Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 102166 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102166 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
“Oh, speaking of. Did I tell you she RSVP’d?” Arden asked.
“Who did?” Iris asked, but she was half distracted by Finn’s comic book. She’d been trying to read some of them in her free time so they could talk about them.
“Caprica.”
“Wait, she RSVP’d? Caprica? Who never does public appearances? Not even for book releases?” Selene asked. “Even when asked very nicely,” she added, her tone sulky.
“She even sent a little personal note,” Arden said. He flipped through his notebook, looking for the note. “She said she’s been watching your story since you first came to the surface. And that you have … oh, what was it?” he asked, finding the note. “Right. She said you have ‘greatly inspired the plot for her next book.’”
“What?” Selene snatched the book out of Arden’s hand. Her eyes went round. “This is an actual handwritten note from Caprica Coraline? The Caprica Coraline?”
“It is.” Arden was watching Selene with a warm light in his eyes.
“You have her contact information?”
“Oh, sweetheart, I have everyone’s contact.”
Iris felt a similar thrill of excitement, but it was quickly overwhelmed by an entirely different sensation as Finn came sweeping into the penthouse. He was already tugging at his tie, eager to shrug off The Suit.
It seemed that once he fully became aware of how much the persona of a politician had overtaken him, he’d been working hard to separate that from who he really was.
He made a beeline toward the table, his gaze moving around everyone gathered, then the items on the surface of the table.
But before he even bothered to greet them, he stepped behind Iris’s chair, reaching around her to grab her chin and tilt her head backward.
His lips were on hers then, kissing her hard and deep and entirely too briefly. She could never seem to get enough of him.
“Hey, guys,” he greeted the table. “How is the planning going?”
“Slowly,” Arden said with a pointed look toward Selene.
“Hey, you’re the one who wanted my input,” Selene said, quietly tucking the note from Caprica into her purse.
Iris was fairly sure Arden didn’t actually want Selene’s help, just her company.
“Don’t worry,” Arden said, looking back at Finn. “Everything will be planned and perfect for your big day.”
The day was closing in.
Just a few weeks away.
Instead of feeling trapped by the deadline like she had been, all Iris felt was excitement, a bone-deep sort of rightness.
A lifetime with Finn—good, kind, selfless, attentive, smart, gorgeous, generous, and slightly nerdy Finn—was all she could think about these days.
Pretty soon, it was going to be her reality.
“Shouldn’t you be getting dressed?” Finn asked, making Iris’s eyes go round.
“Oh! Whoops. I lost track of time.” She popped up out of her chair to rush toward the bedroom to grab her outfit.
“She does that,” Selene agreed.
“She showed up at my yoga class ten minutes short of it being over,” Willow piled on.
“In my defense, I knew I would be terrible at it,” Iris called from the bedroom.
“She knocked over a row of advanced yogi women like dominoes,” Willow explained. “And a snake plant that actually hissed about the disruption.”
“She’s making it sound worse than it was,” Iris insisted. She yanked on a vintage T-shirt from some obscure comic book that featured a mermaid-vampire hybrid that she had never read but thought would be perfect for the day’s event.
There was a time she would have wanted to wear a shirt to embarrass him. Now, all she wanted to do was match him and make him proud.
“Okay. How’s this?” she asked as she emerged.
“Where did you find that?” Finn asked, eyes bright.
“In the same store where we found your wedding present,” Selene announced.
“It’s perfect,” Finn told her, heading past her in the hall.
“Where are you going?”
“To get changed.”
“I thought we had to leave at eleven.”
Finn’s smile was sheepish as he turned to look at her. “Yes, I did say that.”
“You gave me a fake time?” she asked, pretending to be shocked.
What could she say?
She knew she was always late.
And that Finn was really excited about this outing.
“A necessary evil,” he said, shooting her a smirk before slipping into the bedroom.
By the time he came out, Arden, Selene, and Willow had seen themselves out. So there was no one there to admire his casual outfit of black shorts and a T-shirt featuring a ton of different comic book covers with the words I’ve Got Issues printed above.
It was the most casual she’d seen him dress for anything that involved leaving their home.
“I love it,” she declared, beaming at him.
“Are you ready for this?”
Given what she’d seen about these giant comic book events online, no, she was not.
“Absolutely,” she agreed, taking his hand.
It was a short ride to the venue, and they made it out front just as the doors opened.
“You’re actually on time?” Juna asked, mouth falling open as Iris and Finn approached.