Cover Girl

“Shoot.”

“How do people change when they suddenly become bestselling authors and millionaires?”

Bella leaned back in her chair and folded her hands in her lap. “Interesting question. That’s one I’ve never had asked of me by a writer.”

“Well, I am a reporter.”

“True. Anyway, it runs the gamut. I’ve had some authors become huge egomaniacs and impossible to deal with. Some don’t change at all. A few turned out to be one-hit wonders, blew all their money and are back where they started. A writer can fall off the mountain a lot faster than it takes to get up there. So don’t go out and spend your advance on a Maserati.”

“Who the hell wants a car in New York City?”

Bella smiled and nodded. “That’s the attitude I need to hear. So, you figured out a plot twist to meet the redhead?”

“Well, actually—”

“Hi, Bella!”

Alex saw Bella’s eyes widen and turned around to see who had interrupted him. His eyes matched those of his agent.

It’s her!

I’m not ready—

Oh my God, she’s even cuter up close…

Bella shot Alex a quick look as she stood and moved around the desk to greet the editor. “Keira… I, uh, didn’t know you were actually coming by.”

“I figured for an offer like this I’d bring it by in person. And you know I’m an old-school face-to-face gal.”

Alex stood up and turned to face her.

Keira looked at him and smiled. “Bella, sorry if I interrupted a meeting. Rachel buzzed me in. I told her you were expecting me.”

“Not a problem,” said Bella.

Keira stuck out her hand toward Alex. “I’m Keira Madison, Senior Editor at Starstruck Books.”

And I’m star struck.

Think fast!

“I’m, uh, the author’s cousin, Alexander Bauer,” said Alex, as he shook her hand.

“Nice to meet you,” said Keira. “Is she not coming?”

Bella raised her eyebrows as she looked at Alex and folded her arms as if to say, okay, let’s see you wiggle your way out of this one.

His plan wasn’t completely formulated and his heart slammed against his chest, but he used his considerable television skills to wing it. “Well… she’s, you know, incredibly shy and actually borderline agoraphobic. Plus she, uh, weighs about four hundred pounds and is real sensitive about her appearance, so it’s all I can do to get her to leave the house.” He caught Bella rolling her eyes in his peripheral vision. “We share a place in the city.”

Keira shrugged as if it were no big deal. “Well, shy authors are nothing new. So, you two are Alex and Alexander?”

“Our family has a fondness for the name and all its incarnations. Alex, Alexander, Alexis, you name it.”

“Ah, so that’s why the heroine is named Lexi.”

“Uh, yeah. In any event, I always represent my cousin in business matters and she trusts my judgment.”

“Good to know,” said Keira, whose spectacular turquoise eyes locked with his for a moment and sent a bolt of electricity through his body. Her warm smile was accented with dimples and freckles, her face framed by shoulder-length red tangles. Overall it made her look like a little girl. She was tall, about his height, maybe five-nine or five-ten, and skinny, with not much on top but a great pair of legs shown off in a knee-length emerald-green dress. Not stunning by any means, but beyond girl-next-door cute. What Bella saw as plain, he found irresistible.

Definitely his type.

And the look she was giving him told him he might be hers.

“Well,” said Bella, taking a seat behind her desk, “what sort of gifts does my favorite editor come bearing?”

Keira sat in one of the seats opposite the desk as Alex took the other, then reached into her satchel and handed Bella some papers in a blue cover that Alex recognized as a legal document.

A contract.

This is it!

Keira leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs, rocking one shoe on her toe. “Well, you were right. We want this badly, Bella. And I hope this is the number you had in mind that will knock your socks off.” She turned to Alex. “And those of your cousin. It’s a three-book deal, so we’re looking to build a brand. I assume she’s working on the next one.”

“Absolutely.”

Bella looked at the contract, smiled, and nodded. “Keira, this is extremely generous.”

She handed the contract to Alex and it was all he could do to keep his jaw from dropping as the dollar amount jumped out from the legalese. “I, uh, would say that’s more than fair.”

“You think she’ll be happy with that?” asked Bella.

Alex nodded. “I feel certain she’ll accept. In fact, I know it.”

“Good,” said Bella, who got up. “Let me give her a call and make it official.” She shot Alex a wink.

“You want me to wait outside?” asked Keira.

“Nah, you two get acquainted.” Bella smiled at Alex as she pulled out her cell phone and headed out the door. “Be right back.”

Alex looked at the contract and tried to sort through it. Keira slid her chair next to his a bit, bringing with it a hint of floral perfume. “If you have any questions about all the legalese, fire away.”

He tried to concentrate, but the perfume was very distracting, as was the glimpse of her legs visible over the top of the contract. “So, uh, do you have a ballpark publication date for the book?”

“I’d like to fast-track it, so about nine months. That’s actually lightning-quick for publishing as we often move at the pace of continental drift. But I’ll be editing it personally and I’ve got a great idea in mind for the cover, so I’ll get with our art department later today. Assuming of course, your cousin accepts.”

“She’d be crazy not to.”

“Good. I’ll look forward to working with her.”