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"Which one do I wear?" he asked holding up one tie and then the other. I rolled my eyes.

"I don't care what you wear," I said.

"I know you don't care. But the ladies downstairs will. What do you think, dark and mysterious or aloof playboy?" he asked.

"You do realize that you are completely full of shit don't you?" I took a swig of my beer and Miles flipped me off.

"Just because you can walk in the room and nail any pretty little thing you see by flashing your smile and dropping your name doesn't mean you can't play wing man once in a while. I don't come on these trips with you because I like to collect bookmarks and lip balm with some naked dude on it," he pointed out.

I laughed. Miles had been tagging along for the past three years. He was my little brother and two years younger than me. It was nice having him around. He was the balance I needed when I was in all of the crazy. I think he was just in it to travel and get laid, but it was fine. I guess in a way I was too.

"You should get ready too. We're supposed to be downstairs in like twenty minutes," Miles suggested as he grabbed a beer from the fridge and then moved back towards his bedroom.

I wasn't in any hurry. I'd get there eventually.

"Did you see that girl who asked the question at the end of the panel today?" Miles yelled out from his room. That caught my attention. I waited for him to continue. I felt my pulse thrum as it picked up speed, which was ridiculous.

"She was hot. I wonder if she'll be at the thing tonight. I'm calling it. Stay away from her."

Shit. He said the girl who asked the question, right? I'd been so focused on the girl sitting next to her that I couldn't picture her. "Which one was she?" I asked. I ignored the way my voice sounded, coming out gruff and tense.

Miles came out fully dressed this time. "Are you really wearing a tie?" I asked, suddenly annoyed at the thought that he may have just lain claim to the girl who had been invading my thoughts all day.

"Shut up, jackass. You’re supposed to dress up. Didn't you read the agenda?"

"Whatever. Which girl are you talking about?" I asked again.

"Oh. The brunette. She asked if you got turned on writing sex scenes," he said. I felt the air whoosh from my lungs. Instant relief. I pushed up from the couch suddenly feeling much better about the evening ahead.

"Oh yeah, she was cute. Might be a little too much for an amateur like you to handle though," I teased.

"Fuck you," he shot back.

I laughed and started towards my room to find something to wear. If Miles was going to scope out dark and twisty then I was going with him. I had a feeling Book Nerd would be with her and I wasn’t willing to watch her walk away a second time.

WE WALKED INTO
the ballroom from the back entrance, so nobody really saw us. The organizers were trying something new and had given us each a table around the outskirts of the party so that we were accessible, but separated. Like zoo animals. I hated it. Tables were meant for signings. I wanted to mingle and talk to people. Wasn’t that the whole point of these things? I knew eventually I'd end up on the dance floor with everyone else. That’s when the real fun began. I loved getting to know all of the readers and attendees. It amazed me how invested they would become in the things that they read. The writer in me loved that. I loved that I could write something that made another person feel something. So it happened to make them feel hot and bothered and bang their husbands. Everyone was still a winner.

The only time I got uncomfortable was when they would go on and on about how amazing it was that I wrote about love and how beautiful it was. They were convinced that I was dreaming about fairytales right along with them. It took all I had sometimes not to tell them the truth. I just didn’t believe that love like that lived in the real world. Not anymore. But what good would that do? If they didn't believe in love they wouldn't believe in me or the words I put out there. So I let them keep their fantasy. But I didn't believe in it. I never would.

Miles took the box of books that we'd brought down with us and started placing them on the table. I watched the crowds as they started to trickle in. There was a DJ and the music was pumping loudly through the speakers. The lights were dimmed, the room lit only with strategically placed twinkle lights and the pulsating colors on the dance floor.

"I only brought a few copies of
End Game.
I didn't know if you wanted to give any away," Miles said holding up a copy of my new book. It was the final installment to my series and wasn't set to release for another month.

"I don't know. We'll see. Just keep them in the box for now," I said, distractedly scanning the crowd for dark caramel waves.

"There she is," Miles said, standing straight beside me and craning his head to get a better look at the crowd. I followed his gaze and smiled when I saw dark and twisty and her side kick.

"I'm going to go introduce myself. You'll be okay here, right?" he said, rounding the table and heading off before I could say anything.

"Asshole,” I muttered under my breath. I pulled the chair out from the table, ignoring the scrape of metal across the floor and sat down in a frustrated huff. I watched as Miles disappeared into the crowd. Not only couldn't I see him anymore, but I couldn't see Book Nerd either. I'd only caught a glimpse of her before she’d disappeared. Her hair had been pulled back into one of those fancy ponytails that gathered her long waves and sent them cascading down her back. Her black dress was simple, but it hugged her body, giving my imagination plenty of images to get creative with.

I wanted to follow Miles into the crowd, but I had my responsibilities as I was reminded when a group of women walked up to the table. I gave them a big smile and asked them their names, all the while cursing Miles in my mind. If he blew it with that chic I might never get to talk to her friend. I needed her name. I couldn't keep calling her Book Nerd. I ran through a list of names in my head, trying to predict what it might be, but nothing felt right.

I tried to push it from my mind and concentrate on the conversations that I was having. The people were nice and I agreed to head out to the dance floor and join them eventually. I glanced down at my watch noting that I was only required to be at my table for another thirty minutes. Miles hadn't come back. He was such an amazing assistant. I was going to kick his ass later. The least he could have done was brought the girls back to the table and introduce them to me.

Then again, Miles didn’t usually bring his dates around. Not that I'd ever in a million years make the moves on some girl he was into, but in places like this, he'd been forgotten before, so I got it.

Miles didn’t need any help in the ladies department. He had enough swagger all on his own. But I respected the fact that he wanted to distance himself from me. Even if he was only hooking up with someone, he’d rather it be based on his own merit and not on who his brother was. That kid had a good head on his shoulders, even if it meant he cared more about things than he probably should. I tried my best to look out for him.

I leaned back in my chair; the hard metal was causing my ass to go numb. I was ready to pack it up and go mingle. I needed a drink. I had sat here long enough.

I left the swag on the table and leaned down to grab the box of books at my feet. That's when I saw the movement of caramel hair and the flash of fitted black material over shapely hips. They were headed this way. Well, the brunette was headed to the table, Book Nerd looked liked she was being forced against her will.

I watched as they approached and smiled at the way she had her arms folded across her chest. She avoided my gaze, glancing everywhere but at me or my table.

"Hi," her friend smiled as she walked up. "I was hoping I'd catch you. I wanted to see if you could sign a book for me.”

"Of course, I’d be happy to,” I smiled. “I didn't catch your name earlier during the Q&A." Maybe if I could get dark and twisty’s name I could get Book Nerd’s name too.

"I'm Lily," she said, offering her hand. I shook it and then turned to her friend, who was still refusing to look at me.

"And you are?" I asked willing her eyes to meet mine. She obliged, her gaze locking on my own. Her mouth opened and then closed, her tongue, followed by her teeth danced across her bottom lip and I couldn't stop the instant lust that fisted through my gut.

"I'm Quinn," she said.

I repeated her name back to her, now that I had it I wanted to hear it falling from my lips. Quinn. I cleared my throat, forcing myself to stop staring at her. Finally able to see her up close I could see that her eyes were not merely hazel, but iridescent. She quickly cast her gaze to the floor, her long lashes sweeping across her cheeks. I couldn’t help but imagine her looking up at me from behind those lashes, working me over with that pretty little mouth. Shit. I needed to snap out of it.

"So, are you ladies here for the entire week?" I asked as I took Lily's book from her and grabbed a marker.

"Uh huh, we are having the best time. We want to get out and explore the city some, but there’s so much to do here that we haven't had a chance yet. This is our first time to one of these, so it's pretty exciting," she rattled off. I smiled, she was full of energy. Quinn remained silent beside her.

"And you're having a good time too, Quinn?" I asked. I wanted to hear her voice, but she was being so quiet. She was guarded, compared to her friend.

"It's been fun," she agreed simply. I wasn't getting anywhere with this girl.

I handed Lily back her book and then glanced back at Quinn. "Do you have a book you want me to sign?" I asked.

She smirked and then shook her head. "I didn't bring any books down with me. But thank you." She was polite, I’d give her that, but I got the feeling that she didn't like me much.

"Oh, there's that Miles guy. I'll be right back, Quinny." Lily left, and I glanced back at Quinn who was gaping after her. She'd been abandoned and she was now standing here alone with me. This night was turning around.

"Does she do that a lot?" I laughed.

Quinn turned back to me and gave me a weak smile. "Unfortunately."

"Well, you can talk to me until she gets back," I offered. "I even have an extra chair." I patted the chair beside me in invitation.

"I should probably get going. Thanks though," she said moving to leave.

"Have you read any of my books?" I blurted. She turned back to me her gaze questioning, so I pushed on. "You said you didn't bring any books down with you. I have some here; I could give you one if you'd like. No pressure," I smiled. I reached down into the box and pulled out a copy of the new book and opened it to the title page.

"Oh, um, that's not necessary, I'm sure you don't have many of those." She was fidgeting and I realized that I was making her nervous.

I scribbled a message and then pushed the book towards her.

"I insist."

She ran her fingers across the cover, her nails perfectly cut and polished.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"You're welcome. Now, how about you sit with me?"

Her gaze took me in, assessing me. "I appreciate it. But I think I'm just going to go and get a drink," she said, taking a step away from the table.

"Wait, don't go yet. I'm all alone over here. If you give me a few minutes I can go with you," I said throwing her a smile. The smile I used when I wanted to get my way.

"You don't have to do that."

"I want to."

I watched as she forced a smile, "I appreciate the offer. But I'm not really--." Her sentence hung in the air, uncompleted.

"Not what?" I dared.

"I'm not a groupie. I'm not going to swoon over you," she blurted.

I sat back in my seat, surprised by her words. I stifled the chuckle that threatened, knowing it wouldn’t earn me any points.

"Oh. I didn't mean to imply that you were," I said.

That made her blush. I loved the way it turned her cheeks the softest shade of pink.

She crossed her arms across her chest again. It was her defense mechanism. She was shutting me out.

"I think we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot," I said carefully.

"We haven't gotten off on anything, Mr. Harris. I'm just not really interested in sitting here with you. Honestly, I'm not the kind of girl you want sitting with you anyway," she said.

"And what kind of girl is that?" I asked curiously.

"The one you will take upstairs later," she said bluntly.

I laughed. I couldn't help it. I hadn't expected that answer. Fire flamed behind her eyes and she squared her shoulders.

"I'm sorry. It’s just . . . you surprised me," I admitted.

She opened her mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by a commotion behind her. We both turned to see a group of girls coming up to the table. "You're Keaton Harris, right?" the one in front asked. I glanced from the girl back to Quinn and cursed shitty timing.

"That's me," I smiled turning my attention back to our new company.