Juliana cackles. “Dear, without him, my ass would be glued to a lawn chair somewhere in Hawaii right now celebrating the release of my new book.”
“But you’re here? For me?”
“It pays to have friends in high places, doesn’t it?” She winks. “His company made my books into the show you love.”
“His company?!” I’m not sure how I’m remaining upright with the amount of carpet she’s pulling out from under me.
How could I be so stupid? Rowan’s mentioned his streaming company in the past but I didn’t connect it until now. “Scott never needed my password to watch TV. Did he?”
He has the audacity to shrug. “No.”
“Then why use it?”
“Why else, dearie. Love makes us do silly things,” Juliana intervenes.
“Oh no. We’re just…”
“Seizing the day,” he finishes for me.
I snap. “Right! One day at a time.” I nod at Juliana like that explains every complicated second of my relationship with Rowan.
Juliana wags her finger at us. “You let me know who stops believing the lie first.”
I roll my eyes. She is a romance author after all. Of course she’s going to believe every couple is destined for a happy ever after. I’m not against one, but I’m also not all for getting my hopes up too soon. Although this book signing has me wondering what next step we might take together.
Rowan deposits my books on the table.
“Why did you use my account then if you literally created the entire platform?”
“I wanted to see what you were interested in.”
I’m tempted to cry from how sweet that is. For months I thought he barely liked me, and here he was watching TV on my account to feel more connected.
I wrap my arms around him and give him the best hug. He kisses the top of my head.
“Well, come on now. I have about a hundred more people to see after you two.” Juliana waves me over. She signs each of my books with her name and a short message. People behind us grumble about how long she takes with me, but she is so full of life and hasn’t stopped talking to me. I can’t help wanting to soak it all in.
Rowan all but drags me toward the bookstore entrance like a child once Juliana needs to move on.
We walk through the front doors and are met with real snowflakes.
“It’s snowing!”
“We should be getting another few inches tonight. Talk about freaky weather.” He frowns.
I laugh as I run out onto the snow-covered sidewalk and twirl in a circle, trying to catch the pieces with my tongue like a kid.
“Slow down there before you kiss the sidewalk.”
The words leave his lips a second too late. My sneakers catch on a slick patch, and I throw my arms out, but there’s nothing to hold on to.
Rowan runs and catches me with some kind of superhuman speed, but his boots meet the same fate of the icy sidewalk. We both go down in a tangle of limbs and a plastic bag filled with all my signed books. Rowan turns to protect me and ends up landing on his back. I follow, smacking right into his chest. He lets out an audible breath. His other hand still clutches on to the bag, protecting all the books from falling out and landing on the wet sidewalk.
“Ouch.” I rub my forehead that didn’t survive the fight with his muscles. “Are you okay?”
“Ask me tomorrow when my lungs start working again.”
I drop my forehead against his chest and laugh until the cold air burns my lungs. He wraps his arms around me, and together, we lose it on a dirty sidewalk covered in snow.