Page 48 of Long Story Short

Josie pulls her gaze from mine and meets Charlotte’s. She gives her a warm smile, and the thought hits me then that I think they’d get along great. I want them to become friends, which is a dangerous thought because I’m beginning to picture double dates and spending time at the club, mixing the people I care about with her, which is something I shouldn’t be doing when we’re just starting to get to know one another, and I don’t know if she’s staying after she finishes writing this book or not.

“Undecided. I’m here working for a little over a month and haven’t quite figured out my summer plans after that.”

“That’s awesome. Are you here on family business, then?” Jude asks. Ava lets out another little squeal, stealing his attention for just a moment before he looks back at Josie and waits for her answer.

“Not exactly,” she responds, her stare moving to her feet for a moment. “I don’t work for my grandfather.”

Jude cocks his head to the side as his focus shifts to me for a moment. In our line of work, it’s fairly uncommon to choose anything other than the family business for a career. My guess is he’s wondering why Josie isn’t involved with Arthur’s company.

“What do you do, then?” Charlotte asks kindly. I haven’t gotten to know her well quite yet, but I’ve spoken with her a few times while she worked as a bev cart girl here at Pembroke, and at the gala the other night when she showed up with Jude. Despite that, I love that she genuinely seems interested in finding out more about Josie.

Josie’s hand tightens around mine, and I can’t help but wonder if she gets nervous sharing what she does with new people. She shouldn’t be embarrassed by it at all. It’s the coolest thing ever that she’s an author. But the blush creeping on her cheeks tells me maybe she’s a little shy talking about it.

I absentmindedly pull our intertwined hands to my mouth, pressing a kiss to the skin of the back of her hand like it’s the most natural thing in the world to do, before looking at Charlotte. “She’s an author. She’s famous, and she writes romance books.”

Charlotte’s eyes go wide at the same time Josie lets out a sputtering sound as if she wasn’t expecting me to tell anyone about her profession.

“I’m not famous whatsoever,” Josie offers.

At the same moment, Charlotte points at Josie with her eyebrows raised. “Oh my God, I knew your name sounded familiar! I read one of your books after my sisters and my mom bullied me into it because they said how great it was.”

“Hopefully, you enjoyed it,” Josie responds, her words kind but her tone a little timid since she’s shy about telling others she’s an author.

“Are you kidding? The book was incredible. I’m not much of a reader—hence why my family had to pressure me into it to begin with—but I couldn’t put the book down.” Charlotte lets out a laugh before looking over at Jude and lowering her voice. “And the sex? Dear God, it was so hot.”

I look over at Josie just in time to see her cover her face with her free hand for a moment, clearly not expecting that to come out of Charlotte’s mouth.

I can’t help but laugh. I find it adorable that she’s bashful about talking about being an author.

“Anyway,” I speak up, trying to save Josie from any further embarrassment. It’s been a wild few minutes for her, and I’m not trying to overwhelm her or embarrass her with everything that’s happened. “Josie and I are going to go now. She’s got a book to finish.”

“It was very nice running into you on our walk,” Jude begins, his voice full of humor. “And it was very nice to meet you, Josie. Hope to see you around.”

“Yes,” Charlotte agrees, her voice soft. “It was so good to meet you. Please don’t be embarrassed by anything. I want to see you again so we can talk more about you being a famous author.”

Josie tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. “It was nice to meet you too. See you around.”

“Bye, Bishop. Let’s plan some golf soon.”

I nod and give Jude a wave before stepping forward and pulling Josie along with me toward my car.

TWENTY-SEVEN

JOSIE

My heart slams against my chest, and my entire body feels warm due to embarrassment…and because of the aftermath of the kiss.

I can’t believe Tyson just kissed me…and it was the best kiss of my life. Not because of how intense it was—but because of how right it felt. Like my body recognized him before my mind could catch up. Like I didn’t have to think or second-guess or wonder what it meant.

I just…felt it.

I let Tyson pull me along the sidewalk that leads to Pembroke’s parking lot as my mind processes everything that just happened.

Along with the kiss, we were also caught with our tongues down each other’s throats by Jude Kensington and his girlfriend.

What a whirlwind of a few minutes.

I know I should probably be more embarrassed about being caught, but for some reason, I’m not. I would’ve preferred no one find us, but Jude seems cool, and Tyson seems more than familiar with him. It doesn’t feel like the end of the world. It’s not like we were doing anything wrong, or that I’m even trying to hide that Tyson and I are spending time together. I mean, I let him hold my hand in front of everyone at the restaurant. And I didn’t just let him; I wanted it. I’m just not someone who likes to feed into the gossip of New York’s rich and famous, and since things with Tyson are new, that’s the only reason I’d want to hide anything to begin with.