erself it m

d a little too much eye contact. The kind of evening she could tuck away int

n Vale had seeped into her t

arranged the poetry section twice. Even read a Neruda poem out lou

o she was. She wasn't the type to get swept away by a suit and an offer. She had roots. History. A business she bui

stepped inside, she felt it again-the tug. Not desire.

miling. "I was starting to thin

before," he replied, closing the door behi

, arms crossed but relaxed. "So? What br

"Just... wanted

ped her.

. For a few weeks. Meetings,

kwardly between them,

d. "I meant what I said. I'm not here to push. If

in his eye that suggested he was bluffing. If anything, h

he pro

inbox," he said. "Bu

stretching quiet that nei

don't strike me as the ty

ted. "But sometimes...

d. "That line mus

cally,

the two of them. No bookstore. No billion-doll

n the margins of receipts, and a man who wasn'

d toward

suddenly. "I have

er, rummaged through a drawer, a

" Ashton aske

rienne Rich. If you're going to keep showing up

er in his hands. "Wil

brow. "It's

er. I want yo

nside cover. For a second, her hand hovered over the page, unsure

til you're on the

ven a

op

his chest, mock-salu

er one, softer than any he'd given

e door chimed. An

-

k the next day. Or

ly. Things could settle again. Her life could go back to normal.

nking cursor on her laptop screen. She hadn't writte

d about business like it was both a game and a responsibility. The way he listened-reall

hat she'd written in

gs are meant to be discovered slowly.

face in her pil

n. Alone. Probably smirking. Maybe ev

she

t ent