Once Upon a Date - Susan Hatler Page 0,24

in my tracks. All of the stores we’d passed were closed, except the one we were standing outside—the high-end men’s clothing store, Taylor & Sons. The lights were on inside and a salesperson was scanning labels into the register for a customer, who I recognized immediately.

My gaze dropped to the huge pile of clothes that were being folded and wrapped in tissue paper, before being placed carefully inside bags.

“Phillip!” I exclaimed.

Brooks looked at me and then followed my gaze to the store, where my stepbrother was handing over a credit card to the cashier, who took it with a smile.

“Phillip? As in, you have to ‘pay nine thousand dollars in back rent’ Phillip?”

I nodded, too stunned to speak since spotting my stepbrother shopping. Brooks moved toward the boutique door but I put a hand on his arm to stop him. “Please, don’t.”

He frowned at me. “Are you serious? Michelle, he’s fleecing you and you’re letting him. Let’s go in there, tell them to refund the money onto his card, and make him pull money off the credit card to pay the landlord instead.”

I shook my head. “Brooks, please, I don’t want an argument in there. I hate confrontation, especially in public. Look, can we just go? Please? I’ll deal with him in my own time in my own way.”

“But—”

“I said I don’t want to do this,” I exclaimed, turning and continuing down the sidewalk.

I hurried with quick steps, wanting to get as far away from Phillip and his latest shopping spree as possible. Although he was silent, Brooks kept pace beside me and we walked together without talking. I felt bad that I’d kind of snapped at him, but at the same time I didn’t feel like it was fair of him to push for something I didn’t want to do. Right when I was feeling like the entire date was ruined, I thought about saying something when all of a sudden his hand wrapped around mine. My belly fluttered and the contact with him instantly made me feel better. I turned to give him a small smile and the corners of his mouth lifted in return.

Chapter Ten

Despite the disastrous end to the date—and when was it ever anything but disastrous when Phillip was involved?—I was still on a high. Things couldn’t have gone better if I’d written the date myself. My satisfaction included a teensy bit of smugness at having proved Brooks wrong, but mostly it was sheer delight at having written what had turned out to be a really good book the way it should’ve been written and not with “realistic” additions that were so not romantic.

Feeling inspired, ideas percolated in my brain. I hadn’t planned on writing a book two or an entire series, but the characters were talking in my head and who was I not to write out their story? The more I thought about it, the more it made sense.

With my first manuscript printed out and laid around me on the kitchen counter, I settled down on the barstool to work on book two when there was a knock at the door. Who could that be? Brooks? My heart skipped a beat and I stood up to—

“It’s your lucky day!” Krista bustled in and strode toward me, with a grocery bag in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other. “I’m cooking dinner for Missy and for you tonight. Did she call and tell you?”

“No,” I said, thinking she was being very sweet, but I didn’t have time for socializing right now with my muse calling. As a writer, I had to type the ideas while they were freely coming. “Oh, hey, that’s really nice of you Krista, but—”

“No buts, it’s been ages since we had a girls’ night in.” She dropped her bag on the countertop, right on top of my manuscript for book one. She glanced at me and then down at the scattered papers. “Were you working?”

I nodded. “I have ideas for a book two and need to write the scenes while they are fresh in my mind.”

“Not a problem.” Krista moved her thumb and forefinger across her lips in a zipping motion, and whispered, “I’ll be as quiet as a mouse, I promise.”

I grinned. It would be good to have dinner with the girls. We could catch up and I could tell them all about my date. But first . . . writing. If there was one thing I knew, it was to not disappoint my muse when