Page 62 of Unscripted Love
I had been so wrapped up in my conversation with Kyle that I momentarily forgot where we were and what we were doing. He had that effect on me quite often. “Sorry for getting sappy,” I told the ladies, “and for oversharing.”
“Your personality is as refreshing as your writing,” Jennifer said then leaned forward. “Did you say that you have a hairless cat named Harry?”
“Yes,” I replied. “I planned to name him Dobby after the elf onHarry Potter,but it didn’t match his personality.”
“But Harry does?” Jennifer asked again.
“He’s stoic and serious like I expect someone named Harry would be and I—”
“Cut the crap,” Kyle said. “You named him after your ginger crush, Prince Harry.”
“Did not,” I said with a scoff. Okay, it was totally true. I vowed never to lie to Kyle again, but I saw his reaction to my comment about Wren. “Who told you that?”
“Josh.”Damn him.
“Did you know that Josh’s macaroni and cheese isn’t homemade? It comes frozen from the grocery store, and he heats it up then passes it off as homemade.” Not that Kyle ate the macaroni because of the carbs. “Tell everyone you know.” I’d get even with Josh if it was the last thing I did.
Agnes and Jennifer’s laughter once again pulled me back to reality. Jennifer was smiling and shaking her head while Agnes studied me closely.
“I know that look,” Kyle said to Agnes. “She’s thinking about making us into book characters.”
“I would, but no one would believe me. There’d be at least one person saying with shouty capitals that people like you two don’t exist. I’d have to make you less adorable and sweet.”
I turned to Kyle and said, “See!”
The meal was scrumptious and the conversation even better. Agnes told us about her family and shared that her grandson, Chase, and his husband, Gray, were about to welcome their second child into the world. She couldn’t wait to get her hands on her great-grandson. It was one of the most memorable evenings of my life. I knew that I was going to sign with Jennifer’s agency before I even bothered reading the dossier. Sometimes you just knew the right fit when you found it.
Ichuckled as I walked up the stairs in search of Chaz, although I didn’t need to follow the smell of coffee or sounds of his grumbling to find him. He was in his “cave” trying to sort his characters out, and it sounded like he was having a difficult time doing it.
“You never do what I want you to,” I heard him grumble as I approached the door to his office. “That wasn’t in the outline, Drew. You’re not following the script!” I had snickered when Chaz told me he used his fake gamer name in his latest book. He confessed that choosing names for his characters was one of the hardest things for him.
I entered the room, but he was too engrossed at whatever he saw on his laptop to notice me. Harry sat on the corner of his desk glaring at Chaz and swishing his long, skinny tail from side to side. I suspected Harry was more pissed about the ugly-ass Christmas sweater Chaz put on him than being ignored.
When we got back from New York, we gave up the pretense that we wanted to live separately. Over the next week, Chaz brought Harry over for visits to see how he got along with my pets. Otis looked at Harry like he was trying to figure out what kind of cat he was and Sadie just wanted to be friends. Harry acted like a royal prince and stared down his regal nose at my pets like they were peasants.
“It’s because they’re not wearing snazzy clothes,” Chaz had said. Sadie gave Chaz a look that dared him to try it.
The pets adjusted quickly and Chaz officially moved in the following week. I fucking loved having him under the same roof and knew I’d love it more when he wasn’t stretching himself too thin between the salon, his writing career, and finding time to spend with me. I suspected it was the stress of trying to be what everyone else needed that was the source of his frustrations rather than Drew going rogue on him.
“That damn Drew,” I said, pulling his attention to me. Chaz’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment like they always did when I caught him talking to himself, his characters, or sometimes his cat. Who the hell was I to question his methods? “What’s he done this time?”
Chaz blew out a frustrated breath and said, “He’s rushing the damn storyline again. If he keeps this up, the book will be four or five chapters shorter than I planned.”
“Maybe he’ll take you to new places and reveal new plot points,” I replied, sounding like I knew what the hell I was talking about.
“It seems that way, but I don’t like it,” Chaz said. “I prefer he just follow the damn script.”
I wanted to kiss the cute pout off his lips, but it would deter me from the reason I searched him out in the first place. The surprise baby shower was his idea after all. Gabe and Josh thought everyone was coming over for chili and football playoffs, or “the next biggest sporting event,” as Josh called it. Still, what would one little kiss hurt?
The doorbell rang before I could put my plan into action. “It would seem that our guests are starting to arrive.”
“Perfect timing because this book has gone to hell in a handbasket. These characters will be the death of me.” Chaz pushed his chair back from his desk and stood up. “The only thing keeping Drew from falling down an elevator shaft in a freak workplace accident is his damn dimples.”
“Dimples do come in handy,” I agreed.
“When have you used them to get out of trouble?” Chaz asked, following me down the stairs.
“I was thinking more along the lines of snagging a guy.”