Page 30 of To Steal a Heart
She was amused. “What’s that?”
He looked up again at the sky, which was darkening at an alarming rate. “If I get us back before the storm, then I’ll earn that kiss.”
She rocked back as heat filled her cheeks. She wanted to kiss him so badly that she could almost taste it. However, she had to keep up appearances. “You’re pressing your luck, Captain America,” she said with throaty outrage.
His eyes sparkled like they’d captured bits of the luminescent sun before it vanished behind the clouds. “I always do.” He searched her face. “Deal?”
“Deal,” she agreed as anticipation thrummed through her.
He rubbed his hands together. His jaw was set with determination, a fevered excitement firing in his eyes. “Okay, teacher, I’m at your disposal. Tell me how to get us back to shore.”
CHAPTER 8
The next morning, Arden found herself on the phone, trying to explain why she was opposed to the book signing.
“Why are you being so stubborn about this?” Jenna grumbled. “You should be thanking me for setting up this event, not biting my head off.”
Arden pulled in a long breath and let it out slowly. “I know you have my best interest at heart, but I don’t think now is the best time for a signing.”
“Give me one good reason why not.”
“For starters, my research will be much easier if I can mingle amongst the people in Carmel without them realizing I’m an author. People tend to get tight-lipped when they realize that they could be part of a story.”
There was a long hesitation. “Okay, that’s a valid point.”
A thrill of victory shot through Arden.
“How long will it take you to finish up your research?”
Hot Hades, Jenna was persistent. Sometimes Jenna’s bulldog approach was beneficial—like how she never shied away from going head-to-head with the publishing company to negotiate Arden a better contract. However, right now, her diehard determination was a thorn in Arden’s side. She did a quick mental calculation. “I plan to be done with it before I head to the Hamptons. As soon as I get back, I could do a signing.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to Millie and get something on the calendar for mid to late July. How’s that?”
“I can work with that.” Sometime in the near future, Arden needed to come clean to Crew. She planned to let things ride for the rest of this week. After that, she’d work up the nerve to break the news to him. She didn’t want to get ahead of herself, but if all continued to go well, then she wanted to take Crew to the Hamptons with her. She grinned, picturing the shocked looks on Sylvia and Hector’s faces when they saw her with Crew. Grandmother was attending Sylvia’s party. She’d probably wet her pants when she saw Crew.
“So the writing is going well?”
“It is.”
“How much have you gotten done?” Jenna asked eagerly. “You could go ahead and send me what you have.”
“Nah,” Arden said casually. “I’ll just wait. I’ve only gotten a rough draft of the first chapter done.” How easily the lies were flowing from her lips. “I need to refine it more before sending it your way.”
“I need your word that you’re being straight with me,” Jenna insisted.
Hot prickles covered Arden. “Have I ever let you down before?”
Jenna grunted. “Do you really want me to answer that?”
Arden rolled her eyes. “I know I have a habit of being late, but I always get the job done.”
“You can’t afford to dink around here, Arden. After that mess with your last book, I’ve gone to great lengths to go to bat for you.”
“It’s not my fault the critics are idiots,” she hissed. It was so unfair that her career hinged on the opinions of pompous critics who couldn’t write a novel if their lives depended on it.
“I need your word that you’ll hold to the deadline.”
The doorbell rang.