Eden waved to Randi as they walked into the bar. She stopped and stared at the expression on Randi’s face. Cari said something that made Randi stop in surprise. When they walked towards them Cari was smiling, but Randi was shaking her head.
“There’s the star of the day,” Analise said as Cari and Randi approached the table.
“Ah, it was a team effort,” Cari said, sitting down.
“Are you okay?” Eden asked quietly when Randi sat next to her.
“I need a beer,” Randi said with a sigh.
“Here comes our waitress,” Eden said. “We’ve already ordered. You can have mine.”
As the waitress served the drinks and took Cari and Randi’s orders Eden pushed her beer in front of Randi.
“Drink,” she said to Randi. “I’ll wait for yours.”
Randi smiled and took a big drink from the frosty glass. “Thank you.”
Eden grinned and noticed Cari staring at them with a smile on her face.
“You are a good friend,” Cari said.
Eden shrugged. “Randi worked hard today. I can wait a few more minutes.”
“I didn’t work like y’all did, but I thought it was fun,” Paige said.
“It was fun,” Eden said. “I think most of the readers felt the same way.”
“I saw connections being made with Cari and her readers,” Analise said.
“That was the goal,” Randi said.
“Yeah, but I also saw connections sparking between readers,” Analise said, raising her brows.
“Oh?” Paige said. “You’re a romance writer, Cari. Do you think they were love connections?"
“That’s a great idea for a book,” Cari said. “I fell in love while standing in line at a romance author event.” She chuckled. “Sparks were flying. Come to think of it, I may have seen a few myself.”
Eden saw Cari cut her eyes towards Randi and wondered what that was about. Randi had assured her weeks ago that nothing would happen between her and Cari. Eden had noticed in the last couple of weeks that Cari wasn’t going out of her way to touch Randi like she had before.
“I’ve been experimenting with sparks in the book I’m working on,” Cari said.
“Experimenting?” Analise asked.
“Yeah, sometimes sparks are immediate, but not always,” Cari said. “What do y’all think?”
Eden gazed around the table as the waitress returned with her and Cari’s drink. She reached for her glass and took a sip while pondering Cari’s question. It wasn’t that long ago that she and Randi were talking about sparks.
“I had sparks for my husband from the beginning,” Paige said. “And I still do.”
“Yeah, but aren’t they different now than they were in the beginning?” Analise asked.
“Mmm, yes and no,” Paige said. “My heart doesn’t always flutter when he walks into the room, but it still does sometimes.”
“I’m a cautious person, so sparks come after I get to know someone,” Tennie said.
“Yeah, I get that,” Analise said. “I’m the same way, generally speaking.”
“Generally?” Eden asked.
