Literary Love (Lazy Love Book 2) Read Free Page B

airport, so you don’t have to come get me.” She waited a moment and listened. “Sounds good. You can even go home if you want. Fudge will be fine until I get there.” Another momentary pause, and then, “Thanks, Aunt Sally. I love you.”
    “Who’s Fudge?” he asked, making no secret of the fact he’d listen to every word of her call.
    “My dog. My aunt has been dog sitting while I’ve been gone.”
    If she had someone dog sitting for her, it was unlikely she was in a relationship. “Were you in New York for business or pleasure?”
    “Both actually. My assistant lives in Upstate New York, and once a year, I fly into the city and she buses down, and we spend a few days together, and then we go our separate ways.”
    He looked at her for a minute. “What exactly does an author’s assistant do?”
    “Everything! If I hate doing it, but it needs to be done, she does it. She’s a miracle worker. I wouldn’t trade Sara for all the tea in China.”
    “So how do you have an assistant that lives so far away? Isn’t that hard?”
    May shook her head. “Actually the hardest part is just missing her. We’ve become very close over the years. I give her instructions on Facebook or through email. We talk on the phone once a month or so.”
    “Sounds like you’ve got it figured out.”
    She nodded. “I have most things about my business figured out. I am a well-oiled writing machine.”
    “Then I can have an autographed book?” he asked again.
    “Why do you want an autographed book? I don’t mind giving you one, but are you really going to read it?” She’d rather he didn’t. The book she had in her purse had been written thinking of him. When she thought of the very steamy chapter she’d written, imagining him, she blushed, not wanting him to read a word of the book.
    He watched the play of emotions on her face. “You don’t want me to read it, do you?”
    She shrugged. “I—they’re romances. I write sex scenes, and the idea of a man reading one embarrasses me a little.”
    He grinned at that. “Well, I like the idea of reading one you’ve written. It will feel like a window into your mind.”
    “That’s not helping at all!” she protested. “How about this? You can have an autographed copy if you promise not to read it.”
    “You want me to lie to you?”
    “Yeah, that would be great. Aren’t actors just professional liars anyway?”
    He shook his head. “No. Not at all.” He took her hand in his, squeezing it gently. “I want a copy of your book. I will read it. I want to get to know you better.”
    “And you think reading a romance novel will help you get to know me better?” It would. She poured her heart and soul into her books. It would help him to get to know her better, but she didn’t want him to know that.
    “I think so. There’s something about you that seems very real to me.” He shook his head. “I’m not sure if I’m explaining this well.” He handed their empty glasses to the flight attendant who was still watching May with stars in her eyes. “I live in a world where everything and everyone is fake. Since you’re a fan of the show, I think you know that our stars are pretty down to earth. Jesse and Valerie are as real as can be. But most people—most are one way in front of the cameras and another when they’re off. You don’t seem to be that way. I think if you have no one watching, you’ll be just as kind, generous, and loving as you are when you have an audience.”
    May nodded slowly. “Do you know the scripture that says, ‘Don’t let your right hand know what your left hand is doing?’ I’m not quoting exactly, I don’t think. Anyway, I believe that. If you are going to give, you don’t do it for people to see. You do it, because it’s the right thing to do, and it needs to be done.”
    He nodded. “That’s the kind of thing I mean.” He looked down at her hand in his, a hand with no rings on it, and unpolished nails. Slowly, he laced his