Page 1 of 500 First Editions (The Romantics #3)

AUTUMN

BUZZ BUZZ

“ I f I never have to fly into LaGuardia again, it will be a damn good day,” Wander said with a huff as she plopped onto the bench across from me. She stole a tortilla chip from the basket between us. “Where’s Whitney?”

“Present!” Whitney called as she hurried out of the bathroom of the little Mexican restaurant. She slid into the booth beside Wander. “How was your flight?”

“Pros of living in North Carolina: Jack.” She beamed from ear to ear, but her expression quickly shifted to a deadpan stare. “Cons of living in North Carolina. Only two major airports, and neither is near Cedar Island.”

“To be fair, nothing is near Cedar Island,” I said as I grabbed a chip and scooped a healthy heaping of salsa onto it.

Wander yawned. “I want my bed.”

“I’m just glad to see you guys,” Whitney said, giving a pointed glance at Wander. “Especially after someone tried to quit.”

Wander held her hands up defensively. Her wedding ring glinted in the light. “I’m back. You can thank Jack for that. And the fact that you guys flew across the country to keep me from quitting.”

I shuddered at the memory of taking a spur-of-the-moment flight to North Carolina when Wander was having an early midlife crisis. I hated flying, but I’d do it in a heartbeat for her.

“I wouldn’t give two shits if you quit writing,” I clarified. "But you tried to quit us. That’s a dick move.”

Whitney nodded emphatically as she stuffed her mouth full of salsa. “By the way, I love the hair, Willow.”

“You look like cotton candy,” Wander said.

I fluffed my pale pink curls. “It was a good change from dark purple.”

The server appeared with a drink the size of my head and dropped it in front of me. “Your rosé-arita on the rocks.” He turned to Wander and Whitney. “What can I get for you lovely ladies?”

“Peach margarita on the rocks, please,” Wander said.

Whitney blushed. “Water with lime for me.”

As the server disappeared, I pulled the small bottle of rosé from my glass to pour it into the lime margarita. “What the hell, Whit? We always have margaritas together. It’s like...sacred.”

Wander, Whitney, and I rarely saw each other. We crossed paths a few times a year at publishing conferences and book signings, but that was about it.

Such is the life of an author.

But our digital friendship kept us connected even when the miles between Rhode Island, North Carolina, and wherever the hell I was living at the time separated us.

Whitney chewed on her lip. “I’m actually not drinking.”

Wander lifted her eyebrows, then glanced at me to see if we were thinking the same thing.

Whitney reached into her bag and pulled out two small boxes, handing one to each of us.

Wander and I tore into them like feral animals. I was not one to be shy about opening presents.

“Oh my God!" Wander shrieked when she popped the top.

I opened mine and quickly read the beaded friendship bracelet.

Best Aunt Ever.

“Holy shit!” I said, as I took it out of the box and wiggled it on my wrist. “You’re pregnant?!”

Whitney nodded and dabbed at the tears coating her eyes. “I’m fourteen weeks along. I’m due around Christmas.”

I jumped out of my seat and slid to the other side of the booth, wrapping Whitney in a group hug as my stomach sank. “I’m so happy for you!”

“How has Miles handled it?” Wander asked as I went back to my side of the booth.

Whitney laughed. “He’s ecstatic. I made him wait to tell people until we were out of the first trimester. I swear he was about to explode.” Her eyes were wistful and full of love. “He’s going to be the best dad.”

“That’s because he’s still a kid at heart,” I said.

Wander laughed. “True.”

Thankfully, the server came back with Wander’s and Whitney’s drinks and took our orders.

“What about you and Jack?” Whitney asked. “Making any firefighting, author-ly babies anytime soon?”

Wander laughed. “We’re still in the honeymoon stage. We’re happy just being cheesy newlyweds for now.”

She looked blissfully happy. Was her glow from living at the beach or from regular sex?

I loved Whitney and Wander with everything in me, but I couldn’t help but feel like I was constantly falling behind. They were happily married and settled. Now, there would be a baby in the mix.

And here I was—the last single one in the group with zero prospects, a car packed to move at a moment’s notice, and no permanent address.

I was just fine with my life until I was reminded of how happy they were.

I wanted to be happy too.

“Did you guys see that Ryan Ford is giving the keynote address at the conference tomorrow?" Whitney asked as she squeezed the lime wedge into her water.

I stuck my tongue out and pretended to gag before downing half of my margarita in one sip. “That was a choice.”

Wander snickered. “Why do you hate him so much?”

I held up my fingers and ticked off my points one by one.

“This is a publishing conference for romance authors. He’s not a romance author.

Second. Keynote speaker? Please. All he does is make bro jokes and use sports analogies on the internet.

He’s obnoxious. No one needs that. Third, he’s a scam artist. A twelve-step program that can make anyone fall in love? It’s highway robbery.”

Whitney lifted a brow. “Wow. That’s a lot of time spent thinking about someone you supposedly hate. Honestly, I’m curious about what his speech is about.”

I rolled my eyes but bit my tongue as the server doled out plates that were piled high.

“I’m just saying. You or Wander should have gotten the keynote. Wander came back after horrendous writer’s b-l-o-c-k, had a huge comeback, found out she’s like...a dynasty author or something, and published her aunt’s book. That would be a hell of a keynote address.”

Wander shook her head. “I have no interest in being a keynote speaker. Panelist? Sure. I can banter with you guys all day. A full speech? Absolutely not.”

I looked at Whitney. “They should have had you. You had a stalker, got kidnapped, escaped, and fell in love with your bodyguard. That’s a hell of a story.”

Whitney placed her hands delicately on her stomach. “I’ve thrown up for the last three months. I didn’t even know if I would be able to make it through the conference panels until the nausea eased up last week.”

Okay. Maybe I wasn’t jealous of that part.

I loaded my fork with rice and refried beans. “Literally anyone but him. That's all I'm saying. It’s an industry conference, and he isn’t part of the industry.”

“Doesn’t he have, like, a million followers online?” Wander asked as she stuffed her face with an enchilada. “They’re probably using him to get new eyes on the conference,” she said with her mouth full.

“Yes,” I said, pointing my fork at her. “A million men who want to hear some egotistical ass potato yap into a mic in thirty-second sound bites.” I rolled my eyes.

“But hey, here’s the bright side. Since we have to be on stage with him for forty-five minutes, I’ll have forty-five minutes of in-person research for the villain in my next book. ”

Whitney choked on her water and pressed her palm to her chest as she caught her breath. “Okay, Miss Enemies-to-Lovers. I see you.”

“Nope,” I said with extra emphasis on the P . “He won’t be the love interest. I’ll kill him off in some fantastically gruesome way. Figuring out his demise will help me smile on stage tomorrow instead of glaring daggers through the back of that man’s Ken doll hair.”

“He does have great hair,” Wander said.

“We do not compliment the evil one.”

“I’m just saying!” she said with a laugh as she grabbed her margarita.

Whitney’s phone cut through the banter, and she quickly dug it out of her bag. Miles, her husband, was calling.

“Hey, babe. I’m at dinner with the girls.” There was a pause as a small smile worked its way up her face. “Yes, I made it here just fine.” She covered the speaker of the phone and looked up at us. “Miles says hi.”

“Hi, Miles,” Wander and I replied.

He must have said something funny because Whitney laughed. She was typically the quiet one out of the three of us, but she came alive with Miles.

“Okay, I’ll call you when we’re done,” she said. “Love you too.”

“I’m surprised Miles let you come all the way to New York without him,” Wander said. “I know it’s closer to you than the rest of us, but he seems like he’d be so overprotective of you and the baby.”

Whitney swallowed her bite and pointed across the restaurant. “See the woman in all black?”

My eyes nearly bugged out of my head. “Okay, she’s hot.”

Whitney laughed as the woman with mile-long legs, bombshell curves, and glossy black hair stared back at us coolly. “That’s Alona. She works with Miles at Keller & Associates. She was assigned to me, since Miles is on a job in California.”

“Awww! He picked you out a bodyguard?” Wander cooed. “That’s adorable!”

I wanted a man to pick me out a bodyguard. Maybe I needed to check and see if any single executive protection agents at the private security firm where Miles worked.

“Actually, Alona volunteered. She’s a huge romance reader, so she was excited to come to the conference with me. And she’s so nice. We get along great.”

I took another glance at her and was met with a scowl meant to scare. "Could've fooled me. She looks like she’s going to murder me.”

Whitney waved it off. “That’s just her face. She’s the sweetest. I asked her if she wanted to sit with us, but she said no, since she’s technically working.”

“You don’t have another stalker, do you?” Wander asked.

Whitney shook her head. “God, no. Miles is just a little paranoid since I’m pregnant.”

Wander’s phone chimed with a text. She looked at the screen and giggled. Giggled. “Sorry, it’s Jack. He’s on duty and he’s bored. He and all the guys at the station have been reading our books. It’s like a little book club. They bring themed snacks and everything.”

“You two are the cutest,” Whitney said.

I nodded. “You two found the sweetest husbands on the planet.”

Whitney beamed at Wander. “We did, didn’t we?”