink, memories of the Masquerade Ball flooded my mind and made me smile. I passed the concierge desk and crossed the lobby, spotting the double doors of the ballroom across the way, a sense of déjà vu hitting me like a tsunami.
Touching my lips with my fingers, my smile dropped as I remembered how Brooks had gone from hero to zero literally overnight. Still, that kiss lingered in my mind, though.
“Earth to Michelle, come in Michelle. Do you copy?” Krista asked, waving her hands in front of