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“I’m impressed,” Stone says with a smile. I notice his teeth are perfectly straight, except for one. One of his canines is just a little crooked.
I can’t help but smile back. “Thanks. We’ll see how impressed you are when you see the cupcakes we deliver tomorrow.”
“I’ll keep an eye out for you,” he says, and there’ssomethingabout the way he says it that makes my stomach do another flip. No man has made me feel this way in ages.
The sound of the sliding door opening behind us steals our attention, and we both turn to see who’s walking out onto the deck. It’s Lorelei.
“Oh, what a beautiful evening!” Lorelei walks out on the deck, stops, closes her eyes, and takes a deep breath. Stone and I look at one another. I shrug as if to saythis is typical Lorelei.Don’t get me wrong––I absolutely love my aunt and how eclectic she is. Some people have a difficult time understanding her if they’re not familiar with her type, though.
Stone just smiles back at me, which makes me smile again. What is it with this man? I don’t remember the last time I smiled this much in such a short amount of time. My cheeks are starting to hurt.
I turn back to look at Lorelei. She exhales, then opens her eyes and looks at Stone and me. “Isn’t this a beautiful night?” she asks, walking toward us. She stops in front of Stone and puts her hand out for him to shake. “I’m Lorelei. Are you Stone Ryder?”
Stone shakes her hand. “Yes, I am. It’s nice to meet you, Lorelei.”
“Likewise,” she says with a wink. “We’re happy to have you stay here. If there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Thank you,” he replies.
“Well, I’m going to take advantage of this gorgeous night and take a stroll down the beach.” She turns and walks away from us, her blue caftan dress flowing out behind her. “Toodaloo,” she says with a wave as she walks down the stairs toward the beach.
I chuckle. “That’s Lorelei,” I say, hoping he doesn’t think she’s too looney.
“She reminds me of my mom.”
I do a double-take at him.His mom?“She does?”
He nods. “Yeah. She was all about astrology and New Age things. Lorelei reminds me a lot of her.”
My heart melts. I’ve never met anyone quite like Lorelei before, let alone had anyone tell me she reminds them of someone they know. Stone Ryderistoo good to be true.
Then, I grasp onto what he said about his mom.Was.Past tense. Is she just not into those things anymore, or is she no longer living? I’m afraid to ask.
“Well,” Stone says, standing from his chair. “I think I’ll head inside.”
Shit. He’s leaving already. I was hoping to spend more time talking with him.
He turns to me. “I enjoyed talking with you, Olivia. I hope we have the chance to do it again while I’m here.”
“Me too,” I reply. “Breakfast is at nine tomorrow morning, although I won’t be here for that since I’ll be helping Anni. But maybe I’ll see you at the book signing.”
“I hope so,” Stone says with a smile. “Good night.”
He turns and walks toward the house, leaving me sitting here feeling as if a wave has crashed into me. I didn’t expect that. I didn’t expect to have such a lovely conversation with Stone Ryder or for him to make me feel the way he did. I can’t wait to see him and talk with him again… hopefully sooner rather than later.
Stone
This is unbelievable. No matter how many people move through the line to have me sign their books, the line never seems to get any shorter. It’s hard to believe this many people are here to see me. There are more than fifty authors here, yet I’m the only one whose table is set on a platform with a huge sign donning my name as the “special guest.” I suppose that’s what happens when you hit multiple best-seller lists. Still, it was completely unexpected.
Although I feel a bit strange sitting up higher than everyone else, I do have the advantage of being able to see the entire room from my seat. No cupcakes have been delivered yet, but I’m keeping my eye out. I’d like to see Olivia when she gets here. I plan on taking a break when I see her.
After talking with Olivia last night, I couldn’t get her out of my head. Not only is she beautiful, but she’s also easy to talk to. I can’t explain it, but there’s an energy about her that draws me to her. It’s not as if I’m looking to date someone right now, but I wouldn’t mind spending more time with Olivia. I’m definitely attracted to her.
Diane is nearby, unboxing more copies ofFire and Ice. While some people are bringing copies of my book for me to sign, others are purchasing new ones here. Diane has been a lifesaver, taking care of all the business details for the book signings I’m doing this summer. She’s more familiar with these types of things, having worked in the business for over a decade. I, on the other hand, am only a couple of years into this writing gig, and my career didn’t take off until about nine months ago. This is only the second book signing I’ve ever attended.
“Oh, my gosh!” a lady says excitedly as she approaches my table. “You are even more handsome in person!”
Chuckling, I smile at the lady, who looks old enough to be my mother. “Thank you so much for coming,” I reply, taking the book she’s holding out for me to sign.
