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“Rylie.”
The deep groan of her name snapped her back to reality and she pulled away. She couldn’t do this. It was too complicated. Too crazy.
“We should get going. Lots more to do.”
He stepped back, smiling ruefully. “Whatever you say.”
Chapter 13
On Friday afternoon, Dustin was sitting in his office listening to some of the bands and DJs that Rylie had given him to review when his cell phone rang. He checked the caller ID and when he saw it was his agent, he swiped to answer.
“David, good to hear from you. Did you like the chapters I sent?”
David Brown was at one of the top literary agencies in New York and a total bulldog. He knew how to get the best deal for his clients and could smell a hit before he even pitched it.
It was why Dustin had gone with him in the first place.
“Hey, Dustin, I was just getting ready to walk out the door, but I wanted to call and tell you personally, that yes, absolutely, I loved every second of them. This is gold, baby, and with this, you are going to hit the best seller list.”
Dustin grinned as he leaned back in his chair. All week he’d gone home and when he sat down at his computer, the words had just flowed. He’d sent in fifteen thousand words to David this morning and was surprised he’d read it that fast.
“It’s not too reality TV?” Dustin asked.
“Are you kidding me? The characters alone make me want to keep reading. I mean, that one bridesmaid, Rachel? Man, what a downer, but in the best way possible. The girl is just tragic and you know how readers love an underdog.”
Dustin frowned at his description of Rylie’s character. He hadn’t meant to make Rylie seem like a drag. He’d thought he’d made her out to be kind, fiercely loyal, and tough.
“Sorry, David, but what do you mean about Rachel?”
“She’s like one of those quiet kids that gets bullied and eventually, they just explode. The way she kisses everyone’s ass so they will like her, come on, only people with no respect for themselves do that.”
Dustin cleared his throat, trying to beat down the anger directed at David and himself. “Okay, well I’m glad you liked them, but I think I’m going to rework them a bit. I’ll send you the edited versions with my next installment.”
“Sure, sure, it’s your book and I can’t wait to read them. Have a great weekend, bud.”
“You too.”
Dustin ended the call with a groan. God, he didn’t want to go back and rework those pages, he just wanted to keep moving forward with the story.
But he couldn’t shake the sound of David’s laughter at Rylie’s expense and he hated it. Even if it was the fictional character Rachel and only loosely based on Rylie, Dustin couldn’t do it.
His phone rang again, and it was Rylie this time.
“Hello?”
“Hey, so, what are you doing tonight?” she asked.
“It depends on if what you’re going to ask me to do is boring or stupid.”
“Ha. Ha,” she said. “I was going to ask if you wanted to come with me to check out Hickory Ridge.”
“Hickory who?”
“They are one of the bands Tonya asked us to check out. They are playing at The Pine Cove Tavern in Placerville at eight. Are you in?”
Pages to fix or hitting a bar with Rylie. Tough choice.
“I’m in. What time do they go on?”
