Page 29 of Pick Me

I ’ d sent the email to Piper about the other two books in the series over a week ago, and all I’d gotten back from her was

radio silence. I’d expected some sort of confirmation, given I’d agreed to write them—thank you for your service, Melete—but

then again, I was used to her minimalist communication style. I’m sure she’d logged it on the back end of Pro Depot with a

quick nod, then moved on to the next task in her endless queue. It was fine, because I didn’t even have to think about book

two until Austin and Abby were cooing over their newborn.

“Why are you frowning at your screen?” Nia asked me, quirking an eyebrow. “I thought cowboy life was going well.”

We were at a hipster coffee shop known for sourcing rare beans from around the world for another writing date. Nia was now

an official bestseller in between stops on her tour and already working on her next book.

“Was I frowning? Everything’s fine. Just pondering.”

She nodded sagely. “Ah yes, the writer’s favorite pastime. Pondering, followed closely by researching obscure topics that

don’t add anything to the story to stay busy when not pondering. Anything but writing.”

“Exactly,” I agreed. “I just finished researching the average weight of Texas longhorn cattle.”

“Why?”

“Austin’s ex the veterinarian almost got trampled by one, and I wanted to see how devastating her injuries could be. Turns

out, those dudes can top out at over two thousand pounds.”

“Ouch, no thank you.” She winced. “And the horns .”

“About four feet wide,” I added sagely, since I was now an expert in all things steer.

But for a change, I wasn’t researching to kill time. I’d had a real need to find out about them, and once I knew enough, I’d

gotten back to business. Instead of focusing on my bickering archers, I was making magic happen for Austin and Abby, faster

than usual. I was finally on track to hit my deadline if things kept up. And the sex scenes? Scorching enough to make me blush

as I wrote them.

I was coasting on the vibes from the Hamptons weekend, trying to ignore the fact that Kai still hadn’t reached out to me in

the three days since. But it was the post–holiday weekend slog, plus Colton had assured me that he’d heard the Atria Paris

office was in town for the week and they were busy with meetings and after-hours events.

I was equally stressed that Owen hadn’t let me know if he wanted to keep working with me. Every time my phone chirped, I jumped,

hoping that it was him confirming our next lesson.

Thankfully, the little number in the bottom corner of my Word doc kept going up, and that was enough to help me stay in a

stable headspace. Just the promise of Kai seemed to be enough to keep the words flowing. I could only imagine my output when we actually connected in a real

way and not just a drive-by.

“What’s happening with the romantasy?” Nia asked.

“Not much at the moment.” I hunched my shoulders up to my ears. “I feel like I’m cheating on Einar and Zandria when ever I work on Austin and Abby’s story, even though the Liaison book is what really matters.”

“Is it, though?” she asked pointedly. “I love what you’ve told me about Archer . What does your agent think?”

“She doesn’t know.”

“Seriously?” Nia frowned at me. “How many words do you have?”

“Plenty, but I don’t want to keep throwing half-baked ideas at her. Let’s just say I’ve had a bunch of false starts since

we gave up on Truth and Beauty , and I feel like I’m coming off unfocused. I want to finish this one.”

“So she has no idea you’re writing it?”

Nia’s cross-examination made me feel twitchy. She was a pro at getting to the heart of an issue.

“No...” I admitted.

“Oh, girl.” She tilted her head at me. “At least send her a summary to see if she likes it. What if you finish it, and she

thinks it’s a crap idea? I mean, it definitely isn’t, but still.”

I knew she was right, but a part of me liked keeping my archers to myself. I still wasn’t sure what sorts of adventures they

were going to get up to as they tamed alicorns, battled interlopers, and finally stopped arguing long enough to fall in love.

But if I shared it and Celeste didn’t like the concept, there’d be no reason for me to keep writing their happily ever after,

and they’d be stuck in limbo forever.

“Yeah, I probably should,” I offered weakly, my stomach free-falling at the thought of actually doing it. “I never thought

I’d get this far, so I didn’t bother running the idea by her. The story is just falling out of me.”

“Okay, that’s a great sign. So tell her. Before you add another word to that manuscript,” Nia scolded gently.

I knew she was right, but I dreaded the thought of my lovers potentially condemned to purgatory.

“Think of what a lift you’ll get when she tells you how much she loves the concept,” Nia added as her fingers danced over

her keyboard. “Just do it.”

She was right. Without buy-in from my agent, I was wasting my time.

My copywriter background meant that writing a three-paragraph elevator pitch for the book was second nature. Nia helped me

refine it, and I sent the email off to Celeste before I could decide that I was making a huge mistake. My palms were actually

sweaty after I finished.

I hadn’t sent her an idea in so long that she was probably going to wonder who the hell I was.

Nia held up her coffee cup. “To good news.”

“Yes, please.” I clinked against it with mine. “But enough of that. I need to get back to the ranch. At least this book is

paying the bills.”

“For now,” Nia corrected.

We fell silent as I worked on the joyful first sonogram appointment scene, and Nia went back to whatever bloody, gut-churning

moment had her grinning as she typed. My phone buzzed and my first thought was of Owen. He’d told me that they were doing

a deep clean at CPA during our usual Tuesday morning meeting time, which explained why I hadn’t heard from him.

Or at least that was the fiction I was writing about us.

Although if the text was from him, maybe he was reaching out to tell me our lessons were done?

I wasn’t sure how we were going to go back to normal this time around, if he even considered me worthy of another chance.

He’d been generous with me after I’d jumped him at the farm; then we’d both agreed to playact our second make-out session for Leo’s benefit, which meant that the only lingering awkwardness from it

was the way I felt afterward.

The Hamptons kiss was... next level. Real enough that it made him angry.

And me confused. And thinking about it when I pulled my buzzing friend from my nightstand at night.

But Owen didn’t seem like the type of person to back out of an agreement, and he’d said we’d work together until the tournament.

Three more weeks.

I finally stopped obsessing about if the text was from him or not and picked up my phone to check. It was from Wes, a photo

of a pyramid of dark chocolate Hobnobs biscuit packages on a Sainsbury’s conveyer belt.

I didn’t have to ask what was going on in the photo. He was stocking up on my favorite cookies prior to coming home. I sent

back a photo doing a Korean finger heart.

Can you talk

I jumped at the chance to connect with him.

Always.

I walked outside right as the phone rang and tucked myself in front of an empty space for rent. My stomach went into free

fall when I looked at the screen.

It was Owen calling, not Wes, like I’d summoned him by obsessing about our next steps.

“Hi?” My voice felt shaky as I answered.

“Hey,” he said quickly. “Listen, there’s a, uh, a technicality with the lessons Meredith got for you. I never logged them

as completed in the computer system, so it says you still have unused time with me.”

I stared out at the crowds passing by as I tried to make sense of why the Big Gripper didn’t have the authority to overwrite

their computer system and mark my lessons as used. He had to be able to, and if not him, someone else on the team probably could. But if this was the angle he wanted to use so that

we could keep going, I was down to play along.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, so I guess we need to finish them.”

“Okay, that’s great!” I fought the urge to do a little jig. “I mean, if you’re okay with it?”

“Sure. Yeah. You’ve got the tournament coming up, so it makes sense to get some more court time.”

He didn’t mention Kai, probably because he assumed it was already a done deal.

“Thursday morning?” I asked.

“Yup, that works. See you then.”

He disconnected right as Wes called me.

“Hey!” I answered brightly, feeling doubly happy.

“Heeeeeey.” He drew out the word, and I could tell in the single syllable that he was just as excited about his upcoming visit

as I was. “Anything else you want me to bring you?”

“Hobnobs’ll do it. Thanks for remembering.”

“You’re letting me crash at your place. I didn’t want to come empty-handed.”

“I’m sort of shocked Mom and Dad didn’t cancel the race since you’re going to be here.”

“I told them not to,” Wes answered. “This is Dad’s first post-injury race, and I know he’s been working hard. I didn’t want to fuck with his mojo. Plus they get me Friday, Sunday, and Monday night.”

“So what do you want to do while you’re in the city?” I asked, already planning half a dozen excursions.

“Uh, first thing I want to do is see you dink, because I still don’t believe that you’re playing.”

I paused for a beat, because what seemed like a simple request complicated things in ways I didn’t feel like getting into

on an international call.

“You want to play pickleball ? Dude, your life is sports; why don’t we do something that doesn’t require sweating? You need to relax these last few weeks

before the season kicks up.”

His laughter prevented him from responding for a few seconds. “Hold on, are you suggesting you’re that good? You actually think you’re going to wear me out?”

It was a new twist to our sibling rivalry, sporty competitiveness.

I straightened my back and raised up my chin as if he were standing in front of me. “Actually, yes. I am good.”

Because I had an amazing coach.

Have an amazing coach.

“Oh, this is gonna be fun .” He chuckled. “I’m definitely packing my paddle.”

“That’ll take a couple of hours, so what else?”

“Hang out, eat good food, get your state of the union. I feel like I have no clue what’s going on in your life. I get the

summaries from Mom, but I know you don’t tell her everything.”

As close as we were, the time difference and his busy schedule made it tough for us to keep up with each other.

We texted memes and photos all the time, but they didn’t take the place of a good sit-down.

And Wes had always provided my guy perspective, which would come in handy if I decided to dive into the Owen situation with him.

“Well, my life isn’t nearly as exciting as yours. No hordes of adoring fans chanting my name on the regular. But I do have

some stuff going on.”

“Can’t wait to hear it. Will I be sleeping on the futon again? Just want to make sure to pack loungewear so I don’t scare

Meredith.”

I stifled a giggle. Meredith had nursed a massive crush on Wes since the first time she met him, and I could guarantee she’d

welcome the chance to catch him shirtless.

“Yup. Unless you want my room and I’ll take the futon.”

He pshawed. “Absolutely not. The futon is fine for us.”

My head jerked back. “Us?”

Wes’s warm laugh made me realize just how much I missed him. “I’ve been in England too long; it’s just an expression. I’ll

let you know what train I’m taking on Friday, yeah?”

“Perfect,” I replied. “Absolutely cannot wait to give you a giant hug.”

“Same. Love you.”

I could hear the smile in his voice.

“Love you back.”

I disconnected the call and stared at my phone. The Owen issue felt more settled, which left me to only have to worry about

hearing from Kai now.

Despite what Owen thought, I refused to call it a love triangle because by definition it wasn’t —no one was in love with anyone—but if I was honest with myself, it was starting to feel more than a little isosceles.