“Relax. She’s at a book convention.”

“Why didn’t she tell me?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll text you the information.”

“Thanks, Jenna.” Knowing this, I wasn’t going to wait any longer. The truth was I needed to see her NOW! I needed my Becca. Pulling Jenna into my arms, I gave her the most heartfelt hug. “I’ll be out of town till tomorrow. I’ll text Max to let him know where I’m at, so don’t tell him just yet.”

“Don’t tell Max what?” Releasing Jenna, I heard my brother’s voice behind me. Caught red-handed, I teased him a bit. “That Jenna and I are running away together.”

I wish I could have taken a picture of my brother’s face. Even knowing I was joking, he pushed me out of his way and practically fell into Jenna’s arms.

“You’re full of shit.”

“I came to rescue you from this dictator. I was waiting for you in the break room. Now I’m glad I came; I can’t even trust my own brother. I’ve got to protect what’s mine,” Max chuckled, then he claimed her with his mouth.

“Gross.” I let out a laugh. “See you guys later.” I didn’t need to see that. With a slap of my pocket to make sure I had my wallet and cell, I called my secretary.

36

HOLY SHIT! HOW THE hell was I going to find her when she wouldn’t answer her goddamned phone? There were tons of authors, signing at endless tables. As I searched for her, my thoughts wandered. What had I done to get her pissed off at me like that? Sure, we slept together, but it didn’t seem like it frazzled her at all. We were friends, getting to know each other. Though in the back of my mind, I knew I wanted more, I couldn’t think about it at that point. But now, I was ready. Shit! I hope I didn’t mess this up.

As I looked around, I let out a chuckle when I saw the ladies wearing T-shirts that read, “Books! The other soul food,” and “Book hangovers, a girl's worst nightmare.” I laughed even harder when I saw one that read, “Book boyfriends are better because they are always there when we need them.” That reminded me of Becca and I sighed. She deserved better than me. I continued searching, becoming more and more anxious. Every second gone felt like another second lost, and the chance of making this right dwindled.

After a seemingly endless quest, and having all those ladies stop to stare at me, I finally found an information desk. “Excuse me. I’m looking for Becky Miller.” The young lady looked up with a beaming smile.

“Hi. Can I help you?” Her eyes were flirty. Usually when a beautiful girl would ask me that question, I flirted back, but not today. I finally realized I wasn’t interested in anyone but Becca. Now I knew I was in trouble. Besides, when I wanted something, I wanted it NOW! And to top it off, she was frustrating me. I had already told her that I was looking for Becky Miller. Now she was asking me to repeat the question.

“I’m looking for Becky Miller. She’s an agent. Where can I find her, please?” I tried to be calm and patient, but the longer she looked at her list and the longer I had to wait, the faster I was losing it. I was about to snatch that clipboard out of her hand and look for it myself.

“I’m sorry, but there is no Becky Miller here.”

“What?” Now I was beyond irate and my tone grew angry. Taking deep breaths, I managed to calm down. What the hell does she mean she wasn’t there? “Can you please look again? Perhaps you might have overlooked it.”

The poor gal looked nervous as she scrolled down her list. Shaking her head, she looked at me again. “Sorry. I don’t see her name.”

“Thank you for your time,” I said quickly, dialing Jenna as I walked away.

“Hello, Matthew.”

“Becca’s not here. She’s not at the book convention.” My tenor was urgent.

“Becky told me she was going to stay at her parents’ place. Maybe she decided not to go to the convention. I honestly don’t know, Matthew.”

“Can you text me her parents’ address, please? Thanks. Bye.”

Getting a taxi was not the problem; it was my anxiety. I hadn’t thought this through. As the car headed to the address Jenna sent me, my thoughts were wild. What if her parents were home? What if she doesn’t want me? What the hell was I doing? Contemplating whether to go back home or not, I couldn’t get myself to tell the taxi driver to turn around. Before I knew it, we were here.

“Thanks,” I said, handing him the fare as I stepped out. “Keep the change. Actually,” I turn to him again. “Could you please wait here for a few minutes? I may need a ride to the airport.”

Staring at her parent’s house, I raked my fingers through my hair and headed to the front door. Feeling all sorts of butterflies in my stomach, I rang the doorbell. No answer. I pressed it again with a sigh. Still no answer. I was just about to head back to the taxi, when I heard my name.

“Matthew?”

It was the sweetest sound I had heard in a long time, though all the barking almost drowned it out.

I had seen Becca without makeup before, but for some reason she looked different today. She looked absolutely beautiful. She was all natural. Just the way I liked it. “Surprise.” I beamed a nervous, geeky grin.

“Hold on. Let me put the dogs in their room.”

Becca left but quickly came back.

“What are you doing here?” Becca swung the door wider. Her hair was wet and she had a long white robe on. It reminded me of the time she did her lap dance for me. That was enough to get me heated up. Mostly likely, she had taken a shower but in the middle of the afternoon?