of your blog, your master’s degree in English, and credits reading for other authors, I can see you moving in that direction. Your résumé is impressive. And I can get you an internship.”
A flash of hope ripped through me like lightning.
“All you have to do is consider writing a piece about what you learn working with Thomas Bane.”
The crack of thunder in my chest that followed was deafening.
One doesn’t sit in the office of one of the most influential editors in New York and say no, especially not when she was dangling the carrot of your dreams in front of you, and especially not someone like me who couldn’t say no to her cat.
So I tried to smile and offered the only promise I could, “I’ll consider it.”
Less than an hour later, I dragged myself across the threshold of my brownstone in the Village, mentally exhausted and aching to be alone.
I was peopled the fuck out.
Between Thomas Bane’s pheromone overload, Janessa’s proposition, and the several thousand people I’d just shared air with, my energy was completely sapped along with my ability to brain. But a long, hot bath with a book was waiting for me, and I’d been obsessing about it since I burst out of the Times’ building like someone was chasing me.
Which was why I found myself uncharacteristically disappointed to find all my roommates in the kitchen, laughing. Any other day, I would have been overjoyed for us all to be together, as rare as it was these days. Val and Rin were in serious relationships, and most of their time was spent with their boyfriends. Coming back to our place—to my place—was becoming more and more of a chore for them, though I knew they’d never admit it. They did it for Katherine’s and my benefit.
God help us once they were all married. I’d end up alone in this big house. One cat wouldn’t be enough. I’d need at least three more if I was really going to commit.
I sighed, hanging up my coat, scarf, and bag, grateful that there were no men in my kitchen. Thomas Bane had given me enough male presence for a month.
“Hey!” Val called from her spot in front of the stove, brushing her curly hair from her forehead with the back of her hand.
Rin and Katherine turned, smiling. Well, Rin was smiling. Katherine just wasn’t frowning. Even sullen, Katherine was pretty, her dark hair straight and perfect, her face untouched by makeup, her shirtdress tailored to calculated precision. To be honest, she looked like a librarian—strict, smart, and stern. I’d bet she’d dole out a solid spanking, too.
“Hey,” I echoed, trying to sound peppy as I hauled my jellybrained self to the kitchen island and plopped down on a stool.
“That good, huh?” Val asked with a teasing smile, turning for the pan of sizzling paella on the stove.
I groaned. “Too many people. The bookstore was crazy. Midtown was packed. The USA Times’ office alone is enough to make me crawl into bed for a year.”
Val’s heart-shaped face pinched. “So I guess now’s a bad time to tell you that Sam and Court are coming over for dinner?”
Another groan, this one drawn out and accompanied by a magnificent slump of my shoulders.
Rin’s face fell. “We should cancel. The boys won’t mind.”
I sighed, straightening up. “No, no. Don’t cancel it. Just don’t be offended if I dip out early to lock myself in my room.”
“You sure?” Val asked, her face mirroring Rin’s.
“Positive. I’d feel a hundred times worse if they didn’t come on account of me.” I put on a smile, though I knew it was weary.
They relaxed, seeming relieved.
Val pushed the paella around the pan, her curvaceous hip leaning on the counter. “So how did it go meeting Thomas Bane?”
“Well, I didn’t faint.”
They chuckled, and I found myself smiling genuinely, my exhaustion and anxiety seeping out of me now that I was home and with my friends.
“He’s…intense. Very intense, very smirky, and he smells very good.”
Katherine gave me a look. “You got close enough to smell him?”
“We took a picture together.”
Now all three of them were looking at me.
“At his insistence. Janessa said it was already on Instagram.”
Simultaneously, the three of them reached for their phones. Belatedly, I reached for mine. I hadn’t considered really looking. I’d been too focused on navigating all the people.
“Oh my God,” Val breathed. “He is gorgeous.”
“Look at you.” Rin beamed. “What a great picture, Amelia.”
“This already has twelve thousand likes,” Katherine noted.
“Holy shit, it does.” Val