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Hating the silence, I blurt out the first question that pops into my head. “How many books do you edit in a year?”
Gloria glances at Joy and looks back to me, her expression blank. “We publish six to ten books a year, and I edit them all.”
“Wow. That’s impressive.” I usually only edit about four to five books a year at Tenth Avenue Books.
She shrugs. “Lulu is an outstanding copy editor and I send the book around for a final proofreading pass to everyone in the office. Except Winston. That boy has no sense of how to use a comma properly, but he thinks it’s everyone else who’s got it wrong.”
I laugh, but it comes out in a weird staccato. “I’ve met a few like him in my time.”
“I’m sure you have.” Her smile doesn’t falter, but her eyes lose some of their sparkle. “We’re like a family here. We love Winston despite his comma blindness.” She tilts her head to the side. “And we look out for each other and this business like family.”
“That’s nothing like Tenth Avenue Books. It’s more every person for themselves and climbing to the top by any means necessary.”
“Of course. I remember that scene well.” She gestures to my bag. “Joy said you’d bring in some of your editing work for me to see?”
I open my bag and pull out the manuscript. It’s just ten pages, but that should be all she needs to tell whether I know what I’m doing.
She takes it and sets it on her desk. “Joy will be in touch after I’ve made my decision.”
She sits and turns her attention to her screen.
I look at Joy, completely at a loss. She gestures for me to follow her into the house and she doesn’t speak until we’re back in her office.
“Gloria’s fiercely protective of Lovemore,” Joy says in a low voice. “She wants to be sure she’s leaving her job to someone who’ll love the work as much as she does and who’s willing to work to help Lovemore expand.”
“Expand?”
“We’d like to bring in more authors and publish more books. Gloria’s sorry she won’t be here to see that happen and she wants to be sure whoever replaces her is planning to put as much heart and soul into the job as she has.”
“I can’t promise to work here for fifteen years.” Or even fifteen days. I’m a horrible person. The truth rests on the tip of my tongue, but I swallow it down. They’ll find someone else after I leave. It’ll be fine.
She smiles warmly. “I’m sure Gloria will have feedback on your manuscript by this evening. I’ll call you by the end of the week.”
“Of course. I’ll read while I wait.”
Chapter Seven
Noah
Gentry purses her lips and narrows her eyes at her computer screen when I walk in.
“I didn’t know you’d already talked to Ellery about me.” I lean my elbows on the counter to see she’s playing solitaire. With no patients, there’s not much for her to do here other than answer phones.
And the phones rarely ring.
She looks up. “Yesterday, you were single and today you suddenly have a girlfriend? You didn’t even tell me you were into anyone.”
I feel like I’m back in high school. “I didn’t realize I had to clear it with you.”
Gentry’s eyes flare. “You should have cleared it with me. Ellery is a local girl, someone who’s guaranteed not to run off back to the big city. Daisy, as your girlfriend, isn’t going to convince anyone you’re sticking around.”
She’s not wrong, but I have a trust fund. A very large trust fund from my grandparents. It’s not ideal, but I’ll run this business with no patients if it means I get to have this time with Daisy. “Daisy’s family has been in Catalpa Creek for generations.”
“It’s not the same and you know it.”
“Leave the man alone.” Levi walks in, drywall dust in his hair and on his shoulders. “Folks around here will come aroundwithout you pushing him to date someone he’s not interested in.”
Gentry’s expression goes from annoyed to furious, but her voice is cool when she says, “Why are you still here, Levi? Isn’t the job finished?”
