He purses his lips in thought. “You’re not wrong. I don’t know why I feel like Trina is being weird about this one. I thought it was because she doesn’t fully trust us after what happened with Scarlett”—he eyes me warily at the mention of her name—“but that can’t be it. We’ve worked together a few times since then with no issues.”

I hum, not sure if I even want to voice what I’ve been thinking. When he raises his eyebrows at me in question, I go for it anyway. “This book…it felt like her. It wasn’t.” I hold a hand up to stop any of his protests. “I’m not saying that. The voice was entirely different. I’m just saying…the heart she had in her books. This one felt similar. Maybe Trina thinks she’s got another star on her hands and wants to be sure we’re going to handle this differently.”

Casey scratches his jaw, his blunt nails scraping audibly against the well-manicured stubble. “That would make sense,” he says slowly. “JMP really fucked that up, and we all paid the price for it.” He regards me for a moment before adding, “Sorry, man.”

I shake my head. “No need. That did get fucked up, and we lost her. The world lost her.” I lost her, I don’t say, but from the pinched sympathy on Casey’s face, he knows how I’d finish that thought. What he doesn’t know is the part I played in her departure. I’m not sure I fully understand it, but I know the blame is there. The guilt is, anyway. And the hole she left in my heart when she disappeared.

Coming out of his thoughts, Casey knocks definitively on the wood of his desk. “That must be it. I’ll alert Meri so she can be prepared to handle this one with kid gloves.”

“I’ll do it.” I stand quickly. “I don’t have anything else to do, and I’m ultimately the one Meri and the author will be working with. Best I get involved now so the transition is smoother.”

“Good thinking.” He doesn’t even wait for me to leave his office before turning back to his computer screen. “See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you.” I try to keep my voice level, but my excitement seeps out anyway. I can’t help it. There’s no way I’m letting this book go without a fight. Anastasios Press is going to sign S.J. Falmouth, and I’m going to work on something important again. I can feel it.

Chapter 5

Scarlett