Page 111 of If I Stopped Haunting You

The upper story of the store had been cleared for lines of black plastic chairs, and two microphones stood before two stools at the front.

“Are you sure we can’t stay for a few minutes and leave?” Neil whispered as Penelope practically dragged him to the front.

“It’s an early reading,” she said, maneuvering them through the throng of attendees. “We don’t even have proofs yet.”

Neil’s left eye twitched. He’d rather be anywhere but here.Daniela had known exactly how to manipulate him. And he’d blurbed,oh,he’d blurbed. She’d personally sent over an early manuscript, and he’d read it. Worse, it was good. Neil had even found himself enjoying it, not that he’d ever admit as much to her face.

Zoe waved to them from the front, motioning to two chairs to her right. Neil was thankful to have met her in person. Their first meeting via Daniela’s webcam had been embarrassing enough.

“You made it!” she exclaimed, hugging Penelope.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Penelope said, pulling off her jacket.

Neil met Zoe’s warm amber eyes. Her curls haloed her heart-shaped face, her dark, glowing skin catching the warm, dim lights overhead as she rolled up the sleeves of her sweater.

“Neil,” she said with a nod. She surveyed them, eyes narrowing. If she suspected they were late because they’d had incredible sex before heading over, she said nothing.

“Zoe.” He nodded in turn before sitting on the other side of Penelope.

“Isn’t it a bit unusual to do a public reading before it’s published?” Penelope asked, leaning toward Zoe. “I thought it was several months out, still.”

Zoe laughed. “I told her as much, but you know Daniela. She likes to make a show of it. She said she wanted to try something new, get people whispering about it.” Zoe shook her head. “I guess we’ll see if it gets people talking before it’s published.”

This is ridiculous,Neil thought.

Penelope and Zoe spoke quietly. The chairs filled quickly, the narrow space packed to the brim. Neil knew Daniela was a popular author. She was charismatic and likable, but damn if she didn’t know just how to get on his nerves.

Grumbling to himself, he pulled out his phone, scanning over the email with copy edits forOn the Backs of My Ancestors. Tabitha had nearly murdered him for asking to yank it from publicationand do a massive rewrite, but after some coaxing, he and his editor had sat down and talked through the edits, agreeing in the end that his original vision for the story was far better than the one that had nearly been printed.

“No Laszlo?” Penelope was asking.

Neil pocketed his phone and leaned back, wrapping an arm around Penelope’s chair. Zoe sighed. “No, Laszlo is off in Budapest, looking for inspiration.”

Penelope snorted. “You’d think a haunted castle would be enough for him.”

“Certainly was for us,” Neil said with a look.

“How is the editing going?” Zoe asked.

“Good,” he said with a nod. “Better than we could have imagined.”

Zoe stared at them blankly. “The truth.”

Neil and Penelope shared a look.

“He’s a perfectionist,” she admitted.

“And she’s a pantser, so that explains itself.”

“It’s adorable, you know,” Zoe drawled. “You’re the sweethearts of the book world, right now.”

“I know,” Neil fumed.

Penelope laughed, her hand going to his knee. The touch was comforting, calming the annoyance roiling in him.

“He’s a little touchy about it,” Penelope said.

He was right to be. Daniela hadn’t stopped posting about the retreat when they’d returned to the real world. She’d shared a string of photos and videos of them over social media while they were in Edinburgh before roping them into visiting a few stores for some last-minute signings.