Page 130 of With Stars in Her Eyes

Samantha nodded. “Smart.”

“He is. Despite his best efforts to hide it.”

Samantha chuckled.

“What was the other thing?”

“I’m looking for someone to take over one of the romance book clubs—specifically the queer one. It’s early, but the person running it right now is going to graduate in the spring. Starting in May, I’m going to need someone else to run it. I know you have a lot on your plate, but it seemed like something that you might enjoy.”

“Oh wow.”

“And given the way you started bullying a customer who picked up a book you didn’t enjoy and handed her one you did the other day”—Samantha’s eyes twinkled—“I thought you might like having a more formal role in helping people pick books.”

“When would I start?”

“May first. This one’s usually the first Wednesday of the month. You can pick the location if you want. We’ve had a lot of interest in a book club like this, and I think I’d also rather a queer person run it or pick the books for it.”

“That makes sense…”

“No pressure at all though. I don’t need an answer now. Maybe next week?”

I grinned. “Thank you. I’m really trying to get better about rushing into things and taking on too much.”

“Thanks for considering it.”

I nodded and sat in silence, rolling a stray thread on the couch between my fingers.

“Everything okay, Thea?”

“If I wanted to send Courtney a letter… or something… could you get it to her?” I blurted the question out so quickly, I wasn’t sure Samantha had caught any of my words.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I could.”

CHAPTER 48Thea

A knock came at the door of the photography studio. I didn’t know who I expected, but it certainly wasn’t a male stranger dressed like his only goal in life was to star in a reboot ofEntourage,complete with Bluetooth earpiece and visible chest hair.

“Are you Thea Quinn?”

Part of me wanted to respond with a “That depends on who’s asking” in an accent like I was in a second-rate cop drama that would probably air on CBS in prime time, but I was in no mood to do a bit right now. I’d sent the card to Courtney a week ago and hadn’t heard anything yet.

“Yes. Is everything okay?”

The speed at which he flicked his card at me seemed preternatural.

“Richard Knotts.” He didn’t actually hand me the card though. He just flashed it like it was needed to bolster his story and then pulled it back after I’d read it.

Richard Knotts Knotts Entertainment Management LLC

Offices in Los Angeles and London

An irrepressible instinct to laugh came over me at the memory of Courtney trying to subtly explain the confusing lore behind Omegaverse fanfic while in the children’s section of the bookstore.

“I’m here because the Violet Trikes would like to book yourservices for a photo shoot in the Great Sand Dunes National Park and to shoot their show in Red Rocks Amphitheatre the week after. Mr. Adeyemi said you would be aware of why.”

“I thought he had changed his mind…”

“He hasn’t. The details are in this paperwork.” He handed over a folder.