Chapter One
“How did it go?” Randi Powell walked into her best friend’s office with anticipation.
“Ugh.” Eden frowned and looked up from her computer screen.
“Ah.” Randi sighed. “When you didn’t call me last night… I was hopeful.” She smiled and raised her eyebrows. Both thirty-five years old, she and Eden Andrews had been best friends for the past thirteen years. They’d both moved to Dallas fresh out of college, ready to change the world. A mutual friend had introduced them and they’d instantly hit it off.
Randi sat down in the chair opposite Eden’s desk and waited. After a few moments she said, “Well, what was wrong with her?”
Eden sighed dramatically as her shoulders slumped. “All she talked about was running.” She gave Randi an exasperated look and continued. “You know me. The only running I’ll be doing is away from someone chasing me.”
Randi giggled and tried not to laugh. “Unless you’re running to find your seat at a Taylor Swift concert,” she muttered.
“I don’t mind doing yoga with you, but I don’t talk about it nonstop,” Eden said, ignoring Randi’s comment.
“I should hope not.” Randi paused. “Surely you talked about something else.”
“Uh, yeah. You.”
“Me!” Randi exclaimed.
“I told her how you’re always willing to try new things, including running. That led to talking about when I moved here and how we became friends.” Eden shrugged. “You know, the getting to know you kind of stuff.”
“Did you have dinner?”
“No, we ended up just having a couple of drinks.”
“What did you learn about her? Is she a reader?”
“A reader?”
“Yes, you’re a reader. You work for a marketing company that specializes in promoting indie authors. Plus, you read a lot of books!”
“Yeah, I don’t know, she didn’t strike me as the reader type,” Eden said, narrowing her eyes. “Maybe more like audiobooks, so she could listen to them whilerunning.” She chuckled.
“Was she pretty?”
Eden scoffed. “Like that matters. Talk about shallow.”
“It is and it isn’t. She has to be pretty, to you. You’re the one who’s going to be looking at her.” Randi paused. “Who was that girl you dated last summer? What was her name?”
“Summer,” Eden stated. “Her name was Summer.”
“Oh yeah, why can’t I remember that?” Randi smirked. “Anyway, she was gorgeous.”
“Yes, and she knew it. She loved it when everyone else commented on her beauty. Did you know that I found out later that she was dating two other people while we were dating? So looks aren’t that important to me. Besides, there aren’t a lot of people like you, Randi. You’re pretty on the outside and even prettier on the inside.”
Randi dropped her gaze and felt her cheeks warm. “Thank you,” she said quietly. “But we’re not talking about me. We’re talking about you.”
“What has Eden done now?” Analise Reilly walked into Eden’s office and set a folder on her desk. As the CEO of Hook, Line & Reader she’d become accustomed to finding Randi in Eden’s office.
“Hi, Analise,” Randi said.
“Oh, last night I had another unsuccessful first date,” Eden said.
“And I came by to see what was wrong with this one,” Randi commented.
Analise chuckled. “I see. Since turning fifty the idea of dating has lost its appeal.” She tilted her head. “What were you saying about being pretty?”
