Cover Girl

Wondrous Reads

For Myra, the best thing that ever happened to me

Contents

Cover (#ucafc5d97-3d4a-50ec-9cdb-ce4a7d966844)

Title Page (#u6649e206-1588-53bb-86e4-f2c8c587737a)

Copyright (#u1db3532e-5681-5806-b6d8-3f8dfeebfa45)

Praise for Nic Tatano's debut Wing Girl (#udf8c6bae-286a-5358-9c17-42e9109c1ec8)

Dedication (#u35e791bd-b4be-5170-81e9-3eff6249a865)

Chapter 1 (#u0e7ebd90-34fb-50e6-9509-272e4d5c1052)

Chapter 2 (#uf019437d-cba0-5f1c-87fd-f6a43f46447b)

Chapter 3 (#u9499db70-3f0f-56fd-82cf-76efaba19749)

Chapter 4 (#udaeeae81-5cea-598e-84b4-a187e75c5b86)

Chapter 5 (#uf6317599-a39a-5714-b781-afaa908b5a13)

Chapter 6 (#uf563982a-9d39-5597-bc24-ccd9dba8d2d6)

Chapter 7 (#u502d1879-9844-5a47-a0ef-c5a8df1de441)

Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 21 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 22 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 23 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 24 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 25 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 26 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 27 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 28 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 29 (#litres_trial_promo)

Also by Nic Tatano … (#litres_trial_promo)

Also by Nic Tatano … (#litres_trial_promo)

Nic Tatano (#litres_trial_promo)

About HarperImpulse (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 1 (#ua8c5db27-62a3-5d16-ade1-e484facbe01f)

“Men can’t write romance. Their sex scenes only last one paragraph.”

Keira Madison’s answer to the question as to why there were no men in the standing-room-only romance-writing seminar got a huge laugh from the crowd of over two hundred women. The tall, skinny redhead, a/k/a Cover Girl, was the most powerful editor in the romance genre. She smiled as she waited for the laughter in the auditorium to die down.

But it was all she could do to avoid adding one more sentence. “And this is why I never meet any guys in my job and I’m on my way to being a cat lady at thirty-five, even though I don’t have a friggin’ cat.”

The group settled down and Keira nodded at a young blonde in the second row who had her hand raised. “I’m curious if your own personal romantic experiences have an effect on the books you buy. You know, if you prefer fictional male characters who are like the ones in your life. Do you look for your type when you read a romance novel?”

Well, so much for holding back.

Keira pushed her mound of red tangles back from her face then grabbed the side of the wooden podium and leaned forward, her turquoise eyes getting wide. “Let me tell you something, girls. I love my job and wouldn’t trade it for the world. But look around this room. Do you see one guy in here? No. This genre repels men like a Star Trek force field. Drop by the romance division where I work. All women. The highlight of my week is when a man shows up to stock the soda machine and I drop by to get a Dr. Pepper just so I can talk to someone with a Y chromosome. And I don’t even drink soda. While my life revolves around romance and I’ve edited some of the steamiest books of all time with some of the hottest men on the covers, it is unfortunately all fiction. And since I don’t go to bars I rarely meet guys. So the answer to your question is no, since the best men I’ve met only exist on paper. I have a great job, but if you want a career that will let you meet guys, this ain’t it. If you think you’ll run into Prince Charming at your book-signing, fuhgeddaboudit. While I’m in the business of selling the Mister Right fantasy, for me it is, unfortunately, still a fantasy.”

Keira smiled as the crowd chuckled a bit. The clock on the wall told her she needed to wrap things up since the military thriller seminar had the place booked next. She looked at the back of the room and saw an attractive dark-haired thirty-something man peeking around the open door and pointed at him. “Hey, look, a cute guy! C’mon in, join the romance revolution!”