AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He grinned. “And what will you do to avoid the attack?”
She sighed dramatically. “There’s nothing I can do. I must accept the inevitable and surrender.”
Reece walked around the desk, leaning his hip on the corner. “Would you like to take a break? Maggie says you’ve been at this for hours.”
Nicole checked the clock, her eyes widening. “It’s two in the afternoon? I’ve been typing since seven. Oh my god, I’ve never gotten that submerged before. What is this English country air doing to me?”
He chuckled. “It’s been good for your creativity.”
“I’ll say.”
Reece reached over, turning the computer toward him. “Do you mind if I look?”
“No, go ahead. I need to stretch my legs anyway.” She pushed away from the desk, switching places with him. She moved around the room, studying the various book titles on the shelves. While he read her story and notes, she left the room for a break, returning to find him still reading.
“Well?”
He looked up from the screen. “I think your editor is going to love it. You’re an amazing writer.”
“It didn’t put you to sleep?”
“Not in the least. Your characters jumped off the page, capturing my interest. I can’t wait to see what else you have in store for them.”
“I’ll have to break them up before they can have their HEA.” At his questioning look, she explained. “HEA means their happily ever after. All romances should end with the couple living happily ever after. It’s not a romance otherwise.”
“Titanic didn’t end with a happy ever after, nor did Pearl Harbor.”
She crossed her arms. “Okay, A—they’re movies and B—in a way the co
uples did get a happily ever after. In Titanic, when Rose dies on the explorer’s ship, her spirit returns to Jack at the clock. And in Pearl Harbor, yes Danny dies, but Rafe survives and marries Evelyn, raising Danny’s son as his own. Win, win for everyone.”
He grunted. “Yeah, except for the poor schmucks who died. Where was their happy ever after?”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re such a guy. Danny knows Rafe loves Evelyn, that he’ll take care of her and the baby. He dies at peace. And Jack . . .”
“That’s what got me about that movie. She promises to never let go of him, but what does she do? She lets go to save herself.”
Her expression was of a person staring down an idiot. “She didn’t promise to never let go of him. She promised to never let go of their love. That love sustained her over the next hours, giving her the courage to forge a new life for herself. She never forgot him or their love. Any other love she felt didn’t compare to the one she had with him.”
He turned back to the computer screen. “You’re not going to end your story with them separated, are you?”
“No, that’s a whole different genre.”
He took her hand in his. “You tell a great story, Nicole.”
She bit her lip. “Thank you.”
He continued to hold her hand, caressing her fingers. “Are you done for the day? I was hoping we could go to the beach for a picnic.”
“I thought you were going to show me the Cliff House.”
“I figured we’d stop there on our way back up.”
She glanced toward the door in thought. “Okay, but I don’t have a bathing suit.”
“That’s all right; you won’t need one.”
“Can you give me a minute or two to clean up in here?”
