AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah,” Chris exhales heavily. “Yeah, I guess that’s what I’m asking.”
“Well, you can relax. I didn’t put you, or us, in a book.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
I feel the tears coming and blink them back. “Gee, maybe your reaction right now. It’s pretty typical. Reading romances is okay, but writing them is frowned upon. I mean, who believes in that mushy crap enough to write about it? Who devises such corny dialogue? And the sex scenes? What kind of mind imagines that?” I scoff. “Romances are the most popular genre, but lots of people attach a certain stigma to them. Why do you think I used a pen name?”
“I hadn’t thought about it,” Chris says softly. “I haven’t had a chance to think about it. This is all so sudden.” He runs a hand through his hair. “I wish you’d told me before.” He closes his eyes.
“You mean like you told me about your day job? One of the best investors in Denver, wasn’t it?” I know I’m being snarky, but his reaction hurt.
Chris’s eyes snap open. “That’s nothing like this.”
“No? You’re allowed to keep your primary business a secret until it’s convenient for you to tell me, but I’m not allowed to do the same?” I’m not the only one who kept secrets, and I’m tired of the double standard.
“It wasn’t my choice to keep that a secret,” Chris growls.
“Maybe not. But it worked in your favor, didn’t it?”
“What?”
“By keeping that secret, you got to test whether I was into you or your money, didn’t you?” I challenge, and even though I was expecting it, it still hurts to see the shock pass over Chris’s face. “Didn’t think I’d worked that out, did you?”
“That was never my intention.” He shakes his head.
“But that’s how it played out.” I sigh. “Look, I never meant to deceive you, but I admit I was scared. No one knows about my writing. No one but Harper. And I wanted to tell you, last night, but you were so proud of me getting a hit on my children’s story, and then after you told me about what you really do, you seemed so happy, and I didn’t want to ruin the moment, because I had no idea what you’d think about the romances.”
“I don’t know what to think about them.”
God, this can’t be happening. The truth has come out in the worst possible way, and now Chris can’t separate my actions from Harper’s. I’m guilty by association, simply because I happen to write romance novels.
“Are all romance writers evil or just Harper?”
“Huh?” He frowns.
“You blame Harper for Jason getting hurt. Specifically, you blame her book. Does that make all romance authors bad? Does that make me bad?” I hold my breath, bracing for the answer.
“I…no, of course not.”
“But you still don’t approve?”
“I don’t know!” he shouts. “Dammit, this morning you were a kids’ book author, and now you’re a romance author. It’s a lot to take in.” He takes a deep, calming breath. “Can you do both? Is that even possible?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugs. “They seem like contradictory markets.”
“Again, that’s what a pen name is for,” I say between gritted teeth. “Besides, I’ve been doing both just fine for a while now.”
“What do you mean? I thought you hadn’t published a kids’ book yet.”
“I haven’t. But I’ve been working in the education industry for over six months. Part of the reason I’m getting closer to publishing a kids’ book is because between the writing group and Engage I’ve been immersed in things for children. That’s helped my writing get better.”
Chris’s jaw drops open. “Oh, shit. Engage. You can’t be associated with Engage. What will customers think when they find out the lead writer for an education company is a romance writer? What will investors think?”
“They won’t know. There’s no overlap, not even my name. I’ve been very careful to keep things separate,” I assure him.
“You think that matters? I found out. Do you honestly think no one else will?”
