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She did as he asked, flipping the screen back around. She made a few swiping motions before opening up a grid of pictures. Her photo sat on the top of the page, a black and white image that made her look timeless and elegant. Her smile was there, perfectly locked into place, but he noticed that it didn’t reach her eyes.
She swiped her finger down the screen, showing off rows and rows of pictures. Her at a table, signing her books. Sitting on stage speaking. Shots of her at home, working on her manuscript. He studied the plants hanging from her ceiling, the empty coffee mugs clustered around her elbow.
She looked happy in so many of the earlier photos.
“What changed?” He stilled her hand with a touch of his index finger. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the photo in the middle of the screen.
A much younger Avery Eden, cheeks flushed red and tears in her eyes. A mountain of printed papers by her arm, the words, ‘I DID IT’ captioned below.
“When was this?”
“When I got my first deal,” she whispered. “I couldn’t believe it.”
The man returned, setting down her drink. “Enjoy. Let me know if you need anything else.”
Avery rotated the glass around, thumb swiping over the harp etched into the glass. She took a sip, licking a bit of foam from the top of her lip. Wolfe followed the motion hungrily, wishing he could slide his finger across her mouth and capture it himself.
“Good?” he asked hoarsely.
“So much better than the states,” she agreed. “Smoother.” A second sip followed, then a third.
“I’m glad.” He tapped her phone again. “You didn’t answer. What changed?”
Avery swiped back to the top of the page and clicked on the photos of the cliff she’d taken on the walk. They were haunting, almost gothic with the layers of rolling fog and an angry sea in the distance. She tapped on the picture and the screen changed, bringing up line after line of text.
“Comments,” she offered, scrolling through them. “People wondering what I’m doing.” She tipped the screen his way and Wolfe skimmed them.
OMG! Is she working on a historical romance?
Is that Ireland?
So creepy!
How much longer until the next book?
Wow! Do you think she met someone?
His eyes widened. “They ask you these questions?”
“And more,” she added. “My life is public in a lot of ways. It’s hard to take a break. I’m so lucky, I know I am, but the pressure…”
“There is no escape,” he said, filling in the blanks of her sentence.
Avery nodded, taking another sip of her beer. “Part of me thinks…” She trailed off, tracing a scratch in the wood. It was a long dent, likely made by a ring or a coin.
“Go on.” He moved closer, knees bracketing hers beneath the table.
She shuddered, and Wolfe allowed himself to imagine she felt anything for him at all. He’d been watching her closely these last few days. He watched her open her computer and bring a fresh page on screen.
And then she waited.
And waited.
And waited.
It broke his heart to watch her struggle, to see the defeat in her eyes. He hadn’t found a way yet to hold her book long enough to read it, but he knew in his core that her words would change him somehow.
“I’m a fraud,” she croaked.
