Page 7 of Modern Persuasion

I turned away from her and started walking again, rolling my eyes once she couldn't see. "Well, it was probably because you didn't decide to come to PubCon until the last minute. Why don't you ask Louisa for her copy of Tom's book? Plus, I'm sure she can snag you a copy of Fredrick's book since she's acting as Christi's intern."

Mary stepped on the back of my sneaker as we walked, and I knew it was deliberate. "I can't believe you left me out again," she growled.

We walked back to the meeting area after lunch. We found Karen in the area scrolling through emails on her phone. I knew Mary was hoping to get a copy of something without dealing with the crowds.

"Mary, what a pleasant surprise," Karen said when she looked up.

"Can you believe that Emma went to the breakfast as Tom's guest this morning, and she didn't get me a ticket or anything?" Mary asked.

I knew my sister all too well. She wanted me to make it up to her in some way. If that meant she had to go through someone else to get my apology gift, then she would use anyone to her advantage.

"You can have my bag if you want," Karen said, handing her a bag full of the books given at breakfast.

Mary's eyes got wide as she snatched the bag out of Karen's hands. "You went too?"

Karen shook her head and looked back down at her phone. "No, there were extras. They always make extras in case more people show up than expected or if someone swipes an extra one. Christi gave me this one," Karen turned to me, and her tone softened. "Christi said Tom made you cry, Emma."

I thought about how I wanted to respond. Did she think my feelings for Fredrick had faded or was she making sure Mary didn't know my history with Fredrick? I'd never told Mary or Elizabeth about Fredrick. I never tell Elizabeth anything, and Mary was off at college herself. My father, who dismissed Fredrick as soon as he met him, never mentioned him either. As I considered my options, I felt my sister put her arm around my shoulder and pull me closer to her.

"His book is about Mom," I said, a catch in my voice.

Karen stood up and wrapped her arms around Mary and me. "So many people loved her, but you girls were her world."

I smiled and wiped the wetness away from my eyes before it could turn into tears and sat down at the table with Karen. Mary and Karen chatted about my nephews (and coerce Karen into free copies of books for my nephews), so I pulled out my phone and checked through my emails. A few manuscripts were waiting for me. I only looked up when I heard an increase of fan-girl-like squeals from my sister. Fredrick Wentworth walked into the meeting area with Christi and Louisa. Our eyes met briefly before I turned away to look at Karen. Karen's face was full of concern.

"I didn't realize they were promoting his book this week. I thought it came out already," Karen said, leaning out of Mary's earshot.

I broke eye contact with Fredrick and turned my attention to my mentor. I caught a brief flash of anger on Fredrick's face as I turned away.

"Christi felt it was a good idea since his tour starts here early next week," I said after clearing my throat.

Karen nodded, looking off behind me, probably at Fredrick. "He must be doing a signing at the booth."

I nodded. "I didn't know about any of it. He was the moderator for this morning's panel."

Karen's eyes narrowed before she looked at me again and smiled. "I hate to ask what I am about to ask then, but as your boss, I need you to staff one of the imprint booths for an hour."

"Dad's imprint?" I asked, a smile spreading across my face.

"Yes," Karen said, looking over the booth-signing schedule printed on a card that had been placed on tables around our area. "You are going to be right across from Fredrick's signing."

"OMG, Emma, will you get him to autograph a copy of the book for the boys?" Mary asked, shifting her attention back to me.

I was getting annoyed with my sister's neediness, and I knew it was because I felt overwhelmed. Plus, I didn't want to talk to Fredrick as if he was a stranger. "I am sure Louisa can get him to do that for you."

Mary, who could tell when my patience thinned, stuck her tongue out as she pulled her copy of Fredrick's book from her tote and walked over to Louisa. I couldn't help but watch. I didn't overhear anything my sister said, but Freddy's reaction was apparent, so I could make some assumptions.

"Hi!" Mary said, holding Fredrick's book out with an expectant smile on her face.

"OMG! I am so glad you're here! This is Fredrick Wentworth... you know, the screenwriter of that movie you love," Louisa said as she bounced and grabbed Mary's hand. "Freddy, I can still call you Freddy, right? Freddy, this is my sister-in-law Mary. You asked how I knew Tom at breakfast today. Well, Mary is Emma's younger sister. Tom was at Mary's wedding."

My sisters and I look alike. We all have long, chestnut brown hair, green eyes, and high cheekbones. I can only assume this made Freddy look over to me and back to Mary a few times.

Freddy took the book from Mary and quickly signed it for her. Mary returned to our table with a self-satisfied look on her face. "I'm going to walk around some more. We're getting dinner tonight, right?" She said to me.

I slowly nodded, half expecting her to gloat. "Yes."

"Good," Mary said as she grabbed her tote bags and walked out to the busy exhibit floor.