Elizabeth nods immediately like she understands exactly what I mean.
“My mom said it helped her come to terms with her parents passing,” she says softly. “She underlined half the chapter.”
I blink quickly and smile before emotion can fully climb up my throat.
“Well, tell your mom she officially made me emotional at a signing.”
Elizabeth laughs. “She’s going to lose her mind when I tell her I met you.” Her eyes drift down to the stack of books again. “Honestly, I think your stories helped both of us.”
I finish signing the title page carefully.
“To Elizabeth,” I write, “thank you for letting these stories grow with you.”
She watches me write the message, and then again as I move on to the next book in her stack.
“I always wondered how you wrote relationships that felt so real,” she blurts suddenly. “Like... the way your characters fight for each other feels different from other romance books.”
A smile tugs at my mouth before I can stop it.
“Well,” I say lightly, twisting my wedding ring absently against my finger, “I had a pretty good muse.”
Her eyes immediately flick to the ring. The honeycomb band still catches the bookstore lights every single time I move my hand.
“That ring is actually iconic, by the way,” she says seriously. “People online are obsessed with it.”
I laugh softly. “My husband’s very proud of that fact.”
“I would be too if I’d set the standard for every fictional man for the last decade.”
That one gets a real laugh out of me.
“I’ll make sure to tell him.”
“You should.” She hesitates. “Thank you for giving me hope.”
I place the pen down gently. “Thank you for reading my books.”
“Could I maybe get a photo with you?” she asks quickly. “You can absolutely say no. I just—my mom is never going to believe this happened otherwise.”
I smile immediately. “Of course you can.”
Her entire face lights up.
“Oh my God. Okay. Thank you.” She nearly drops her phone trying to unlock it fast enough, which makes me laugh quietly as I stand from behind the signing table.
“I’m sorry,” Olivia says as Elizabeth walks away. “I feel like I have failed as your publicist.”
“Why?”
“Because the queue is longer than I expected. There are at least another forty people out there.”
“Really?” I say, huffing out a surprised breath.
She nods, and I shake my head in disbelief. Even after all this time and so many signings, it still surprises me when people want to come out and support me.
“Well, I guess I better get signing then.”
I uncap my pen and look up at the next person in line.
