‘That would have been great publicity for the book.’ I raised an eyebrow. ‘But why were you so condescending about romance books while you were there? You told Jake on the panel that romance was really easy to write compared to crime and thrillers.’

Davis sighed. ‘I know. It’s Jake. He gets my back up and pushes me to be a dick. It all started at uni, this rivalry… I can’t help but wind him up.’

‘Your rivalry is ridiculous,’ I replied, annoyed with them both, frankly. ‘You have damaged your careers because of it. Is that what you want? To give it all up?’

‘Christ, no!’

‘Did you find the romance easy to write?’

He avoided my eyes and shifted in his chair. ‘No. It was really hard. It was the part of the book I spent the most time on to make it just right.’

‘You know who could have given you advice for it? Jake Richards.’

Simon nodded. ‘I told him that.’ He leaned forward. ‘We know you really helped Jake get back into favour with his readers. We are now in a similar situation. Is there anything Davis could do, do you think?’

‘Personally, I am on the fence at wanting to help you, Davis. Professionally, I do think this is a great book and I would love to see it out in the world.’

I sighed then. It was difficult. Was I being like Hayley if I helped him? Or if I helped him on my terms, was it both a good move for my career but also something that went along with who I was, and not who I thought I should be?

‘What I think you should do is tell your readers that not only do you not think romance is easy, but you’ve included it in your new book because you were inspired by Jake Richards.’

Davis choked a little bit. ‘What?’

I nodded. ‘This feud needs to end. Jake is really popular right now. If you make up with him and talk about how he’s inspired you, I think both you and his readers will love it. Say you’ve become a romance fan and have included it in your book. I noticed there is no dedication in the book. But you mentioned you’re a believer in romance now in your personal life. Hasn’t your girlfriend helped to inspire a romantic side to you?’

‘Let’s not get crazy now,’ Davis said but he did smile at the mention of her.

‘You could dedicate it to her. Talk about that too. Humanise yourself after the mess-up at the conference. Tell your publisher your plan and hopefully, they will stop threatening to pull the book.’ I looked at Simon. ‘What about asking Jake to read and do an endorsement quote too?’

‘He wouldn’t,’ Simon replied quickly.