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“But we need to be vigilant. I have Google alerts set up.”
“So does a friend of mine.”
“Good. Can I give her more parameters? So there are two of us monitoring?”
“Please.”
“Then let’s get that coffee. And let’s get through these interviews before you talk to Chris. You have a few hours off today. I’ll make sure you get that.”
“Thank you.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHRIS
After the interviews, Sakura had decided Chris and Daphne could go to lunch on their own. Which would have been great, if Chris hadn’t been very aware that something was wrong. Daphne was upset, and she’d been trying hard to hide it, and he’d been trying equally hard not to fret about it during the interviews. Thankfully, they’d been mostly softballs, and he’d smiled and charmed his way through them.
He was surprised at how easy it was to be charismatic when playing a role. All his awkwardness and overthinking fell away, and he could be Zane Remington, smooth and charming in a way Chris himself never was. Of course, part of that meant not worrying whether what you say might be misinterpreted or sound blatantly insincere. So, in the end, he’d sacrifice being charming Zane for being genuine Chris.
As it turned out during their lunch conversation, Zane was the source of Daphne’s worries, specifically a website dedicated to unmasking him. And really, if there was going to be a website devoted to uncovering your secret identity, one would hope for more than the crappy site she showed him.
He could make light because by the time they uncovered his secret identity, the point would be moot. In a few days, Daphne would come out to her publisher, and if they needed to keep “Zane” as the author, it’d be an open pseudonym, purely for branding, with everyone knowing a woman wrote the books.
So, lunch hadn’t been the private time together they might have hoped for, but the conversation had been an important one, not only quelling Daphne’s fears but helping them plan her authorial “outing” a little more.
Their personal-alert-team system was working, too. While he’d been in interviews, Nia had found the “Who Is Zane” website on her own and notified Daphne. Over lunch, he got a text from Gemma directing him to it. Everything was covered.
After lunch came stock signings, with all necessary appearances by charming Zane. Once that was done, Sakura made good on her promise to give them some real time off. It was only three thirty, and they had nothing on the schedule until the car would pick them up at six for the signing.
Plenty of time for a nice—albeit early—dinner for two. He’d suggest a cocktail in one of their rooms. Time to relax and talk about the good stuff that had happened so far. He had a few stories to tell her from the interviews, and he started one as they walked into the hotel.
“So the first thing she asks is whether I’ve ever seen The Walking Dead. That was a new one, and it gave me pause because I know you have, and I suspect Zane would have, but he’d never admit it. Since Zane won’t be alive much longer, though, I decided to lean in your direction and said I’d seen the first few seasons and enjoyed them.”
“Uh-oh. That was a trap,” she said as the doorman held the doors.
He poked her arm. “Oh ye of little faith. I have been doing this for weeks, my dear. Weeks. I am an expert at trap spotting. Once I imply that I didn’t watch the entire series, I set myself up for her asking why I stopped, which leads to me insulting the most influential zombie media of our time. When I said I’d only seen a few seasons, I said I was late to the show, not wanting to be unduly influenced.”
“Nice.”
They got in line at the front desk, where he continued, “Next she asked which was my favorite season.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I answered, choosing season three namely so I could link it to the scenes in Edge when Theo meets Finn and his community. Then she asked how Edge’s zombies differed from the ones in The Walking Dead.”
“I’m sensing a theme.”
“Pure coincidence, I’m sure. I answered that with an emphasis on your zombies. Next question: Which Walking Dead character was most like Theo? Then which character was most like Finn… and Atticus… and Mochi.”
“Mochi?”
“She didn’t seem to realize Mochi was a dog.”
Daphne sputtered a laugh. “Just read the back cover, right?”
“Pfft, no. I’m the back cover, remember. You can’t read that.” He paused, head tilting. “Although, when you were away from the signing table yesterday, one woman did say she’d like to read me. I pretended to think she was a fortune teller.”
Now Daphne was biting her lip to keep from laughing. He opened his mouth to continue, but the line cleared, and it was their turn at the front desk.
