“Will he be mad?” Something unexpected stirred in my gut. Protectiveness. I shook it off, attributing it to Rosie being my little cousin’s best friend. And to how much I hate bullies. “About you quitting? Is that why you haven’t told him?”
“Oh no. He’d never be angry at me for following my dream. Even if it’s a relatively new one.” That somehow appeased me, but it also made me all the more curious. A relatively new dream? “But I don’t think he’ll be happy about it, either. He’s always been so proud of me. Of his daughter being an engineer. Working in Manhattan. We didn’t have much growing up.” She paused. “When I graduated, it was the first time I ever saw him cry. Big, fat tears that wouldn’t stop falling. I think he cried for hours. And when I got a promotion last year, back when he was still living in Queens, he told everyone in the block. ‘My Bean leads a team now. She’s a leader!’ He threw me a party and invited the neighbors as if… I don’t know, as if his daughter had just won a Nobel Prize or something.” She shook her head with a sad smile. “He will be terrified that I’m throwing everything away for something he probably doesn’t fully grasp. That’s why I haven’t worked up the courage to tell him. I’m scared he won’t… understand and support me. And that would break my heart.”
“So, what is it?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking, craving more. “This new dream you are chasing.”
I watched Rosie all but fold into herself, her shoulders falling and her eyes leaving mine. And I knew she was pulling away. “You’ll think it’s silly.”
“There’s no such thing as silly when it comes to dreams. No matter how new or old they are.”
Those emerald-green eyes shifted to me with a new weight.
“Lay it on me, Rosalyn Graham,” I continued. “You don’t know this about me, but I don’t judge. Ever.”
Her chest rose with a deep breath. “I wrote and published a book,” she finally said. “A romance book. Over a year ago. Around the time I got the promotion.”
As if she was saying something completely ridiculous.
I frowned. “That’s amazing, Rosie. That’s more than amazing. It’s incredible, and not at all silly.”
“There’s… more to it.”
Nodding my head, I encouraged her to keep going.
“I self-published it, under a pen name, not my real name. And I didn’t tell anyone at first, except for Lina, because I… Well, I was scared my colleagues wouldn’t take me seriously if they knew I was writing what they’d consider steamy novels for bored housewives.” She sighed. “How stupid is that, huh? Instead of being proud of myself.” A shake of her head. “But I was scared someone would think less of my work as an engineer, or belittle my book just because it’s in a genre that’s so unfairly judged, or belittle me, because of something I love. Okay, not someone, but them, the guys at the office. Mostly men. Maybe even my dad, too. Society in general? I don’t know.”
Rosie seemed lost in thought for a second, then continued, her expression brightening a little. “Anyway. The book started getting some attention. Nothing huge, but more than I ever anticipated. It slowly but steadily escalated from there, until I was offered a book deal. And it was then that something in me snapped. I signed the contract with the publisher and quit my job, which is something very out of character for me. Taking leaps is not my thing. Making decisions without minimizing risks, without having the assurance that it will all work out is not something I’ve ever done. But dammit, it felt good. Terrifying but liberating. As if I had been waiting my whole life to be… free.” Her smile fell. “And then, it all went to sh—”
She stopped herself.
“It all went where?” I asked, realizing only now that I had inched forward in her direction. Over the table.
Rosie squared back her shoulders. “You’ve already met your question quota.”
“What?” I grunted.
“You’ve asked your five questions,” she explained. “So, no more for you.”
I had forgotten we were still playing this game.
“Me, on the other hand,” she pointed out with what I was pretty sure was satisfaction, “I’ve got two more questions.”
I leaned back on my seat. “I feel like I’ve been cheated here.”
Rosie’s lips tipped up the slightest bit. “I always play by the rules.” Her chin lifted. “So… what are your plans, Lucas?”