“Well, you let his mother cut his steak, baby.”

“Mom, don’t you kick me off the phone without an answer. Are you and Charles coming or not? Because this wedding is definitely happening.” Eddie appeared uncomfortable, like he’d much rather be anywhere than Antonia’s office. She couldn’t blame him. Antonia didn’t want to argue with her mother either.

Diane paused, for effect, before saying: “If you’re really going to do this, I should be there...” Antonia released the breath she held and pumped her fist in the air. “...to talk you out of it in person.”

It was still a small victory. “Please book your tickets for god’s sake. I’ll add you and Charles to the block of hotel rooms we’ve reserved.”

“Fine, baby...but we really do need to go.”

“I love you, Mom.”

“Love you too, baby.”

She hung up and she rested her forehead against the cool surface of her desk. No matter how heated their arguments got, they always managed to end them on a civil note. The war wasn’t over, but this battle went in her favor.

“Mom issues?” Eddie asked.

Antonia’s mouth curled slightly as she exhaled a mirthless laugh. “She’s the only one who can get under my skin.”

“Today’s disagreement?”

“She hates Derek.”

The pause, followed by a nervous throat clearing, made Antonia lift her head. Eddie’s gaze had shifted to the wall hanging behind her head.

“Ed?”

“Mmh?”

“Is there something you’d like to say?” she asked, propping her chin on her knuckles.

“Megan and I will certainly be at your wedding,” he said. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

Antonia shook off her uneasiness as she swept a loose curl behind her ear. “I know you didn’t come in here to talk wedding plans,” she said, taking the conversation to safer grounds. Since their stressful days in graduate school, Antonia could always pick up on Eddie’s pensive expressions. “What’s going on, Ed?”

He ran his slender fingers over his sandy beard and sighed. Eddie leaned forward and lowered his voice. “I’ve been hearing a lot of stuff about our finances, Toni. Like we might not have enough to last the year. People are talking about layoffs.”

She frowned. “I don’t know about all of that, Ed. I mean, we still have Peterson’s book release. From what I was able to read, I think it’s got a DaVinci Code vibe that readers will enjoy. Plus, acquisitions was lucky enough to snatch him from Sixpence Publishing after his debut mystery. William Peterson is the ticket.”

“I heard he wants to pull his book,” Eddie said. “It’s been six months and we haven’t received a finalized proof from him. Antonia, he’s getting cold feet about sending it to print.”

She shook her head, wanting to dismiss her friend’s gossip. “Richard is working on his manuscript and he hasn’t said anything that would worry me. As far as I know, Peterson contacts Richard often enough.” Antonia was thinking out loud, trying to make sense of what she hoped was ridiculous. But Eddie wasn’t a dummy and if he felt like something was off, something was probably off. “He already signed the contract for Hallowed Ground and two follow-ups. I’m sure legal would advise him against breaking contract.”