AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 10
Sam Harris.
Brooke peered through the front window at Sam shoveling through the snow to his truck, like he was digging an escape route out of Alcatraz. Though the snowfall had started up again, it was much lighter than before.
She took a swallow of lemon-cayenne tea, feeling a flush heat her cheeks. She’d landed in the arms of an international bestselling author. She’d coerced him into helping her make a blanket fort. She’d accosted him in his sleep. She’d put her hand on his groin and hadn’t exactly been in a hurry to take it away.
It might have been embarrassing, if her knowledge of Sam the man hadn’t superseded her knowledge of Sam the author. Though the pieces of the puzzle fit together—it made perfect sense that he’d fiercely guard his privacy—she had many more questions.
Sam might have been a famous author, but what washisstory? Where was his family? Why had he come to Bliss Cove?
Aside from needing to maintain his anonymity, she could guess at the answer to the last question. Due to the natural beauty and slow-paced lifestyle, her hometown had been a longtime haven for creative types, and it had even housed a colony for artists and writers at the beginning of the twentieth century.
So it wasn’t difficult to believe that Sam had come to Bliss Cove to write—Brooke imagined an author could live wherever he or she chose—but what abouthim? Was he planning to stay indefinitely or move on as soon as he finished his next book?
Not that any of it was her business—nor did Sam want it to be. He was clearly frustrated by the fact that she’d inadvertently discovered his secret, and she had no intention of annoying him further by sniffing around for more information.
She sat at the table with her notebook. To prevent her mind from overflowing with all her questions and no answers, she forced herself to concentrate on her list of story ideas for Michael.
Romance for the Old Soul.
Thirty is the New Twenty-One.
What You Can Learn from a Sea Lion.
Sam came back in the front door, stomping snow off his boots and shaking it from his parka. Snowflakes dusted his dark hair, and his face was reddened from the cold. He hung his parka on the coat rack and shoved his boots off before going to the kitchen.
Brooke’s heart thumped as the air itself seemed to part to make way for him. She imagined he spent a ton of time sitting in front of the computer, but one wouldn’t know that from looking at him. He had the body of a star athlete and the energy of an outdoorsman who needed to move.
He poured hot water into a mug and added a packet of instant coffee. He glanced up and caught her gaze. “Want some?”
“No, but thanks for asking.”
Picking up his mug, he walked past her to the sofa. He sat down and opened his laptop. After scrolling, he frowned darkly at the screen.
Wariness gripped her. She wanted him to trust her. She also wanted to know more about him, which unfortunately was exactly the thing that would make himnottrust her.
“I do believe you,” he muttered.
She blinked. “About?”
“You’d never sell someone out for a story.” He hit a button on his keyboard, and the screen cast shadows and light over his strong features. “I know you’d never tell anyone I’m a writer. That was never an issue.”
Relief flooded her, easing the tension in her shoulders. “Thank you.”
He nodded, his attention still on his computer. Brooke turned back to her notebook. She suppressed the thousands of questions bubbling up inside her about how he became an author, what he’d done before that, everything abouthim.
So much had happened between them in such a short time that now they could use a few hours to refocus on their reasons for being at the cabin in the first place. Blanket forts and snowmen aside, they both had work to do.
For the next hour, they sat in a compatible silence broken only by the occasional tap of Sam’s keyboard and the scratch of Brooke’s pen.
Books that Changed My Life.
Soup: The Taste of Home.
Fear is Not Your Friend.
Sam expelled his breath in a long rush and drummed his fingers on the table. Tuning the noise out, Brooke focused on her list.
