Chapter 6

Ryan

Scarlett Frye is standing in the conference room at Anastasios Press. At first, I’m almost sure I’m seeing a ghost, but no. She doesn’t look like a ghost at all. Her skin is still smooth and milky white like it was before, but her cheeks are rosy, which they never were then. Not at the end anyway. She’s curvier, too. Healthier. Like she’s been taking time out of her day to eat—something I was never able to get her to do. Her dark brown hair is shorter now, falling just past her shoulders in soft waves. And her eyes… Those blue eyes are brighter. Sharper. Somehow lovelier than they were before. Or maybe they faded in my memory, though I don’t think that could possibly be the case. My memories of her have consumed so much of my life since she left; every detail of her has been etched in stark relief in my mind’s eye.

And yet, here she is. Even more beautiful than I remember.

Eventually, the commotion dies down. We sit with our team on one side of the large conference table and Scarlett and Trina on the other. Scarlett looks like she might bolt at any minute, with her back ramrod straight and her eyes fixed on the table in front of her. Trina lays a hand on her knee and glances at her questioningly. Scarlett merely nods but doesn’t meet her gaze.

I see now why Trina was being cryptic with Casey on the phone. I also understand what it was about this book that had me in such a chokehold. It’s Scarlett’s. Her words have always had that kind of effect on me.

Casey’s frustrated huff breaks the silence, but it does little to dispel the tension in the room. From the piercing gaze he has pinned on Trina and the drumming of his fingers against the top of the table, my best guess would be he’s about ready to shut this down.

“Well,” he starts, and the word sounds pinched. “This is less than ideal.”

“Can someone explain to me what he is doing here? I pitched this project to you.” If looks could kill, the one Trina gives Casey would have him on the floor.

“And I loved what I read.” Casey’s gaze slides to Scarlett, who still won’t look up, and his expression softens slightly. “It’s beautiful prose, and I guess now I know why. But I signed three high-maintenance debuts this year. I’m booked. Ryan, here, has been in a rut, so I thought this would snap him out of it. I was right.”

Trina’s earrings jingle as she shakes her head. “That doesn’t explain why you didn’t tell me that from the start.”