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Alissa curled her socked feet underneath her, turning up her music since she was alone. The office was dark and quiet with just her in it. Everyone else had gone home a few hours ago. While she loved having everyone else there, there was something special and fun about being by herself—her writing flowed even faster than before, her fingers flying over the keyboard.
She dug her hand into a big bag of peanut M&Ms that she kept in her desk, popping them into her mouth. They were far from a nutritious dinner, but she was too in the zone to stop for anything else. She was on the last chapter in her novel and knew exactly what was going to happen. The words spilled out of her exactly as she wanted them and she typedthe endwith a flourish.
“Yes!” She pumped her fist into the air. “Finished!”
She threw back more peanut M&Ms and realized she needed a drink. The fridge in the kitchen nook always had seltzers, so she padded across the space to grab one. She came back and put her feet up on her desk, rereading what she had just written. It was a fantastic ending, if she could pat herself on the back for a moment. It captured the themes of the book and called back to the beginning that made the entire book come full circle.
It wasn’t perfect, but she was incredibly proud of what she had done.
The front door creaked open and Alissa jumped. She whipped her head around, her hand to her chest. It was just Dane. Her heart went from pounding to fluttering. He had changed out of the dress pants and tailored shirt and into a thick cable knit sweater, nice jeans, and boots.
“You startled me,” Alissa said with a laugh. “What are you doing here so late?”
“I could say the same thing to you. I was just doing well with my work and I wanted to keep going after I had dinner.” Dane shrugged off his jacket and hung it up. “What are you doing here so late?”
“Same here.” Alissa held up the bag of peanut M&Ms. “And you’re a much more responsible adult for going to get dinner. I’ve been eating M&Ms.”
Dane smiled, taking some. “It’s an appetizer.”
“I like the way you think.”
“What were you working on?” Dane asked, going for more M&Ms. “Your book?”
Alissa grinned. It must have been written all over her face. Or all over her whole body, since she was almost vibrating with excitement. “Yup! I finished!”
“Congrats! I think this moment calls for a toast.” Dane glanced at her seltzer and disappeared around the corner. He came back with a can of seltzer for himself. “To finishing your book.”
They tapped their cans against each other and took sips. After splitting more M&Ms, Dane spoke.
“You inspired me,” he said.
“I did?” Alissa asked. “In what way?”
“The way you dove into writing your novel and doing this job made me want to dive into my ideas.” He leaned against the door frame to her office. “I haven’t felt this invigorated by my ideas in a long time.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
Dane shifted his weight between his feet, picking at the tab on his seltzer with his index finger.
“Once your book is a big bestseller, you won’t have to live here anymore and work at some itty-bitty newspaper,” he said.
“What do you mean?” Alissa raised an eyebrow, a smile in her eyes. “I want to help you create the magazine we were talking about. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Really?”
“Of course!” Alissa put her seltzer down. “I think the two of us can tap into the soul of the area and bring people what they want. Or what they didn’t know what they wanted.”
Dane smiled, running both hands through his hair. “I think we can too. Our differences can definitely be an asset here if we believe in the same goal.”
“Exactly.” Alissa stood, her can in her hands. “Maybe we can continue that in the future. Inspiring and helping one another. Trying to boost each other’s creativity.”
“I’d like that,” Dane said softly. He took Alissa’s hand and pulled her closer. “I think we could make a great team.”
He pressed a kiss to Alissa’s lips, sending tingles radiating all over her body, then pulled her into a hug. His warmth and the campfire scent of his cologne made her feel safe and protected, like everything was going to be okay.
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