The Way the Story Goes

by Samantha Chase

  Walking to the kitchen, she listened as Austin described how a meeting with the book club could potentially help her—either while she was re-reading the series or after she was done with each book. He didn’t think there’d be an issue if she wanted to meet with them more than once and she had to agree. Maybe a once a week sort of thing really would be helpful.

  Back on the sofa, she handed him a plate with a large brownie and his water before taking a seat with her slightly smaller brownie and drink.

  “I hate to ask you to set up the meeting,” she told him. “You’re busy enough without having to play assistant to me.”

  “Sweetheart, I’d play anything you’d like with you.” And with a wink, he took a bite of his dessert.

  “You know what I’m saying…”

  But yeah, all sorts of naughty role-playing ideas came to her mind first.

  “How about this—I’ll invite my mother over and you can meet her and take it from there. This way I’m not overly involved and the two of you can work out the details.”

  “I think it sounds perfect. Thank you.”

  “Do you do that a lot—sit and talk with readers?”

  “Not in a while. My first few years of writing—like with the first three books—I traveled a lot. I was doing signings and events all over the country and then over in London, Paris, and Rome. One time, I did an event in Australia and I swear it was the most amazing trip.” She paused and took a sip of water. “I have been blessed with some of the most amazing readers, but I often feel like we get like three minutes or less to talk and then we have to keep the line moving. There are times I’d love to sit and talk longer.”

  “Then maybe this book club can help. Who knows? Maybe they can help you figure out how the story goes.”

  But she waved him off. “That’s already worked out. I have the beginning and I have the ending. It’s the middle I can’t seem to write because my head’s just not in it.”

  They finished eating and Mia realized she had chocolate all over her fingers and had forgotten to grab napkins. As if realizing the same thing, Austin reached out and gently wrapped his fingers around her wrist and brought her fingers to his mouth—licking them clean while never breaking eye contact.

  When he was done, he kissed her palm. “Trust me when I tell you that I am very invested in your head getting back into writing because once the book is finished, I plan on rewarding you in whatever way you’d like.”

  And if that wasn’t an incentive, Mia didn’t know what was.

  For three weeks, Austin found himself working and walking around with a major hard-on.

  That hadn’t happened to him since high school.

  But as frustrating as it was, he felt good about helping Mia out.

  And not to brag, but…clearly he inspired her because she was writing. A lot. His mother came over the day after he and Mia first had dinner together, and she had spent the entire afternoon over at Mia’s place. Afterwards, the three of them had dinner together and once his mother was gone, Mia thanked him with another hot-yet-frustrating make-out session on her couch.

  Two days after that, his mother’s book club went over to Mia’s for dinner and dessert, and the thank you Mia gave him after that had almost made him break his resolve to wait for her to finish the book.

  The sexiest thing about Mia was how she had no idea how sexy she was. There was a shyness to her that made Austin want to protect her and be gentle with her, but when she kissed him and he had her in his arms? It didn’t matter where they were; he wanted to find the nearest surface and have his way with her.

  Hopefully she was writing fast.

  Like speed typing.

  Only faster.

  Mia wouldn’t tell him how much she’d written, just that it was going well.

  He snorted with disgust—easy for her to say. She obviously had no problem keeping busy without thinking about him. Austin, on the other hand, had only managed to tear things down in the last week. He hadn’t been able to build shit because his mind was constantly going to thinking about what Mia was doing and how the book was coming.

  Of course, then he’d picked up her book and read it until it was done and then his mother brought him the second one. So…to say that Mia was always on his mind would be an understatement.

  Something had to give.

  And soon.

  Although…the problem was solely his. Mia was doing what she needed to do. He was the one who couldn’t seem to focus on his work.

  “Well, that needs to change,” he murmured. It was barely lunchtime and there was no reason why he couldn’t put in a solid eight hours of work. All the materials he needed for the built-ins in the master bedroom were here, and Austin knew he could lock himself in there with the radio on and get most of it done.

  Feeling renewed, he began moving materials around and getting all the tools he was going to need into the master bedroom. Once it was all in place, he walked out to the kitchen and grabbed several bottles of water so he wouldn’t have an excuse to come back out here and look out the window and wonder what Mia was doing. And lastly, he grabbed the portable speakers for his phone so he could play one of his favorite playlists while he worked. When he was certain he had everything, Austin walked into the bedroom and shut the door behind him.

  “Let the work begin.”

  For hours he took measurements, cut wood, and attached the pieces to the wall. He was building a massive unit on the wall opposite where the bed was going to go. The unit would have a section for a sixty-five-inch TV and a cabinet for all the sound and cable equipment. Next, there would be shelves for books and other miscellaneous items. Ryder hadn’t been specific in what he was using them for. All he asked was that they be tall enough to hold large picture frames.

  Building the unit was really only a small part of it. Electricians were going to have to come in and wire it all for the electronics, and then the finishers would come in to stain it. That wasn’t on Austin, so even when the construction was complete, it still wouldn’t be finished. But it was a big enough project that would give him a sense of accomplishment and make him feel better after sitting on his ass pining away for Mia.

  The music blared and sweat poured off of him, but he refused to stop. The light coming through the windows shifted, faded, and still he refused to stop. It wasn’t until he had to turn on all the overhead lights that he realized it was dark out and well past dinnertime.

  Every muscle in his body ached. He was shirtless, tired, and hungry, but the beast of a wall was just about done. Trim wouldn’t go on until after the other contractors did their thing, and other than a few tweaks, Austin was satisfied with what he had created. Turning the music off, he used his phone to take a picture and send it to Ryder to get his approval. So far, his buddy had been the ideal client, but he had very specific taste and Austin’s job was to make sure everything was done to his liking.

  This was all new to him because when he was working for the architectural firm back in Baltimore, once a plan was approved, the only time anyone contacted him was if they didn’t understand the plans or if there was a problem with them. This was the first time he was working off of his own plans and his own design and working directly with the customer. It wasn’t something he wanted to do forever, but it was certainly helping him while he figured out where he wanted to apply to work next.

  And if anyone would even hire him if they found out why he’d left his job.

  Not for the first time, he thought of sitting down with Jake Summerford and seeing if there was a position for him with Coleman Construction, but…Austin wasn’t sure if he wanted to move back to Magnolia Sound. To be here for a visit was fine. To be here to work on Ryder’s house was fine, too. But did he really want to open himself back up to small town gossip and everyone knowing his business? More than anything, did he really want to deal with the closed-minded people who pegged him as a problem all those years ago?

  Including his own extended family?

  M
aybe.

  It wasn’t like he had looked at other options, and after spending some time with his mother, he realized that maybe it was time to move home.

  Or close to it.

  Grabbing his discarded t-shirt, he wiped the sweat from his face and decided to call it a day. He was tempted to text Mia and see what she was up to, but he was letting her be the one to reach out. The last thing he wanted to do was interrupt her writing, so he’d left it that she should text him whenever she had some free time.

  With nothing else to do, Austin stepped out of the bedroom and walked around turning on some lights before heading out onto the deck for some fresh air. He could have accessed the deck from the bedroom, but he had a ton of materials stacked up in front of the sliding glass doors.

  The cold air stung his skin as soon as he stepped outside, but he welcomed it. With a shiver, he glanced toward Mia’s place and saw only one light on. That meant she was either working or asleep. It was after eight, so he figured she was working, but…she had mentioned how she wasn’t getting as much sleep lately because the words were flowing. Either way, he wasn’t going to disturb her.

  With a weary sigh, he walked back into the house and opted to take a shower and then call in an order for a pizza. Cooking just wasn’t something he wanted to do. So he’d shower, call for a delivery, and eat it in bed while watching TV.

  Feeling good about the decision, he jogged up the stairs and went directly into the guest bathroom. It probably would have been more convenient to call in the order first, but he didn’t want to rush. He was filthy and sore, and standing under the hot spray was practically going to be a religious experience.

  Leaving his clothes in a dirty heap, he turned on the water and gave it a minute to get as hot as it could get before stepping into the shower. And just like he imagined, it felt amazing. Little by little, the tension began to ease from his muscles and he washed from head to toe before simply standing under the spray until the water turned cold. He felt a thousand times better and wrapping a towel around his waist, he walked out into the hallway.

  “Hello?”

  Mia.

  “Austin? Are you up there?”

  “Yeah,” he called out, and as he moved to the top of the stairs, he saw Mia at the bottom. Her soft gasp at the sight of him pleased him. “What are you doing here?”

  “Oh, um…I saw you out on the deck earlier and was going to text you, but I had to finish writing a scene. Then I texted, but you didn’t answer and I got worried something was wrong.”

  Slowly, he walked down the stairs, his hand gripping the towel that was loosely covering him. “Everything’s good. I just desperately needed a shower and I guess I forgot my phone down here. You doing okay?”

  She nodded, but her eyes kept scanning over his chest and lower.

  Yeah, that pleased him a lot.

  “Have you eaten?” he asked.

  “Uh…what?”

  “Dinner. Have you eaten dinner? I know it’s late, but I haven’t eaten yet and I was about to order a pizza. You interested?”

  “Funny you should ask, because that’s why I was texting you. I was going to order one and wanted to know if you wanted to join me.”

  She was adorable as her gaze kept going to his body rather than his face and he wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and kiss her. But considering he was practically naked and already on edge with want for her, he knew it was safer to put a little distance between them.

  “Great minds,” Austin said, smiling down at her. “Tell you what, why don’t you call in the order and let them deliver it and I’ll be over in a few minutes after I finish drying off and getting dressed.”

  For a moment he hoped she’d argue about the last part and tell him they didn’t need to order dinner and he certainly didn’t need to get dressed, but…she didn’t.

  “Sounds like a plan.” Standing on her toes, she kissed him softly on the cheek. “Any requests on toppings?”

  “Pepperoni is always a favorite.”

  With a wink, she turned and said, “Great minds.”

  Austin watched the soft sway of her hips as she walked away, and it wasn’t until she was completely out of sight that he turned and walked back up the stairs to get dressed.

  By the time he was knocking on the glass door of Mia’s place, it already felt like it had been an hour rather than just minutes. She greeted him at the door with a warm smile, a hot kiss, and a cold beer.

  “Pizza should be here in another ten minutes,” she told him as she walked over to the sofa to sit down. “So what did you work on today?”

  Austin told her about the wall unit and by the time he was done, their dinner arrived. Opting to eat at the kitchen island, they each took a slice before he asked about her day. “What about you? Did you reach your word count?”

  “And then some,” she said with a proud grin. “If everything goes as planned, I’ll be sending this draft off on Monday.”

  He choked on his dinner and coughed hard before he calmed down enough to face her. “Like…this Monday?”

  Her smile grew as she nodded. “Yup.”

  “But…wow. That’s a lot faster than I thought it’d be.”

  “Me too, but you were spot on about re-reading the books. I only needed to get through the first two when it all just came back to me. Talking with your mom and her book club helped a lot too.”

  “Still, Mia, that’s incredibly fast!” And he was in serious awe of her.

  “Once I got into a groove, I was writing ten thousand words a day,” she explained. “Sometimes more. Plus, I already had twenty thousand words written.”

  “So what happens next?”

  “Normally I would take some time to let it sit once I finished writing—for like a week or two. Then I’d re-read it and do my own round of edits and tweaks before sending it in to my editor, Jillian. However, because I am so behind, she wants it right away and we’ll have a team of copy editors going over it to clean it up faster and then in about a week she’ll send it back with her comments and the edits she wants me to do.”

  “Why does she get a say in it? It’s your book, right?”

  “It is, but…she’s the professional and I trust her explicitly. She understands my writing style and my voice, and together we make a great team. Plus…she’s been really patient with me with this book. It’s far from finished, but if we can get this first draft smoothed out, it will feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.”

  “I’m sure. So…you edit the first draft and then…you’re done?”

  She laughed and it was sweet and lyrical. “I wish! No, I’ll do that round of edits and send it back and she’ll re-read and make suggestions and send it back to me and then, when it goes back to her again, it’s a formal round of copy edits. By then, it’s really just fine-tuning the story and cleaning it up. All in all, it’s exhausting and by the time the book goes to print, I’m a little tired of it and ready to be done with it.”

  “If this is the last in this series, what comes next?”

  Taking a bite of her pizza, she seemed to think about it. “I have a couple of ideas but nothing that I’m committed to yet. My agent has been nagging me to give her another series to shop around, but until I was done with this one, I couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to rush in and give her something unless I was passionate about it. She’ll be so happy to hear this book is almost done!” She paused and sighed. “And then the nagging will get kicked up a notch for sure.”

  “That kind of sucks.”

  She shrugged. “I’m used to it and really, it’s all for my own good. If I don’t stay ahead and have contracts going, then I won’t have new books out for readers. It’s all part of the business.”

  Just thinking about it was enough to give Austin a headache because it sounded like a lot of stress and pressure on her all the damn time. Rather than talk about it, he changed the subject to Magnolia Sound news. “Heard any good gossip from your friend or from the
book club?”

  Laughing, she finished her second slice before answering. “I wouldn’t have pegged you for a gossip, Austin,” she teased.

  “Well, I’d much rather know the folks around town are talking about anyone else but me.” With a wink, he reached for his third slice.

  Still chuckling, she shook her head. “From what I’ve gathered, everything’s kind of quiet in town and everyone’s sort of bracing themselves for the tourist season which is…what…still two months away?”

  “Yeah, and it’s not really as bad as most people make it sound. There’s definitely an influx of visitors and the beaches get more crowded, but this is definitely nothing like Wilmington or Myrtle Beach.” He shrugged. “Plus, it’s good for the local businesses. The shops and restaurants do a killer business over the summer. Then things quiet down and get a little boring again.”

  “Boring?”

  “To me, anyway. After moving away and living in Baltimore, I realized just how much of a sleepy little town this is. Of course, when I was growing up I didn’t know any better.”

  “I get that. I’ve only ever lived in Boston, so coming here was a bit of a culture shock, but…I don’t know, it’s growing on me.”

  That was a little surprising. “Would you ever consider leaving Boston?”

  “I don’t think I could ever fully leave it. My folks are there so I know I’d always have a place to stay, but…I didn’t realize how stressed I was until I came here to visit Sydney. If I could, I’d buy a place like this—maybe not as large because, let’s face it, I’m only one person and this place sleeps twelve—but a house on the beach? Yeah, I’m definitely seeing the appeal.”

  “We didn’t live near the beach when I was growing up so I never gave it much thought. But now that I’m working on Ryder’s place? I think I’m getting a little spoiled.”

  She hummed softly. “I will say this, there is nothing better than waking up to the sound of the ocean. It is the perfect way to start the day.” Then she glanced at him with a sexy smile. “At least…so far.”

  Damn. She was killing him.