Aiden ran his fingers up and down her arm and planted a soft kiss on her shoulder. “The next time we part, it’ll be so you can bring your things from Chicago to my home. I want you to clack away on several books, pausing only to make love to me.” He looked up with smiling eyes. “Hell, we can go all over Europe for your writing.”

“You’ll massage my tired fingers,” she teased.

“I swear to Jaysus and all his carpenter friends, I will massage more than your tired fingers.”

She almost believed she was dreaming; that this man’s hand wasn’t cradling her face. But that wasn’t true in the least. This man wasn’t some character she had dreamt up for her novel. He was as real as the salt air that blew in from the Atlantic. He was real and he belonged to her.

What would Augusta do?

Antonia reached up with a tentative hand, making contact with the stubble along his strong jaw. The heat of his skin felt real enough. She’d have to return his kiss to make certain. That’s what Augusta would probably do.

Epilogue

One year later

“Professor Harper, how long would you like our cover letter?”

Antonia pursed her lips before answering her star pupil, Abby. The girl had barely let her pass out the assignment prompt before assaulting her with a series of questions. She liked the young woman’s fervor, but wondered if this was going to be a trend for the rest of the semester. “Well, your query letter should not be more than a page,” she announced to the entire class. “Any more and your editor will chuck the whole thing.”

She watched in amazement as the students took notes while she spoke. She wondered if that would be a lasting trend as well. “We’ve only got a few more minutes before I let you go, so I want you to look over the parameters of this assignment before you ask any more questions.”

Antonia waited for them to read the handout. This was almost surreal. It was her first semester in front of the classroom since she was in her twenties. The only difference between this experience and graduate school was that she now had a published book under her belt.

True to his word, Eddie had pushed her manuscript, The Bangkok Assignment, to the front of the line. She finally let him read the finished product when he settled into his new position at Holloway Press, a more prestigious post than Wild Hare. After her decision to turn down Sixpence, Eddie took a gamble and shot for something more ambitious. Although she was finished with the industry, she was forever grateful for her friend’s confidence in her ability. Making the edits himself, he had made her complete two rewrites, before giving her the green light.

Abby’s hand shot up again. “Professor Harper.”

Antonia trained her smile at the girl. “Yes, Abby.”

“If we already have a book project in mind, could we pretend to market that one?” The young woman’s question was so earnest, it made Antonia smile.