Chapter 14
She entered the venue stealing the attention of everyone she met and was warmly greeted by long-time
friend Avalynn Prescott spending the rest of the night in her company alongside Silas Prescott and his close
associates. Everyone who had the privilege to speak with her said she was charming and captivating.
Though many wondered where she has been these last few years the Former Missus Stanton was
unapologetic for her absence but eager to reconnect to long-lost friends.
[An image of Sarah in her plum-colored gown followed garnering a host of comments.]
“Oh my god! That is not Sarah Stanton!”
“Oh. It is. That’s definitely her.”
“What happened? Did she get a face lift? Boob lift?”
“Did she always look like that?”
“Where has she been?”
“Maybe she’s possessed by a demon? She seems like the kind of person who would sell her soul.”
“What the hell are you on?”
“Typical man. Just because a woman is confident in herself does not mean she is possessed.”
“I notice she’s not wearing a wedding ring. So the rumors of the divorce must be true.”
“Oh, that’s why she’s so happy. She’s rolling in the money!”
“What moron would let a woman like that go? Was her husband crazy?”
Alan hadn’t shown Lucas the article yet and thought it best to keep it under wraps for a while, at least until
after their first meeting in four years was over. He couldn’t remember the last time Lucas looked so nervous
sitting in the passenger seat twisting his wedding band with a pensive look on his face. Alan didn’t think
either of them was ready for this.
Parking proved difficult but luckily the hotel had a valet. Alan slipped the driver an extra hundred to ignore the
fact they weren’t guests and park the car for them. They headed into the spacious lobby. Lucas paused at
the prominent sculpture of a blown-up pool swan with a woman reclining on it. He stared at it with some
confusion before allowing Alan to lead him away. They followed signs to the hotel ballroom where they found
it transformed into a convention space.
Booths formed a crowded maze each one manned by a different publisher. The books they offered ranged
from children’s picture books to adult romance all arranged randomly with no rhyme or reason as far as
genre or subject matter was concerned. It was a reader’s paradise but there was only one he was remotely
interested in.
Briarwood Books was not difficult to find. As one of New York’s major publishers it had a rather large booth
easily twice as big as any other. Lucas found a place across from it where he could view all sides as he
Three people manned Briarwood’s booth eagerly answering questions as people passed by stopping when something caught their eye and grabbed flyers for books that interested them. One of the people at the booth was a pretty brunette Lucas vaguely remembered from the night before. She had to be Ruth. To think he had been searching for Sarah all this time when that woman probably knew exactly where she had gone.
“Oh, no way!” Alan suddenly exclaimed leaving Lucas’s side briefly to retrieve a brochure from the Briarwood stand before returning.
“What’s that?”
“The new Rosemary Thomas book is coming out.”
“What?” Lucas asked.
Alan rolled his eyes, “Rosemary Thomas only tops the best seller list every year. This year is her tenth
book.”
“Oh. What are they about?”
“Well…I guess you’d call them mysteries since she’s always solving a crime or investigating something but
they are also mystical.”
Lucas raised an eyebrow.
“You see Rosemary is a medium so she talks to spirits and they help solve the cases she’s investigating. A
couple books back she finally got a love interest. He turned out to be a prince who was already engaged so
she left him, but she ended up pregnant so she has a daughter now with the same gifts.”
Lucas sighed as Alan rambled on. He had never been much of a reader but Alan loved books and read at least one a week though Lucas didn’t know where he found the time.
“Oh no way!”
“What!” Lucas jerked to attention thinking Sarah had appeared.
“They are actually going to reveal who Rosemary is!”
“What?”
“The author. Whenever Rosemary has a book signing she always wears these big glasses so you can never see her face…and she might actually be wearing a wig too. But anyway, no one knows who she is.”
“Wait, I thought Rosemary was the character.”
“She is. She’s also the author.”
Lucas blinked, confused.
“It’s a penname,” Alan rolled his eyes. “And the books are written in first person so it’s like Rosemary is
talking to you, telling you the story.”
“Oh.” Lucas nodded his attention wandering.
“Anyway Rosemary, the author, does extensive research for her books to make sure they feel real. The first book takes place in a school and the author claimed she worked as a teacher for authenticity. The second
book takes place in Paris where the author said she lived for a time. The third book centered around a rodeo…
“And the author alleged they lived on a ranch,” Lucas surmised.
“Exactly. Rosemary’s been skydiving, rock climbing and scuba diving, Mardi Gras and Carnival. And the author claims its all real life experiences…but really who could travel like that and do that much? Actually there is a whole online community that debates different theories of who she is and there was one thread claiming she is actually a bunch of different people, Like each book was written by a different author and they hire an actor for book signings.”
Lucas sighed hoping they were nearing the end of the conversation.
“And now they are finally revealing the real Rosemary! I have to go to the release party. I don’t know when it is but I’m going to need the day off.”
Lucas shook his head and ran his hand through his hair, Leave it to Alan to completely lose the reason why they had come in the first place. He didn’t care who Rosemary was or how many books she sold. There was only one reason he was here….and there she was.
Lucas suddenly came to attention as his gaze fell on Sarah. She wore faded blue jeans that hugged the supple legs her gown had hidden. A blue-gray cardigan was thrown over a simple white shirt and she wore a matching wine-colored knitted cap and infinity scarf. Her clothing might be more casual now but she was no less elegant or beautiful.
As she came up to the booth the brunette stood to the side so they could talk. Lucas cursed his luck. He was
too far away and the ballroom too noisy to overhear. But Sarah was all smiles laughing at whatever her friend,
said.
Lucas felt his throat tighten as he watched her. He had never been intimidated by anyone before so why now?
Why was it so hard to approach her? What could he say to her? Would she even listen to him?
“Cuse me, mister.”
Lucas stepped aside as a toddler scooted by him with a corgi on a purple leash, “Sorry.”
The little girl dressed in bedazzled jeans and denim jacket gave him an impish grin before trotting away with the dog whose blonde fur nearly matched her own. Lucas’s lips twitched with a smile at her audacity.
“Mommy! Mommy! Look what I found!” the little girl announced as she reached the booth.
Sarah turned immediately scooping up the little girl and blew raspberries on her cheek to the child’s delight. Only then did Sarah look at the brochure the little one delivered for a new children’s book about a little girl
and her puppy.
“Wow!” Sarah exclaimed loud enough for him to hear.
“It’s going to be a good one!” the little girl declared making Sarah laugh heartedly.
Lucas stood with his jaw practically on the floor. It couldn’t be…it just couldn’t…but there was no denying Sarah’s perfect miniature. He felt himself go cold as he broke out in a sweat. The first and only night’he spent with Sarah came back and hit him like a ton of bricks as did Alan’s assurances the next day that the
