Page 95 of In Case You Didn't Know

I snort. “You’ve been drinking, haven’t you?”

“Only three mimosas. And a glass of champagne. Please tell me there’s no third act breakup. I don’t know that I can take it. Can’t you just write the whole book full of hot sex?”

“I think my editor might have something to say about that,” I tell her. “But I’m glad you liked it.”

“Not as glad as Parker.” She lets out a sigh. “It felt different though.”

“Differenthow?” I ask, feeling the worries creep in. Different sounds bad. Am I going to have to re-write it? Ugh.

“I don’t know. It’s just… that scene. The throat holding. The whispering. The dirty talking.” There’s a pause. “It’s like you’ve found your inner slut.”

“Thanks.” I try not to laugh. Drunk Autumn has no filter.

“Have you been having dirty dragon rider sex with somebody?” she asks me, taking me by surprise.

I cough. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. Who is it? Jesse? Mylene? Or a random guest from the hotel? Don’t tell me Captain Toe Shoes has made it back to the island.”

I wince. “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”

“Nope.” She sounds gleeful.

“Well lucky for you I just have a good imagination,” I tell her. “And access to the internet.” Most of the time. Kind of.

“Liar,” Autumn singsongs. “That internet connection is terrible. And don’t try to kid a kidder. Remember when I was having hate sex with Parker when I was forced to live in the apartment next to his? You sound exactly like I did then.”

I frown, remembering how she and Parker got together. He’s Hudson’s best friend, and wouldn’t go near her. Until those weeks when the two of them were living next to each other on the island while Autumn oversaw the renovations of the Grand Liberty Hotel while Hudson was overseas fighting for custody of his daughter.

“It’s nothing like that,” I protest. Iwilltell her about this. Eventually. When she’s back on the island and I can explaineverything to her. That’s if there’s anything to explain. Yes, I’ve been spending all my non-writing time with Asher, but I also know from the phone calls I overhear that he needs to get back to New York. I don’t know what will happen then.

And I don’t really want to think about it.

But maybe there’ll be nothing to tell Autumn by the time she’s back here.

I tell myself that, even though something inside of me aches at the thought.

There’s a pause, but then she sighs. “Fine, I’ll let it go for now. But if I find out it’s someone sketchy, I reserve the right to call your brothers and demand a full-scale intervention.”

The laugh gets caught in my throat. “About that…”

“About what?” She sounds confused. But this is something I want to run past my best friend. She’s been part of my life for so long. She knows the way I think, and I need her now.

For a moment there’s silence. “Wait, seriously?”

She knows how adamant I’ve been about them not finding out about my writing. And I can’t tell her why I’ve been thinking about it. Those words Asher said to me, that night in the car. That he’d want to know. That he’d be proud.

And I know they’ll be hurt, too. That I didn’t tell them from the start.

“I think it might be time,” I say, feeling every word thump with the tightness of my chest. “I hate hiding it. But also, I’m terrified to come clean.” I lean back on the sofa and look up at the ceiling. “Once they know, they’ll all have opinions. Liam will want to see the financials, Myles will want to talk to my publishers. And then there’s the sex.” I wrinkle my nose.

“The steaming hot sex scenes,” Autumn adds.

“Exactly. Those.” Nobody likes to think about their family reading the smut they wrote. “I’m not sure they’ll ever look at me the same way again.”

Autumn clears her throat, like she knows I need her advice right now. “But maybe they shouldn’t,” she says. “Maybe it’s time that they see you as a grown up. Somebody with a career, a gift. You’re right, it’s time to let them in a little. They love you, you know that.”

“They do,” I say softly.