Page 9 of Modern Persuasion

"Absolutely," I said. "Sometimes the editor goes to any signing in New York City since we are here already. Authors have publicists who travel with them."

"If you and the author have a good relationship, you can try to make it somewhat enjoyable," Christi said before leaning close to the table. "One author, who I won't name, likes to play fashion police with the people who come in for the signings. Most authors spend their time worrying if people will show up to the reading."

"Don't people come to all the readings?" Mary asked, her eyes wide.

I chuckled as Christi shook her head. "Not necessarily. There are so many uncontrollable factors. PubCon is nice because you can start promoting some books to librarians, pushing new authors. The newer the author, the more difficult it is to get people to show up. Not everyone gets promoted here, and smaller publishers don't always have the resources to promote like we do."

"Are you nervous, Freddy?" Louisa asked, turning to look at him.

I watched Fredrick wince ever so slightly. I knew he didn't like being called Freddy. His mother and father had only called him Fredrick. I was the only one who ever called him Freddy, and that was something intimate. He often corrected people who made the mistake, but he would be spending the next month with Louisa. He was probably trying to find the right time to ask her to cease calling him Freddy. I caught his eye and gave him a reassuring smile. This time he did not smile back.

"A bit, obviously. I think at least two people will show up to each of the signings," Fredrick said.

"I hope more than two," Christi said with a bark of a laugh. "If today is any indication of what to expect, I think your signings will be popular. We've contacted all the bookstores about security help, ticketing for lines, and general midnight-release-of-Harry-Potter management. This is why you and I are running this tour, Louisa."

"You are asking them to treat him like Harry Potter?" Mary said, her eyebrows scrunching together.

"It's more of a level of consideration," I said, touching my sister's hand.

Mary looked at me and nodded.

"Book stores everywhere did midnight releases and understand what it means when we want that type of crowd management," Christi said.

"To change the subject," Tommy said as he stifled a yawn. "Fredrick, since you have a few days to yourself here in New York City, what do you plan on doing?"

I was more than happy to shift to a new topic. My brother-in-law had no interest in publishing, and I was sure he was bored. I was anxious that Fredrick might bring up something about our shared past, something nobody had mentioned yet. Listening to Christi talk about how much I was relied on to help with book tours only made me aware of how little time I spent doing the part of publishing I loved, editing the books. I was eight years into a career and still helping plan book tours when our marketing department and publicity teams should be handling all of that. No wonder I hadn't progressed as much as I expected.

"I was thinking of seeing the sights over the weekend," Fredrick said, not missing a beat. I was sure he was tired of the book tour conversation too. "The first signing is on Monday afternoon, and my publicist, Patrick, isn't getting here until Sunday."

"Don't you think people will recognize you?" Tommy asked.

Fredrick shrugged. "Usually, people have no idea who I am until someone tells them or if I'm with another celebrity. It's weird but refreshing to be able to walk around and be a normal person."

I had a momentary thought about what his life would be like if I had gone to California with him and we had gotten married. Would he be famous at all? I didn't think I would enjoy that life.

"We're staying in the city for a few days," Mary said, sitting up in her chair, aware of her opportunity. "We would love to take you around. Emma, you should join us too!"

I was sure my panic showed on my face. "I have to be back at PubCon tomorrow," I said, not wanting to spend any more time with Fredrick than necessary.

"What about Sunday?" Mary whined.

I shook my head as my mind populated all the possible excuses I could use. "With Dad and Elizabeth's move, PubCon, and getting ready for Cape Cod next month, I haven't had a chance to do things around my own apartment. I need to get back to normal."

"You're a party pooper," Mary pouted.

Chapter Seven

I didn't get to PubCon until after lunch on Saturday. Since I had already been there two days and didn't have any appointments, I wasn't in a rush to get there. Plus, this was the day the general public was allowed to attend. If the first two days had been chaotic, Saturday was a clusterfuck. I arrived at the booth to find people in a state of panic. There were cops, firefighters, and paramedics scattered around our booth. I hoped to avoid the public who might act entitled to free books.

"Emma, you missed it!" Karen said when she saw me. She was out of breath, and her hand rested over her heart.

"What happened?" I asked, looking around as I made sense of the panic around us.

Karen pointed to a pile of Fredrick's books scattered on the floor. The dark blue animated cover had pops of silver that glistened in the right lights. "Christi got into an argument with an attendee."

I felt my anxiety rise. This was precisely why I had arrived late. "What? Why? Has someone been arrested?"

"It was over copies of Fredrick's book," Karen said and stepped out of the path of walkers who were making their way down the aisle again. "We ran out of copies, and some of the general public attendees got really angry. This is just the worst thing that's ever happened!"